THAILAND - It is a great honor for us, La Salle Miguel House, to welcome the Sector Head of La Salle Thailand, Br. Joseph Klong Chai Phuek FSC. He has been behind the work of Miguel House for the past 3 years; he truly brought blessings to our home.
We would like to thank Br. Joseph Klong for visiting us this time with love and kindness. The speech that he gave to us was very motivating, urging us to live our daily lives not to be like the dead but swimming upstream to improve our life.
LA SALLE MIGUEL HOUSE STORY
In the distant parts of Chanthaburi, especially near the Thailand-Cambodia border, there are plenty of very poor families. The parents of these households can hardly provide even their basic needs, not to mention providing the children quality education.
Knowing this situation, the feeling of Christian love towards fellow human beings moved the De La Salle Brothers to launch the ‘Saint Miguel House’ hostel and scholarship project in 1992. Since then, it has aimed to provide free education, as well as board and lodging, to the impoverished children so that they can go to school and improve their chances of having a better future and eventually become good and productive citizens.
Br. Benedict Chaiwat Phanomworachai FSC is the person currently responsible for this project with the support of other Brothers in the Chanthaburi Community. The De La Salle Brothers have been giving assistance to these poor students for so many years and many of them received completely free education with free lodging accommodations. There are two full-time teachers and two Brothers who take care of the stay-in students and act as their guidance counselors and house parents.
The Brothers are providing educational and livelihood programs for Catholic and non-Catholic students. The assistance is not merely in terms of providing them with free education and providing their basic needs. The Brothers also take care of their well-being and mold them to be responsible and disciplined. They teach them how to be productive in life, make them learn the importance of education, and let them realize that the things they are doing at present can affect their future. Moreover, they regularly take them to attend the Sunday Masses and other parish ceremonies.
The number of stay-in students and scholars is increasing in number. The Saint Miguel House not only caters to the needs of the children belonging to low-income families (to which the majority of the stay-in students belong), it also helps those from broken homes, single parents, and from families of farmers and gardeners who do not own their own land or house.
The Brothers have always upheld the value of good, inclusive, basic education and holistic growth with emphasis on Christian moral values. These efforts are all made to help the less fortunate Catholic and Non-Catholic children secure a better future --- all in the service of the youth entrusted to their care. (Text & Photos: Br. Benedict Chaiwat Phanomworachai FSC)
