There was one school building in Baan Chaw Poo a remote Karen and Hmong village situated high up in the mountains. And next to it, under a piece of corrugated sheet were two toilets, one for girls and one for boys. That was all. Food needed to be prepared under a small structure covered with palm leaves in one big pot above a fire. One hundred and twenty children ate their meals outside, because the Ministry of Education forbids preparing and consuming meals inside school buildings (for good reasons). When it rained they all huddled together under a small strip of protruding roof. There were not enough cooking utensils and not enough dishes or spoons. Children ate their meals in shifts and shared the few plates and cutlery. The hygienic situation was bad and children often suffered from worms and intestinal infections.
Lack of hygiene is still one of the main reasons for diseases. Food cannot be stored properly in the heat of the dry and the dampness of the wet season. Water is not always clean and sharing of plates and spoons does not make things better.
When the head teacher heard of Samsara he immediately filed a request for a canteen and a kitchen. Samsara came to look at the situation and decided that the school was in dire need. The foundation provided 170,000 baht for the buildings as well as 75,000 for furniture, kitchen utensils and tableware. Samsara always equips its kitchens and canteens, because the school would not be able to do so itself. Children would still have to sit on the floor and share spoons.
The new canteen is simple, but spacious. It can easily accommodate 120 pupils. But it can also easily be transformed into a cultural or community centre for the village. Samsara always builds its canteens with a platform at one end, where speeches can be given or cultural performances staged.
Like other Samsara buildings, the kitchen and canteen are also built with communal efforts. The parents of the children contributed to the construction in shifts.
It is amazing how a relatively small amount of money (€5,000/7500$ US) can add to the well-being of the school and the surrounding community.