Education 4 Kids – in loving memory of Paul Lukasiewicz

This fundraising page is to raise money for the education of disadvantaged children in Thailand, by donating to 'The Mirror Foundation', in loving memory of Paul Lukasiewicz.

เรากำลังรวบรวมเงินเพื่อมูลนิธิกระจกเงาซึ่งเป็นองค์กรการกุศลของไทยเพื่อช่วยสร้างโรงเรียนสำหรับเด็กด้อยโอกาสในชาวเขาในจังหวัดเชียงใหม่ และเราจะบริจาคเงินในชื่อ Mr.Lukas '

Background:
Paul, or 'Mr. Lukas', as his adoring students had known him, was a fantastic and dedicated kindergarten teacher, who positively impacted the lives of children all around the world in countries as diverse as Thailand, Singapore, the UK and Australia. Being a talented and loving teacher, Paul truly cared about children's education and so it is fitting that we can find an opportunity which allows him to continue making an impact on children's lives in the future, even after his untimely passing. We can do this by raising funds to support 'The Mirror Foundation', a Thai Charity NGO which, amongst other worthy projects, provides access to education for the disadvantaged and stateless hill tribe children of northern Thailand. There are a number of obstacles in the way of these hill tribe children accessing the right to education in Thailand, and you can read more about these problems here.

The project we will be supporting:
The charity is currently in the process of setting up a new school, Rai Som School, purposely built for stateless children of the hill tribes in Fang district, Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. Funding is required for many different needs including: classroom buildings; solar panel system; monthly school lunch costs; teacher wages, and a host of other large and small projects with varying costs.

The school just opened last month (May 2018) thanks to The Mirror Foundation's tireless work, but there is still much to do before it is finished! The children are currently being taught in two temporary classrooms (with cement posts, bamboo walls and grass roof). These basic facilities will be used up to the time that the main school is finished: it will initially be comprised of two classrooms, a canteen and sleeping area, with more school facilities to follow as more funding becomes available. You can see the plans for the school by clicking here.

Financial constraints have limited the initial setup to three kindergarten classes and Primary Grade 1 class. The Mirror Foundation intends to add a new grade each year up to primary grade 6 - to eventually accommodate a total of approximately 300 pupils.

So, the funds that we raise will go towards the development of this school, and towards an increase in the number of disadvantaged children that can get an education. With our goal of Thai Baht ฿20,000 or approximately £450 we could make a significant contribution to the development of the school, which will greatly benefit generations of hill tribe children for years to come, in Paul's honour.

The Charity:

'The Mirror Foundation is a Thai Non-Governmental Organisation, run by Thai and hilltribe staff, working for the social development of the community in general, and for the benefit of ethnic minorities in particular. Based in the Mae Yao sub-district of Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand,

The Mirror Foundation commands respect from the authorities and local communities, and earns that respect through hard work and dedication to its beneficiaries. Mirror works directly with the hilltribe communities of the area, as well as running projects in Ranong province. It has an office in Bangkok, and works with the government to create, improve or change laws which are required to enhance the lives of those in most need.

The focus of the foundation's work is to tackle the core issue of 'statelessness', which affects hundreds of thousands of people living in Thailand. Within this remit, they run projects which help to alleviate the problems caused by statelessness - poverty, exploitation, lack of rights, equality, education, and much more.'

For more information about Rai Som School, please click here

For more information about The Mirror Foundation, please click here

To visit The Mirror Foundation's facebook page, please click here

Video about the work of The Mirror Foundation: (skip to 5:12 for details of their educational work)

How to donate:

Please donate as little or as much as you can afford to this fundraiser and we will ensure it is used to support this cause in Paul's honour.

Please note: currency is in Thai baht! (THB)

THB ฿200 is approx USD $6

THB ฿500 is approx USD $15

THB ฿1000 is approx USD $30

Please click the link below to donate using Debit or Credit card, or PayPal.

โปรดคลิกลิงก์ด้านล่างเพื่อบริจาคโดยใช้บัตรเดบิตหรือเครดิตการ์ดหรือ PayPal

You do not need to have a PayPal account to pay by card but you do need to click 'Pay with PayPal' on the next page and it will bring you to the options for Debit/Credit card payments on the following page. Thank you!

Credit/Debit card statements will show the payment as 'EDUCATION4K'. 6% of each donation goes to 'GoGetFunding' for their hosting fee and the PayPal processing fee is 4%. Everything else will go directly to The Mirror Foundation in Paul's name, after the campaign closes on August 1st!

Thank you! :-)

ขอขอบคุณ!