Chiang Rai Village Project
Chiang Rai is a mountainous region in the far north of Thailand, on the border with Myanmar and Laos, located in what has been unfortunately historically coined as the “golden triangle of drugs”. The area has been populated over the past centuries by immigrant ethnic tribal minorities from China. Recognition of their citizenship has been resisted in the past by the local government because of these tribes’ suspected connection to and exploitation by drug traffickers as well as from fear of communist infiltrations from Laos.
 Hill-tribe families sometimes accept to part from their child for extended periods of time so that the child may attend school in a distant town
where he is housed either in a dormitory set up by an NGO or charity,
or by a friend or relative. Still, dormitories are saturated and most
children are left behind without receiving an education.
In the past few years infrastructure has improved somewhat in Chiang
Rai thanks to tourism, so that a few roads can now also be traveled during
the long monsoon season. The tribal families however are still often too
poor to provide for the uniform and school supplies of children and lack
a means of transport to take their children to schools that are over 30
kilometers away.
The Pistorio Foundation has decided to side with the Camillian Social
Center located in Chiang Rai to allow children of the Akha hill tribe
to attend school by providing daily transport to school and school supplies
and tuition. The aim of the project is to allow children to live with
their families while attending school.
The Foundation is currently supporting the education and welfare of 555 children in Northern Thailand.
Project Update December 2008
In 2008, the Pistorio Foundation has been able to reach out to 555 hill-tribe children from 10 different villages. The Foundation is committed to support the long-term education, health, and welfare of these children.
In terms of our building and improving infrastructure of schools and where necessary of shelters and housing, the Foundation has completed the following projects:
- Construction of a full primary school for 200 children and dormitory for 50 children in the Akha tribe village of Ban Mhai Pattaná
- Improvement of School Infrastructure in the school of Mee Nam Khon, Panaseri
- Construction of full 4 classroom Kindergarten with sanitation facilites
- Construction of Music and Art Classrooms building
- Rebuilding of roof of one of the school buildings
- Constrution of teacher’s accommodations, 7 rooms in total, as previously they were living in shacks
- Provision of land to displaced villagers whose children have thus been able to continue to attend school
- In response to an emergency situation, the Foundation has built 8 homes for Burmese refugees two hours from Bangkok, and is supporting the long-term education of their children, 36 in total
Primary School Campus of Ban Mhai Pattaná
In 2008, the Pistorio Foundation has built a primary school for 200 children and a dormitory for 50 children in the village of Ban Mhai Pattaná, in the Doi Cian district, Commune of Mae Suaei, in the Chiang Rai province.
The school consists of 6 classrooms, a kitchen, sanitation facilities (separated for boys and girls), and two rooms for two teachers. The school caters to the village of Ban Mhai Pattaná with a population of 4000 and another nearby village. Although the nearby village is only a few kilometres, the conditions of the roads are such that during the long rainy season is it not possible to travel them, they are not cemented and are narrow and steep. The dormitory will enable children from the neighbouring village to attend school throughout the heavy rainy season period.
Volunteer Lino Battan has spent several weeks throughout 2008, in Chiang Rai, Thailand to oversee the construction of the elementary school financed by the Pistorio Foundation. Elena Pistorio has also travelled on location throughout the year and in May 2008, Carmelo Pistorio, Yang Ping Pistorio, and Elena Pistorio inaugurated the primary school of Ban Mhai Pattaná which started running in May 2008 with 86 students. The dormitory was completed in December 2008 and there will be a formal inaugural celebration of the school campus in February 2009.
 The school campus project has been done in partnership with the Camillian Social Center. Brother Gianni Dalla Rizza, director of the Camillian Social Center, contacted constructors and local village authorities. Foundation volunteer Lino Battan closely monitored and advised constructors on plans for the school and dormitory building, attended meetings with the Village Authorities, and audited the project. Lino and Gianni produced periodic updates with photos to document the progress of the project. Elena Pistorio has met on each visit with village, municipal, and education authorities, as well as with hill-tribe families, school directors, teachers and students.
The Village Authorities contributed the land for the school construction, and cleared and levelled the land taking care not to tear down very old trees. The village has also built a road to connect the village to the school. The local authorities have recruited and provided the teachers and the village sponsors the daily lunch meal at school.
Improvement of Mee Nam Khon School infrastructure, Panaseri
 |
 |
| Art and Music Class Building |
|
At the Mee Nam Khon School, where students attend classes from Kindergarten to secondary school, next to the Akha village of Panaseri, the Foundation built a Kindergarten and a Music and Art classroom building, rebuilt the roof of one of the secondary school buildings, and built seven teacher’s accommodations, as teachers come from distant towns and cannot travel daily to the mountain villages. Previously, Teachers were lodged in shacks outside the school.
Kindergarten building
 |
 |
| Former Teacher’s accommodation |
Mr. Sirichai Chueinta, director of the school, in front of the Teacher’s accomodations building funded by Pistorio Foundation. |
|
Pistorio Foundation Interviews
Video of Projects
|
Chiang Rai Country Profile
Translate