SILC NEWS January 2020 A publication by the Samutprakarn International Ladies’ Club

PHOTO WALK

See the world through the eyes of a professional photographer. Take a walk through the diverse neighborhood of the Tha Phra Community, with Dennie Cody, who has 40 years of professional photography experience under his belt. Come along for this fun and engaging experience.

Wednesday, January 15th | 9:00 am - 12:00 md| Tha Phra MRT station | 500 THB

silc.activities@gmail.com

Join us for our first Coffee Morning for the Year 2020.

Tuesday, January 21ST | 10:00 am - 13:00 pm Baan Sansiri | FREE

silc.activities@gmail.com

Coffee Mornings are always special; a place where you can make new friends and catch up with old ones.

Please bring a dish to share and do remember to come with an empty stomach!

CULTURAL WALK

Explore the peaceful Thonburi area with us on foot.

This cultural tour will take you pass 17th-18th century buildings. These historic sites include Goowatin Mosque, Princess Mother Memorial, Wat Prayoon, Windsor House, Kian An Keng Shrine and Baan Kudichin Museum.

Oh, and we will of course, be stopping off for a delicious lunch! Join the fun! Put on your hat, slip on your walking shoes, grab your camera and come along for an adventure!

Friday, January 31ST | 9:00 am - 13:00 pm| Thonburi | FREE

The craft mornings with the kids always involve sticky little hands, shy charming smiles and lots of learning in a fun way.

This month we will make this beautiful hot air balloon with the days of the week. If you have some spare time, join us in any or both of the following dates:

Mahawong: Monday 13th at 9:00 - 11:00

Prakkasamai: Wednesday 22nd at 9:00 - 11:00

RSVP: silc.community@gmail.com Many of the ladies who volunteer are happy to offer lifts, if you need one!

Most Mondays a group of enthusiastic and creative ladies get together to do crafts.

Come join us. Everyone is welcome and no experience is necessary!

We take it in turns to meet at members’ houses so please contact silccraft@gmail.com to find out more.

START TO EXERCISE!! Low impact, strength training, high intensity, solo or team sport ….. whatever your preference is we might have something for you.

STARTING A NEW (ENGLISH) CHAPTER AT PLACE OF GRACE

Golf, Tennis, Yoga Pilates - just write to us and we will put you in touch with the co-ordinator

The Place of Grace Ministries is a Christian project which runs children’s clubs, youth groups, a food bank, and a safe place for children and teenagers in the Mahatai community.

The Place of Grace was started in 2011 by John and Gillian Robinson, Crosslink mission partners. They are a foundation in Thailand and have charitable status in the UK.

Place of Grace has currently two main roles: the food banks and the youth and children clubs. A third role focused on education is starting in 2020, and that’s where SILC’s donation was directed. Keep reading to learn more!

The food bank follows the structure of foodbanks found in the UK. It is only available to people living in the local Mahadthai slum communities. It is based on a voucher system, involving the local communities and churches with businesses that donate food, which is stored and distributed at the Place of Grace to those with vouchers.

The children’s clubs and young peoples’ clubs run most days of the week. The children and teenagers who attend clubs at the Place of Grace all live in the local slum communites. Most of them go to school, but many live in extended families where grandparents or guardians struggle to feed

them as well as working long hours. Place of Grace provides a safe place for them to play, do crafts or just hang out with friends in addition to receiving a meal or snack.

The newest addition to the Place of Grace will be an English school. Like all new schools, it will start small. The aim is to provide English based education to the children of the Mahatai communities. John and Gillian, from Place of Grace believe education will break the circle of poverty for these families. This type of school has already been implemented successfully in other parts of Thailand. The school will be self sustainable with parents contributing responsibly to their children’s education, but it needed a little push to get started. SILC has donated THB 100,000 to buy basic infrastructure and supplies to the school such as furniture, air conditioning, water cooler, and books. With this donation, the school is finally ready to start.

We hope this new school will be very successful in helping the children in the community, who, after school hours will continue to attend the children’s and youth clubs. This will mean they will spend the whole day safe, healthy and looked after, in a Place of Grace!