“I am Tawanchai, Grade 9 student from Surin province. I live with my mother and my aunt, while my elder sister and brother work in different provinces. My elder sister occasionally sends money to my mother, as she’s also struggling to support her own family."
My mother works collecting recyclables and scraps and selling them to a recycling factory, and takes on other menial jobs such as house cleaning, rice harvesting and many more. The work is not regular, so on days without work, she collects recyclable items.
On his free time and during weekends, Tawanchai helps
his mother collect and sort recyclables to sell
My father passed away four years ago. Following his death, my mother has taken on more responsibilities since then and has often worked long hours to bring in income for the family. Sometimes, she has to work until late at night. During my free time after school and on weekends, I help my mother collect and sort out recyclables. We try our best to budget our expenses to live on what we have.
At school, I enjoy vocational subjects because they are practical and can be applied in everyday life. I also participate in various school activities, such as invention competition where we create outfits from recyclable materials (Reuse) for the school's Science Day. I aspire to pursue vocational education (vocational certificate). This way, I can earn an income to support my mother and provide her with a better quality of life, without having to engage in strenuous labor. If I have the opportunity to receive a scholarship for further education, I will use the funds to cover tuition fees, help to ease the financial burden on my mother.