Schools, colleges and universities throughout the Kingdom opened for a new school year in early May, and the Redemptorist Vocational School for People with Disabilities recently welcomed eighty new students.

From all over Thailand these young people with disabilities have made the decision to leave the comforts of their familes and homes and spend two years studying in Pattaya. It can be a very nervous time for many of the new students, so the current students welcome them all at a special ceremony which takes place on the first day of term. After forming two lines, the old students applaud and cheer the new students and shake their hands as they pass by. Special prayers are made to ask for a blessing for a successful term, and the new students all take an oath to promise to work hard, study hard and help others who are less fortunate than themselves.

There are now two hundred and fifty students at the school, all studying a variety of courses which will eventually give them the skills and knowledge that will enable them to find employment, not the menial jobs that no able bodied person would do, but decent well paid work that will make them independent and less of a burden on their families and society as a whole. Leaving home, family and friends and re-entering education after many years is a big decision, but one that they will not regret.

The Redemptorist Vocational School for People with Disabilities is one of the projects managed by the Fr. Ray Foundation. For more information on their work take a look at their website www.fr-ray.org or email info@fr-ray.org