I’m dis ABLE “Let Me in Inclusive Education.Support students with disabilities to attend inclusive education

“Support students with disabilities to attend inclusive education”

To support scholarships for 150 students with disabilities attending regular schools in the academic year 2023 (1 Year scholarship).

At present, countries around the world are recognizing and adopting the “Inclusive Education System” announced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Conference in Spain in 1995. 

“Inclusive Education System” is a co-education system providing opportunities to both disabled and normal children to adapt to each other, help one another and empathize with each other. Disabled children can go to schools close to their homes and do not have to go to special schools for disabled students or boarding schools, which help save on costs for their parents. More importantly, the new system allows students to maintain connection with their families, which is their real-life most important support groups.

According to the report by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security in December 2022, Thailand has a total of 2.15 million people with disabilities, brought about by congenital causes or by sickness or accidents. Up to 66,000 are children from 6-14 years old who should be attending schools. Many children with disabilities are able to communicate and comprehend and are capable of attending normal schools but most of them do not get the opportunity to attend schools due mainly to poverty and they end up staying at home. Their confined environment also lead to very limited social interaction with other people, which also retards their overall growth potentials.

From 2003-2022, EDF Foundation Scholarship Program and its donors had offered support to over 2,000 poor students with disabilities capable of undergoing the normal learning process to attend inclusive education. EDF’s own data from the same period showed that the said students have better physical and mental development, are more cheerful and outgoing rather than introverted.

So, EDF would like to raise funds for one year scholarship fund for 150 students with disabilities at 4,000 baht each targeting to those who are students studying in primary to secondary levels in various provinces in the northeastern, western and southern regions of Thailand with physical disabilities or developmental delay but still able to communicate and to undergo the normal learning process to attend inclusive education in order to encourage them to study in normal schools with other students as well as to promote physical and intellectual development, social learning and self-help in various situations without feeling like a burden to teachers and school friends.

The provided scholarships covered educational expenses and assistive equipment, school lunch, travel costs, medical treatment and others. 

Sample of scholarship students (1)

Ms.Panida, 11 years old, Udon Thani province

“Now I'm studying in Grade 5. The house I live in is a relative's house. It is a one-story house with a galvanized roof, in a state of disrepair. I live with my parents. My father is a general employed person, while mother does not work because she has to take care of me who cannot support myself. 

I became ill with muscular dystrophy since I was in primary school grade 2. My mother had to quit her job to take me to school. She was always with me at the school, supporting me such as taking me to the bathroom as well as when I walk up and down stairs. At first, I was still able to walk on my own, but when I entered 5th grade, the symptoms of the disease became more severe. I Couldn’t get up and walk by myself. It’s difficult to move the body when sitting and could not be able to sit for a long time. When going to bed at night, I feel a lot of pain. I can write and eat by myself, but I have to rely on mom and dad to put things nearby"

“In the future, I want to go to high school and go to university because I want to be a doctor so that I can cure children who are sick with the same disease as me. I really wanted this scholarship because my home is poor. My father's income alone is sometimes not enough to pay for my studies. Mother was unable to go out and find a job because she had to take care of me all the time. Therefore, I thought that if I received a scholarship, I would give it to my mother to pay for my studies such as buying books and school supplies."

Lastly, I would like to thank the kind person who have kindly donated money as scholarships for me. Even though I'm handicapped and unable to walk, I want to study as much as I can. I always think that I won't be discouraged and I always hope that one day I will be recovered and return to my normal life like before.

Sample of scholarship students (2) 

Mr.Supanat, 13 years old, Nongbua Lumphu province

My parents broke up when I was just one year old. My mother left me to my grandparents, then she went to work in Bangkok. When I was little, I can recall my grandparents babysitting while digging for cassava and harvesting crops at the same time to earn money.

Later, my mother remarried and had two children. My mother brought them to my grandparents, too, which means they have to work even harder to support all of us. Three of us go to school.

 I was born with my left eye blind. In class, I sit on the front row so I see better what my teachers write on the blackboard. However, when I stare for a long time at the blackboard, my eyes hurt a lot. Maybe that also affected my ability to memorize things. In a way, I have to study harder and pay more attention in the classroom than my other classmates.

I like art and painting but what I really want is to graduate from lower secondary school and, if possible, continue onto vocational college to become a mechanic and have the skill to make a living and take care of my grandparents and younger siblings.

On weekends and after school, I help my grandfather to plant sugarcane stems. My grandma is sick and has congenital disease, so she cannot work.

I applied for a scholarship because I wanted to spend the money to buy school supplies and keep it for my future vocational studies. If I don't receive a scholarship, my grandfather may not have enough money to support me to continue my education as he is the main bread earner and responsible to take care of the whole family.

 would like to thank those who have kindly donated scholarships to me. Although I am a blind child and I am not good at studying, I promise to do my best in studying. After graduating, I have a career and income that allows me to rely on myself in the future.

Sample of scholarship students (2) 

Mr.Supanat, 13 years old, Nongbua Lumphu province

My parents broke up when I was just one year old. My mother left me to my grandparents, then she went to work in Bangkok. When I was little, I can recall my grandparents babysitting while digging for cassava and harvesting crops at the same time to earn money.

Later, my mother remarried and had two children. My mother brought them to my grandparents, too, which means they have to work even harder to support all of us. Three of us go to school.

I was born with my left eye blind. In class, I sit on the front row so I see better what my teachers write on the blackboard. However, when I stare for a long time at the blackboard, my eyes hurt a lot. Maybe that also affected my ability to memorize things. In a way, I have to study harder and pay more attention in the classroom than my other classmates.

I like art and painting but what I really want is to graduate from lower secondary school and, if possible, continue onto vocational college to become a mechanic and have the skill to make a living and take care of my grandparents and younger siblings.

On weekends and after school, I help my grandfather to plant sugarcane stems. My grandma is sick and has congenital disease, so she cannot work."

I applied for a scholarship because I wanted to spend the money to buy school supplies and keep it for my future vocational studies. If I don't receive a scholarship, my grandfather may not have enough money to support me to continue my education as he is the main bread earner and responsible to take care of the whole family.

 I would like to thank those who have kindly donated scholarships to me. Although I am a blind child and I am not good at studying, I promise to do my best in studying. After graduating, I have a career and income that allows me to rely on myself in the future.

Project Implementation Process