New International School of Thailand: Stand Up Against Poverty Day

NIST Makes its Stand: Stand Up Against Poverty Day

Bangkok, Thailand – NIST marked World Poverty Day on Friday, October 17. The whole school day was dedicated to action in order to empower students to help those who are less well off and to teach that with individual action, however big or small, each student can make a difference.

Students had planned several activities, starting with their arrival at school in the morning when a collection was taken for the Human Development Centre in Bangkok of both clothing and baht donations. Over B68,000 was raised and 24 bags of clothes collected.

This was followed by a day without air-conditioning or light in the classrooms. Many classroom studies took place outside, refl ecting areas of poverty where there are no school buildings for children, let alone tables, chairs, lights, or air-conditioners.

Snack time and lunch were marked by basic food stuffs—again allowing our students to feel empathy with those children around the world who are lucky to get a meal, let alone have a choice of what to eat. NIST students were offered fruit and pancakes for snack and a meal of fried rice or pasta with sauce. In addition, only water was available to drink, no juices, milk, or sports drinks.

To mark the end of the day, at 2:15 pm, all of NIST’s 1,410 students made a stand—they stood up for two minutes of silence and listened to a report written by students on poverty.

The elementary student council even came up with a list of activities that the parents could do at home or offi ce—to go without. These suggestions included going without a maid for the day, no fast foods or foods that can be delivered, prepare something simple for dinner, use lights and air conditioners sparingly. Last year, NIST’s secondary students stood up to poverty and formed a message. This year, we wanted that message to go deeper and be more meaningful to more students. As Mr. Leslie, NIST headmaster, said at the end of the day, “It was a very good experience and had a real impact on NIST students’ perception and understanding of people in poverty. “

NIST is a fully accredited IB World school located in the heart of Bangkok. It is a “truly international school” and is also one of the few offering the Primary Years, Middle Years and IB Diploma programmes.