Here at Chiang Mai & BKK kids we take our social responsibility very seriously, we work with and support many different social enterprises around Bangkok and feel passionate about making a difference in the community.
We strive wherever possible to reduce our carbon footprint in both the manufacture of our schools and activity guides, and the use and disposal of all the products and resources they use. Over the last 3 years we have encouraged our community members to download our guides in an endeavor to reduce the amount of guides we print. However, we still appreciate many people prefer an actual physical guide; similarly to holding and reading an actual book. We have significantly reduced our printed guides but do still offer this as an option, but how can we then make these annual guides of use in the community when the latest versions launch?
Ever Wondered What We Do With Our Old Guides?
We pondered this question for quite some time as recycling the paper itself can be both time consuming and effectively add back into the carbon damage we are trying to mitigate. After researching the various social enterprises in Bangkok, we found an organisation who needs old books and guides more than anyone. No shredding or mulching of paper, just resourcefulness and ingenuity to up-cycle and transform lives.
“As long as you are helping the blind? You are adding to merit a thousand times”
The Bangkok School for the Blind
Miss Genevieve Caulfield, an American blind lady, founded the school in January 2, 1939 and named it “School for the Blind”, which is the first school for the blind in Thailand and in the Southeast Asian region. The school was located at a small rental house on Konche road, Saladang.
In 1949 the foundation was approved to rent the land of Crown Property Bureau on Ratchavithi Road to operate the school, which is still its current location.
In 1960 the school was entered into the education system under the ministry of education’s protection and was noted as a non-profit private school and in 1977 was renamed as “the Bangkok School for the Blind.” Currently, Bangkok School for the Blind is under the Royal Patronage of H.M. the Queen.
Bangkok School for the Blind provides teaching and learning for students from preschool kindergarten level 2 to elementary school level 6, while in secondary school level provides inclusive study in general schools both public and private schools. The school enrolls students with visual impairment both male and female, for both boarding and day school.
Braille Books for the Blind Students
The Educational Technology Center at The Bangkok School for the Blind produces Braille books such as literary work by the king, philosophy, dharma, literature, novels, textbook and other publications. They publish their own book’s on recycled materials with the speed of 800 pages per hour.
Annually we now collect unused, unwanted or extra print copies of both of our guides which have been superseded by more recent editions, then take these guides across to the blind school where they are converted into Braille books.
We are thrilled to see the leaders in international education advertisements being given a new life by being used to educate bright young minds. There is a certain poetic justice when you see pages of educational features being up-cycled to actually educate, the irony never escapes us and we are proud to have established a long standing relationship with the school.
We share the schools vision in affirming that empowering students with visual impairment through education to achieve their full potential is a collective responsibility and requires action and service. Through education blind students can achieve their full potential and develop opportunities to experience fulfilling lives and become life-long learners.
Watching young students learn their ABC or imagine and create their own picture of what Tin Tin or Winnie the Pooh actually looks like to them is a very humbling experience and an incentive we would like to see international schools support.
If your school would like to also be involved in this incentive, please contact us directly for further details.
