A Fund Isaan alumni: part eighteen: Boontana

Boontana was in her first year of her high certificate accounting at Sangkha Industrial and Community Education College when we granted her a scholarship, thanks to the support of our sponsor 3AMB, a fund managed by the King Baoudouin Foundation in Belgium. Boontana was an excellent student. She studied Accounting and scored 95% in her first semester.

However, because of her difficult situation at home, Boontana almost gave up her study. Her father, who was a farmer, worked very hard to support his entire family but hewas very old and sick. Boontana was thinking of quitting school to help her father but he asked her to keep studying. He wanted to see her become a teacher.

Boontana dreamed of becoming a teacher. She was very punctual and desperately wanted to take up responsibility for her family.

Boontana liked Mathematics. She told us she was planning on becoming a teacher and teaching accounting in college. The scholarship was helping her a lot with her tuition fee, her uniform and materials for school.

Everything was going according to plan until the day her father passed away. Boontana lived with her mother and a six year old sister alone in the house and had a hard time trying to support her family without her father. She began to work on the family rice fields and did everything to earn some extra money. Her family situation improved because of her hard working and the scholarship.

In 2013, Boontana finished her internship at Sangkha Sub-district Administrative Office where she learned a lot. She used her Fund Isaan laptop to do her work hours and it helped her tremendously.  

During one semester break, Boontana had an accident while riding her motorcycle. She hit a hole in the road and could not regain control. She fractured her foot and had to stay in the hospital for a while to recover. She could not attend the first three weeks of her new semester because of the accident and could not help her family with the rice harvest. This frustrated her heavily as a lot of the families budget came from the harvest. Fortunately, Boontana’s mother got a job as a cleaning lady in Sangkha, giving her family at least a little bit of income for the rest of the year.

Eventually in 2014, Boontana graduated with a high vocational certificate at Sangkha Industrial and Community Education College, with a grade of 88%.

Boontana is currently working as an accountant at a stationary shop in Sangkha. She receives earns enough for her and her family. Bootana loves her job because it is very close to her house. She can take care of her mother and younger sister who is studying in Prathom 5 at a primary school near the house.

Boontana is still single and is very happy with her life because she can support her family now. She would like to thank Fund Isaan and 3AMB for their great support in the past. The scholarship helped improve her and her family’s lives a lot.

“It was very hard for me when my father died, I had no one to turn to, almost gave up on everything! But when I realized that I had this scholarship from Fund Isaan, I knew there was someone who cared about me and my family. I continued my study and it changed my life!” 

Needless to say that we are very proud of Boontana, we wish her and her family all the best.