We met Nui in 2010 when she was in the last year of her secundary school. Nui lived with her grandfather and father. Her parents were divorced and her father was too sick to work. Her mother worked as a maid and sent her a little money sometimes. Nui was an extremely bright student but was about to stop school because she could not effort to enroll at the university. We immediately agreed to grant Nui a Fund Isaan scholarship.

In november 2016 Fund Isaan asked an education specialist to assess the level of English teaching in the Isaan region. Surindra Rajabhat University and Fund Isaan worked closely together during this project. One observation was that by the time students complete Mathayom 6, their last year of high school, they still have only very basic English skills. A lack of proficient English language skills by the teachers at secundary school attributes to students’ low performance. Students are taught to memorize vocabulary and grammar, but they are not shown how to use the language in practice.

In 2008 Tun became one of the very first scholarship students in our program.

She was 14 years old and studied at Ban Thanong School in grade 3. Tun had one brother who stopped school at the age of 14. Seen the financial situation of the family Tun was about to undergo the same faith. Luckily a teacher at her school pointed her in the direction of Fund Isaan, a then newly created non-profit that offered non-refundable scholarships to bright students like Tun.

In 2010 Oy was recommended by the teachers and the director of Cheu Pleung Witthaya School to participate in the Fund Isaan scholarship program.

Oy fitted all the criteria: she was a top student. In fourth grade she scored 97%. This made her number one of her class. But the home situation of Oy was rather difficult. Oy lived with her grandparents, both in their seventies, while her parents, were working in Bangkok as day laborers to pay for her studies and other expenses. Oy's older brother had given up school and was also working as a day laborer.

Fund Isaan recently started a program to reconnect with our past scholarship students. Today we bring you the story of Yui.

Yui became a Fund Isaan scholarship students in the summer of 2014. She had just finished her secondary school at Prasat Industrial and Community Education College. She wanted to continue her education in accounting and obtain a  high certificate. This meant an additional two years at the same college.