A better beginning for Noppadon

This small boy bore witness to immense hope and courage, well beyond his years

By Susan Keays
October 2005

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Ordinary days here in the Thailand mission can be very much like ordinary days at home in Canada, only greener. They can be, and often are, filled with routine. Sometimes, though, I receive a day, an hour, or even just a few minutes, that seem to be quite extraordinary. Last week, I was given just such a day when a young boy received new hope for his life.

Scarboro lay missioner Susan Keays with some of her students, classmates of Noppadon. Chiang Rai, Thailand.

This past spring I went to Canada during the Thai school holidays. School resumed in May and I returned to Thailand shortly thereafter. It took a few weeks for it to register, but one day I realized that I had not seen a particular student. His name is Noppadon and I remembered him clearly because he is so tiny for a 12 year old boy in Grade Six.

I asked one of the other teachers about him and she said, “I have some sad news about Noppadon. His home is not a very caring one. His father wants to live alone and drink. His mother has a new boyfriend, doesn’t care about education, and doesn’t have money for school things in any case. They are very poor, perhaps the poorest in the whole school. Noppadon now has a small job and won’t be coming back to study.”

Just the day before, I had been notified that a benefactor had sent some money to be used for my work here. I had been wondering how to put it to best use. Now I had to wonder if perhaps there was meant to be a link between the two simultaneous events—receiving the donation and learning about Noppadon’s situation. The teacher and I decided that we would pay a visit to Noppadon’s house and encourage him and his mother to make his education a priority.

CHINA AND CANADA: Lay missioner Louise Malnachuk has been walking with the people of China since 1982. She returned to Canada in 1987 and in 1997 to do formation and preparation of Scarboro lay missioners. Returning to Canada again in 2002, Louise again serves in the Lay Mission Office, as well as on the priest and lay members’ Partnership Committee, and on the community’s House Committee overseeing activities at Scarboro’s central house.

A few days later, we set out on our motorbikes. We turned off the main road and onto a side street that got rougher and narrower. Eventually it dwindled to the slippery, rutted path of mud and grass that led to Noppadon’s home. I have not often seen anything sadder than what I found at the end of that path—a little boy alone in an isolated, three-walled platform of sticks. He had been that way for the last three weeks. His mother’s boyfriend had been in the hospital all that time, and she had gone there to look after him. She was not expected to return. No friends and no relatives materialized to lend a hand.

The house was not part of a village, so there were no neighbours to turn to for assistance. It did not take much convincing to get Noppadon to agree to come back to school. We simply hugged him, told him that we and all his friends at school had missed him, and asked him if he would come back. He said yes immediately.

We gave him a little money to get a haircut and, knowing he did not have a uniform, told him to come to school the next day wearing whatever he wanted. The next day at lunch Noppadon and I, along with two other teachers, went shopping in the next village. We bought him a few uniforms, shoes, socks and a school bag.

THAILAND: Scarboro missioners Paddy and Georgina Phelan (back row, second and third from left) are accompanying adults and children living with HIV/AIDS at the Camillian Social Center in Rayong, Thailand.

We were about to leave the store when Noppadon spied some flashlights on display just outside the store. He wondered if he could have one because his house is without electricity. I was impressed with his competence and practicality. He did not care about colour or appearance, but only about utility. Noppadon sorted through the rechargeable and the cell-driven and the battery-powered flashlights until he found what he really needed: a water-powered light that would not cost him a cent to maintain.

Our shopping day with Noppadon was an extraordinary one for me. This small boy bore witness to immense hope and courage, well beyond his years.

I am not kidding myself that this is the end of Noppadon’s troubles. He still has many formidable challenges ahead of him. For now, Br. Gianni is helping us keep an eye on Noppadon’s home situation. Noppadon is back in class and working hard to catch up. He has classmates for companionship and teachers who really care about him. He has school clothes, school supplies, and a water-driven flashlight.

CHINA: Scarboro missioner Sr. Jean Perry of the Sisters of St. Joseph with some of her students. Jean is teaching at a university in China.

When Noppadon left school, there is no doubt in my mind that it was the beginning of a sorry future. Now, he has been presented with a different and a better beginning. It is a beginning that is rooted in the love and care of strangers and friends alike. Please join me in praying that there will be a happy ending to the story of Noppadon.

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