This time of year is a happy and exciting one for many of our children as they accomplish another of life’s milestones, a graduation. Most of the kids living at Sarnelli House had, at best, uncertain starts to life and the notion of celebrating academic achievements may once have seemed beyond them. But thanks to the support they receive from Fr. Shea, Brother Keng and the team, and mostly due to the children’s own perseverance and hard work, great progress is being made in education. Over the last few weeks, 22 kids have celebrated graduations, from two little boys who have completed kindergarten to two young women who have now finished diploma programs.
In between, we saw thirteen teenagers complete junior high school. They attended a big ceremony at their school and were thrilled when Fr. Shea and Fr. Ole joined them for photographs. Friends and housemothers attended too as these are successes for everyone at Sarnelli House. All of the kids will continue in education, with three boys hoping to be accepted to a vocational school in Sakon Nakhon, while the other will study in a local senior high school. Two of the girls received their best ever grades as they finished grade 9 and they are very proud to leave junior high school on such a high note.
Three older students finished their vocational certificate programs, which is the vocational equivalent of grade 12, or A level. They were studying mechanics, hospitality and business. The business student is a remarkable young woman. She lost her sight as a child and has been living away from Sarnelli House for these past three years, attending a school for the blind in Khon Kaen. She is a witty, quick thinking young woman and one of our house mothers travelled all the way to the ceremony to support her.
Two young women completed their diploma courses in computers and horticulture respectively and will both continue their studies on to a degree level. They have both amazing individuals and have enormous reserves of resilience and common sense. We are in awe of these young women. All of our graduates deserve huge credit and will gain confidence from their achievements. The will also hopefully act as role models for the children arriving at this level over the next few years.
