Scholarship Program for Thailand

10,000 yen a year can help a Thai child attend junior high school

In Thailand, urban areas are full of goods and energy. However, the north-east region is an agricultural area, where the poverty level is beyond the imagination of most Japanese people. Families in the area that the scholarship program supports earn as little as 20,000 yen a year. Many children cannot go to junior high school because they have to help support their families. The minimum costs of things associated with attending junior high school for a year, such as tuition fees, uniforms, textbooks and other school supplies, can amount to a quarter of the annual income of a poor family. This is why many children cannot go to junior high school without financial assistance. The Darunee Scholarship Program helps such children attend junior high school.

Characteristics of the Darunee Scholarship Program in Thailand

Of the 10,000 yen you donate, 1,500 Thai baht will be used for a one-year scholarship for one student, and 500 baht for the administration of the local office in Thailand. You can also correspond with the student you support.

We will ensure that your money goes to the children most in need

Procedures have been established to select the most financially needy children, regardless of their academic performance, and to ensure that the funds you donate will reach the children safely and will be used only for their education. Measures are in place to cope with problems that are likely to occur in the local areas, so you can trust the Darunee Program to support children.

• Q1: How can I trust that the scholarship funds reach the students?
• A1: The full amount of the scholarship is remitted to an account under the name of the student.
• Q2: Won't the parents of the student use the money to cover their living expenses?
• A2:A teacher in charge of the student will keep the student's bankbook. She or he will be able to withdraw money only with the joint signature of the student, and only when the teacher confirms that the money will be used for educational purposes.
• Q3: Will the scholarship support be extended to children from the poorest families?
• A3: The support is not limited to a small number of districts but is extended to the whole area of north-east Thailand (19 provinces), so that the poorest families can be always selected.

How the program is administered

A number of educational specialists, officials and teachers from the provinces of northeast Thailand support the administration system of the program to help a wide rage of children through a face-to-face initiative that matches donors and children.

Local teachers who are most aware of the actual situation participate in the screening stage to allow the neediest children to be selected. Each of the 2,300 schools and provincial boards of education has people in charge of the Darunee Scholarship who voluntarily work on local programs. Therefore, your donation can be utilized very efficiently with low administration costs. On the Thai side, the program is administered exclusively by local people, so that the local people will be able to carry on the program on their own in the future. The administration process in the Thailand and Tokyo offices is efficiently and accurately organized with computerized data management. As a result, scholarship support is efficiently and effectively provided to 10,000 students a year, for their junior high school education.

Schedule

Scholarship Donations

In Thailand, students attend junior high school for three years, as in Japan. As such, the Darunee Scholarship Program for Thai students allows donors to contribute up to \30,000 per student at one time, to completely cover a student’s junior high school education. Other options are also available:

Type A: One-time donation of \30,000, to provide a three-year scholarship for one child
Type B: Annual donation of \10,000 for 3 years to provide a scholarship for one child
Type C: One-time donation of \10,000 to support one child for one year. Please note that if you choose this option, and later decide to extend your support, the Minsai Center cannot guarantee that you will be able to continue to fund the education of the same student.

Non-Scholarship Donations

The Minsai Center accepts donations for other uses. There are four types of non-scholarship donations available:

Type D: Donations for various projects in Thailand (excluding the Darunee Scholarship)
Type E: Donations for the general administration of the Minsai Center Japan office. The Minsai Center asks that when providing a scholarship donation, you also consider donating an extra 10% to help with administration costs. This donation is not mandatory, and 10% is suggested only as a guide.
Type F: Donations to support various fundraising-activities of scholarships by volunteer groups in Japan
Type G: Donations for various projects in Laos (excluding the Darunee Scholarship)

How to Donate

There are two ways to donate to the Minsai Center:
(1) Via postal transfer To send financial donations directly to the Minsai Center via postal transfer, obtain the appropriate postal transfer form from the post office. Fill it in as follows:

• Account number: 00150-0-57664
• Account holder’s name: Minsai Center Japan
• Name and address of sender: Your name, sex, mailing address, and phone number. If making a donation on behalf of a group, please include the name and department name/position title of one person who can act as a contact person. As well, the listed donor’s name must be no longer than 32 characters, including spaces and punctuation
• Donation type: Indicate the scholarship donation type (A, B, or C), as well as the number of scholarships provided. For non-scholarship donations, indicate the donation type (D, E, F, or G) as well as the amount being donated.
• As well, please indicate how you learned about the Minsai Center and the Darunee Scholarship (for example, From the Internet).
• Please keep your receipt after sending the transfer.
• Please note that you are also responsible for paying the small fee charged by the post office for the transfer.

(2) Via Miswritten postcards 250 miswritten official postcards are worth a one-year scholarship for one child. You can send such postcards, regardless of quantity, to the Minsai Center. Please contact us for more information.