It’s pointless to give a scholarship to pay tuition fees if the student still can’t afford the bus fare to get to college or university. Additional support grants are often essential.

Even a small grant

In 2009, SET awarded welfare grants with a total value of 1.5 million Baht. These students at technical college were amongst the 770 youngsters who benefitted, using their grant to pay for uniform, bus fares or college lunch.

To receive a grant, students apply directly to their own Welfare Department at the beginning of each semester. They first complete a questionnaire detailing their needs and are then interviewed by welfare staff. Applications are always thoroughly investigated. If satisfied that the need is genuine, welfare officers recommend to SET that a grant should be paid. Grants fall into six categories with different maximum values: for purchase of uniform and shoes, spectacles, books and tools, for bus fares, canteen lunch or for accommodation. Students are able to apply for grants in more than one category and can apply for renewal of their grant at the opening of each semester. Some students who have difficulty budgeting their money receive regular monthly grants. Welfare grants are available to all needy students, not just those receiving SET scholarships.

Studying without worries

Supporters sometimes request that

Every year, two young sisters in the UK donate their birthday mony to SET, specifically to help children of their own age. Amongst other things, the gift has been used to buy classroom tools and other useful gifts for hill-tribe children in the far north of Thailand.

Fifty students at an inner-city school were able to study with fewer financial worries after SET presented them with welfare grants of 1,000 Baht each. The money was raised by privileged children at a private school in Bangkok and donated specifically to help our younger students pay for bus fares or school lunch.

SET’s volunteer coordinator at the school said: "Most of our students are from financially stable backgrounds but there is also a significant number who come from families with real problems. Some students have to walk quite long distances to the school or can’t afford lunch once they’re here. We care greatly for the wellbeing of all our students and are always concerned when we discover a child with difficulties, but there is a limit to what we can do to help on a practical basis. SET really makes the difference for many of those children. The scholarships and welfare grants enable them to study with fewer financial worries and we can sometimes actually quantify the difference when we see the improvement in the grades of those who receive support. Instead of having to worry about the few Baht it costs to get to school, or trying to study on an empty stomach, the students are able to concentrate on their studies without those extra pressures. They become much happier children as a result”.