Kindergarten students save up to buy blankets for the needy in northern Thailand

Kindergarten students in Chiang Rai province in northernmost Thailand saved up one baht every day for a year to buy blankets for people suffering in the cold weather this winter, especially those living at high altitudes in the province’s mountainous regions.

Teachers at Chiang Rai Kindergarten invited students to join a charitable project entitled “Doing 89 Million Good Deeds for the King” to develop their social skills and teach them the importance of sharing.

Each child, aged five to six years old, was encouraged to save up one baht per day for one year to buy blankets. The children were told the blankets would be donated to underprivileged people suffering from cold weather this winter.

In total, the philanthropic children saved up enough money to buy 200 blankets. On Monday, the students and teachers handed over the blankets to the Mayor of Chiang Rai province at Chiang Rai Provincial Hall.

The mayor coordinated handing out the blankets to those who need them the most, especially those living high up in the province’s mountains.

Last week, an 80 year old Thai woman from Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand was reported to have died after the temperature suddenly dropped to 13 degrees Celsius.

The family of a 51 year old man who died in Chon Buri province two days ago believes he died because he couldn’t adapt to the cold weather.

On Tuesday, a Thai man’s pet beagle led him to a human corpse on the roadside in Nakhon Ratchasima province. Locals said they thought he got drunk and fell asleep in the grass, and did not wake up due to the cold temperature.