Teenagers a beacon of hope for brawling village

For a group of teenage students in Sukhothai, their mission to turn their home town into a more peaceful and loving community starts with a simple, yet often unanswered question: "Why do people have to fight with one another?" "We saw too many brawls in our village, mostly among teenagers, and we thought about how we could help put an end to such violence," Janpen Sornkhao, 14, said.

The schoolgirl from Ban Pakkayang School in Sukhothai's Sri Satchanalai district was speaking as she prepared to present her group's project at the 2nd National Moral Expo and Assembly at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.

The event, which started on Friday, will run through today.

Janpen said she and eight friends pursued their idea to stop the fights in their village by first consulting their teachers, village heads and abbots of local temples.

"We also went to see our kamnan because he has kept records of brawls. We brought the information to our village head and began planning," Janpen said.

According to Janpen's friend Alisa Noppakhun, the records showed that there were 45 chronic fighters in their village and most of them were between 15 years and 20 years of age.

"We went to see them and asked them to answer our questionnaire to discover why they had to fight," Alisa said. She said her group then decided to stop their old rivalries by arranging for them to meet and talk reasonably, with the help of their parents.

"We held a rite for them to express their goodwill towards one another. After all, the information from our village shows that the ancestors of most local people in this village came from an extended family in another province," Alisa said.

Started in late 2005, the mission by Alisa's group generated the most concrete result last November when the Loy Krathong festival was celebrated without any fights in their village. During such celebrations in the past, brawls had often taken place.

"Now we have spread the idea behind our mission to our school. It has also reduced the incidents of fights at the school. We held a rite to make all students feel they are all brothers and sisters," Alisa explained.

Janpen said that her group was also presenting their idea to other schools and other villages, hoping to make changes at those places.

"If each community can make its members feel that they are all siblings, that community should be able to enjoy cordial relations," she said.

The project by Janpen's group was one of 12 selected to compete for an award at the 2nd National Moral Expo and Assembly.

Held by the Moral Centre, the event also showcased more than 100 projects from various faiths, religious groups, Buddhism-based schools and other institutions that work for moral excellence.

Among them is the Society for Dramatic Arts and Development, which strives to teach moral lessons to children through the use of stage dramas.

"I truly believe that the dramas can teach and are a process of learning," said the society's founder, Chonprakan Chanrueng.

He said this mission made him happy. "I am much happier now than when I enjoyed huge financial success from commercial drama," he said. Chonprakan turned his back on commercial drama about a decade ago.

Jiraporn Inthornthong, a 17-year-old student at the Sammasikha School, came to the Expo to present his "precepts" book. The book provides a checklist for precepts its owner has honoured or broken each day.

"The book will remind its owner to do good," Jiraporn said. The Sammasikha School is under the Santi Asoke Buddhist sect, which embraces sufficiency and renounces the worldly life.

Santi Asoke members, including students at the Sammasikha School, wake up at 3 am, wear simple clothes and have only two meals a day.

"I hope other teenagers will come to see how we live our lives. Guided by morality and ethics, we think well and do well," she said. Jiraporn said she studied only one subject a day and spent the rest of the day living morally and usefully.

A Grade-10 student, Siriwan Thammaprakit, visited the exhibition and was impressed to see that there were many activities to promote morality in the society. "I hope the Moral Expo will be held many times each year," she said.

Chularat Saengpassa

The Nation Thailand
Sunday January 28, 2007