Nan kids connect with their roots

Nan kids connect with their roots

The Nan Provincial Administration Organisation is sponsoring a cause that allows youngsters in the province to connect with their cultural roots.

The provincial administration is reaching out to young people through a project called "Learning Locality, the Homeland of Nan Province."

"Nan is a very liveable province. People are nice, and there are many tourist attractions," wrote Soisunee Thipunkaew, a Matthayom 1 (Grade 7) student at Nanthaburi Witthaya School in Nan.

That comes from an essay she wrote, which won first prize in an essay contest attached to the project.

Soisunee joined the contest after taking part in a study tour to cultural heritage sites in the province.

Sakuntala Langkajai, a fellow student at the school, described in her essay how indelible Nan's rich cultural heritage is in the memory of locals and visitors.

Another student, Phetcharat Chaiyong, wrote that people born and raised in Nan should take an interest in cultural studies about the province.

Knowledge can then be passed on to future generations.

Students and their friends who joined the project said the study tour opened their eyes to the wealth of historical value in Nan and what cultural elements bind the people together.

More than 50,000 young students in Nan are targeted by the project which began last year and will run until the end of the next fiscal year.

The project has become part of the development plans of several local administration bodies in Nan.

Narin Lao-araya, the president of Nan Provincial Administration Organisation, said that the project was the result of a survey which found children in Nan knew little about their hometown. Some of them did not even know that they were living in Nan province.

Nan children should have a chance to learn about their hometown.

Thanoo Pholbun, a committee member of Nan Youth Council, said Nan is the first province in Thailand to have run such a project.

He said similar schemes should be encouraged in other parts of the country. - Rarinthorn Petcharoen