Within a few years, just by word of mouth recommendations, the number of participants has increased from a few hundred to over 1,000. Once the final examinations finish in early March, students, both boys and girls, start travelling to Wat Suan Kaew. Most of them come from Isan provinces, including Surin, Si Sa Ket, Buri Ram and Roi Et. We ask local schools to recruit interested students to join our programme. The schools usually bring their students to us.
Eligible students can be of any age, socio-economic class or religion.
Those chosen, however, tend to be those with good behaviour and discipline as well as being old enough to take care of themselves, she added. When they arrive at the temple, they will be assigned to work in accordance with their physical ability and skills. The jobs available can be as simple as watering trees, cleaning the monastery compound, or carrying sand bags. Meanwhile, some other positions may require specific skills, like fixing cars, or making artificial flowers. The Suan Kaew foundation, which is the charity organisation based in the temple, runs a lot of projects throughout the year.