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Cover
story
: 10 Aug
04
/ Vol. 21 No. 9 |
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HM
Queen Sirikit
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The
Most Beloved Mother of the Land
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By
Rachawadi
Photos by royal courtesy
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| "It
is no use thinking about what my life would have
been if I had not become the Queen of Thailand.
I have been my husband's assistant for several
years and I am determined to dedicate my whole
life to this duty." |
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| Such are the
words of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand.
Since the 18-year-old M.R. Sirikit Kitiyakara
became Queen of Thailand 54 years ago, she has
shared the same concern for the welfare of the
people as His Majesty the King himself and has
travelled with His Majesty to every corner of
the Kingdom in an effort to meet the common people,
learn of their needs and find out how best to
help them. |
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 Golden
Peacock with diamonds, a product of the
Bangsai SUPPORT Centre |
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| In addition to
assisting the King, Her Majesty has also initiated
several projects of her own. The most important
one is the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary
Occupation and Related Techniques (SUPPORT) established
on 21 July 1976. |
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| Since Mom Rajawongse
Sirikit became the Queen of Thailand, she has
been a capable assistant to HM King Bhumibol at
diplomatic functions. |
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| Its aim is to
help rural families earn additional income by
providing financial assistance and expert guidance
at no cost to craftsmen all over Thailand in several
folk crafts such as the weaving of yan lipao
basketry in the far South, hilltribe silver
work in the North, and the weaving of mudmee
silk fabric in old patterns in the Northeast.
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HM the Queen receiving the
award
of the prestigious Ceres Medal
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| The Queen also
set up two main multi-craft training centres.
One is in the compound of Chitralada Palace in
Bangkok and the other, built in 1980, is at Bangsai,
Ayutthaya province. Moreover, the Queen herself
has taken a role in promoting these crafts both
through her trip abroad and by using them personally. |
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Two sides
of the Ceres Medal
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| Her Majesty the
Queen's work for the wel- fare of rural people
does not stop at just handicrafts. Wherever Her
Majesty travels, a mobile team of volunteer doctors
accompanies her to provide free medical checkups,
to advise people on health issues, to treat the
sick and to dispense much needed medications to
those who can ill afford them. She has taken many
patients as well as the disabled under her royal
care, giving them another chance at a healthy
life. |
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Her Majesty shows continuous
concern for educational opportunities of children
in remote areas.
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| In educational
aspect, HM Queen Sirikit always works with an
aim to enable illiterate people in rural areas
to read and write which will be of benefit to
themselves and to the country. Realizing well
that most poor families cannot afford their children's
tuition fees, Her Majesty thus established the
"Foundation for Supporting Non-affordable
Students" in 1963 with the money from her
own privy purse and donations from the public. |
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| Not
only the students who received help, but all Thai
people also feel grateful to Her Majesty because
she has shown continuous concern for students
under the project and this has enabled them to
finish compulsory education or higher, preparing
them to be valuable human resources for the country. |
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HM the Queen
always has her royal doctors included in her
entourage to give medical treatments to her
subjects.
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| Queen
Sirikit's humanitarian work has become widely
known and internationally recognized today, as
is manifested by the award of the prestigious
Ceres Medal by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations in 1979, and an Honorary
Fellowship in Great Britain's Royal College of
Physicians in 1988. The honour was conferred in
recognition of the Queen's work and "deep
concern for the health and welfare of the people
of Thailand." |
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No matter how arduous the journey
is, HM the Queen never gives up her opportunities
to alleviate her subjects' suffering.
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Besides
people's welfare, HM Queen Sirikit concerns a
lot about the promotion and improvement of environmental
conditions. Her Majesty has initiated several
projects that achieved remarkable success.
The Queen, who is an active member of the World
Wildlife Fund (Thailand), set up many conservation
areas to observe, protect and breed wild animals
such as the bird park at Khao Khiao, Chon Buri
province, and the Sea Turtle Conservation at Ko
Man Nai, Rayong province. |
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| These
activities are praised by worldwide conservationists.
And on 25 September 1986, the Queen was chosen
to be a distinguished conservationist by the Fund.
Other interesting projects of HM Queen Sirikit
include Pa Rak Nam (Forest Preserving Water)
Project which is aimed at protecting watersheds,
reviving deforested areas by planting new trees,
developing the villages and improving the villagers'
way of life, and promoting an efficient agricultural
management among them. The Queen's |
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| Ban
Lek Nai Pa Yai Project (Little Houses in the
Big Forest) was organized to protect fertile forests
from being destroyed, to revive the destroyed
forests by planting trees, and to improve the
livelihood of the villagers who live in the forests.
Moreover, in times of disaster, Her Majesty has
also donated personal funds to help with rescue,
relocation and rehabilitation programmes. |
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Their Majesties the King and
Queen with their four royal children when they
were young.
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| Despite
all her commitments to social and welfare projects,
Her Majesty the Queen is first and foremost loving
mother to her four children namely: HRH Princess
Ubol Ratana, HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn,
HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and HRH Princess
Chulabhorn. When the royal children were young,
she always found time to tell them interesting
stories at dinner time and kiss them goodnight
before bedtime. Often, Her Majesty would take
care of all the children herself and teach them
how to look after themselves, bringing them up
as common children in a happy family, not as a
prince or princess. |
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Their Majesties King Bhumibol
and Queen Sirikit with their royal children.
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Her Majesty's policy on bringing up children follows
that laid down by Her late Royal Highness the
Princess Mother -- children should be in good
health and well disciplined. Should the Prince
and Princess do wrong, Her Majesty would be the
first to discipline them. Thus the royal children
grew up engrained with a sense of responsibility
for the people and dedication to the country.
In view of the exemplary role of Her Majesty as
a mother, the government decided in 1976 to designate
the birthday of Queen Sirikit on August 12 as
National Mothers' Day of Thailand. It is indeed
a most befitting tribute to the most beloved mother
of the land. |
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