PHAYAO: The family of a student accepted to the medical school of Chiang Mai University has vowed to do everything in their power to see the young man fulfil his dream despite the high costs.
Charaspong "Nong Tan" Fongkham has been admitted to the medical faculty for the coming academic year, the first student from Dok Kham Tai Witthayakhom School to get the chance in 25 years.
The good news has brought his parents both joy and worry.
"I was stunned because I never thought his dream would come true," her mother Wandee recalled. "After I congratulated him and digested the news, I started thinking about the high expenses for his study."
The medical programme takes six years for a bachelor's degree.
Mrs Wandee once urged his son to shift his focus to other less expensive programmes such as medical technology or pharmacy but he was determined.
Mrs Wandee has reasons to worry about the future of his son. She and her husband earn about 500 baht a day from sewing hats at their house in Ban Rong Jawa in Dok Kham Tai district. They also deliver bottled water for a fee and rent an 18-rai plot of land to grow rice for extra income. They also live in a house built for them by the Dok Kham Thai municipality.
The school, as well as local officials and the Thammanas Prompow Foundation, has promised to help "Nong Tan" get started -- the initial expenses he needs when he goes to campus in coming months.
Mr Charaspong, 18, said he did not attend any tutorial schools. He was tutored only by his school teachers and read the extra textbooks he asked his parents to buy for him for 1,500 baht before taking the university exam.
Nong Tan has reasons to be a doctor in the future. When he took his grandfather to a public hospital, he saw rows of poor patients waiting for their turns to see doctors.
"The long wait of the poor to receive service from public hospitals is my drive," the student said.
"I want to be a doctor at a public hospital to help patients from poor families like mine. They deserve good treatment instead of being forced to go to private hospitals," he said when asked about his future.
Her mother said his son's determination had inspired her and her husband to help him achieve his dream.
"He has a dream and determination to help the poor in need of medical treatment. As parents, we're touched by it," Mrs Wandee said.
"We'll do everything we can for him, no matter what happens," she said.
