SOLE BREADWINNER, CARER AT 15 - Bangkok Post
Narong looks after his semi-paralysed father, goes to school and runs a motorcycle repair shop
Story by ANUSSORN THAVISIN and PRAPAIPARN RATHAMARIT

At 15, Narong Waisisaeng has little time for leisure activities, unlike other young people his age. The boy, a native of Na Chuak district of Maha Sarakham, spends most of his free time at home, taking care of his semi-paralysed father, and working in his motorcycle repair shop.

Life was different when his father was still in good health. Then, his parents regularly sent him money from Bangkok. They were not rich, but at least the family was together and had enough to eat. His father Song worked as a motorcycle mechanic in Bangkok. After more than 20 years in the business, Mr Song was good at his job and the business was going well. At home, Narong's paternal grandfather was making a modest living repairing motorcycles, and Narong was doing all right at school.

Then one calamitous September day in 2002, when Narong was 10 years old, the family's life turned upside down. While returning home on his motorcycle one evening, Narong's father emerged from behind a bus, and was hit by a car coming in the opposite direction. Five hours after the accident, when Mr Song regained consciousness, he found he could no longer move his legs. Mr Song, then 33, was paralysed from the waist down.

A series of events followed which worsened the family's plight. First, Narong's mother decided she could no longer stand the stress of living with a paralysed husband. She left, and has never returned to visit her son or husband. Then his grandfather also gave up the struggle, and left to join the monkhood. This left Narong's grandmother as the sole breadwinner in the house. Although advanced in years, she soldiered on, finding odd jobs wherever she could. The money she made was barely enough to sustain the three lives. Finally, Narong's grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. She died last October.

Since then, Narong has been left alone to care for his father, who is incapable of looking after himself. And there is no adult breadwinner.
Narong gets up at 6am to do the cooking, clean the house, wash, dress and feed his father _ all before heading to school. At noon, he returns home to feed his father again, as well as turn him on his bed to prevent bedsores. He repeats the routine after school. Narong also has to do all the laundry and other odd jobs around the house.

All the while, he kept his troubles to himself. A teacher said they only learned of Narong's plight from the parents of other students. Partly as a result, the school has now set up a system to routinely check on the families of students.

''I know that people in my village are poor and everyone has to work hard to survive, so I must help myself,'' Narong said. He decided to follow in his father's and grandfather's footsteps. He started his own motorcycle repair business at home, using their tools and the knowledge he gained while watching his father and grandfather at work over the years.

When an unfamiliar problem crops up, he asks his father. Sympathetic neighbours and family friends give him work to do, but his income is limited since he can only work over the weekend and in the evening after school. His income rarely reaches 2,000 baht a month.

From this, Narong spends about 80 baht a week on fuel for a second-hand motorcycle he bought for 3,700 baht. The motorcycle allows him to rush back and forth between home and school to look after his father.

Feeding them both takes another chunk from his meagre income. Narong has also stopped having lunch at school and instead returns home to eat with his father.

The school's lunch budget was cut after the Education Ministry transferred the school to the tambon administration organisation. That forced the school to stop providing midday meals for students, and cancel the free milk programme.

Narong's plight upsets his father, who said through tears: ''I didn't want him to work, but there really was no choice. ''If not, we would have no money coming in, and nothing to eat.''

Asked about his future, Narong said, ''If I have the chance, I want to continue studying, and finish Mathayom 3. After that, I want to study mechanics, to get better at motorcycle repairs. It's the only thing I know well.''

Bangkok Post

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