Dear everybody
                   
                   Good morning.  This is me, level #3 slum kindergarten Klong Toey teacher talking.  This junk dealer guy, a stranger, not from around these parts, tried to take away our pride.  My own very pride, me, the teacher, and my class full of raggedy, rag-a-muffin six years old. But it didn’t work.  Of course, it didn’t work.  How could it?  We have our dignity; we know who we are. We know our name; we know where we come from.  We, kindergarten 3, class here in lock #6 in Slum Klong Toey.
 Actually, I didn’t quite know how to explain ‘take away our pride to our six years old, precocious as they are…  but they told me, as is the case so often… Teacher… it means that the nasty junk man doesn’t like us, and when he was a little boy, his mummy wasn’t nice to him, so he won’t be nice to us … and wants to cheat our mum.  Not give her a fair price.  Like he thinks our mum is dumb, like a water buffalo.  
 
Our class leader, a boy, in tears, was really upset.  No one had ever insulted him, beloved mum, before. In sobs, he told me: this junk dealer guy tried to tell him that my mum’s three wheels’ cart was smelly.   The same second-hand three-wheeler that mum used to drive me to this kindergarten when I was four years old and a little boy, not big, like now and that I am smelly too.
 
My mum: she is the owner and driver – sole owner – and tin can/paper / used plastic bottle collector / and he snarled that mum needed to dress up – get a new pair of flip flops.  Comb her hair pretty-like.
 
And most of all to accept a cheap price to sell her used plastic and used bottles.  He wants to cheat her. A cheating price.
 Can you imagine that?  Can you possibly imagine that? Cheating your mum.   But we didn’t let them.  I and my kindergarten class stood strong, even though we were afraid, but tried not to show it.  
 
This Junk-dealer guy tried to cheat my mum because he thinks she’s dumb like a water buffalo.  When mum was little in the village she didn’t get to go to school as we do… and this junk guy, he’ so stupid, he thinks that we, the kindergarten year three classes can’t count.  So when he was going to cheat our mum, we all grabbed a used plastic bottle, to not really hit him with, because the policeman would be angry and scold us, but only to scare him to protect our mum – and tell him to give the ordinary slum price for used plastic and glass bottles, or we won’t sell our ‘stuff’ to him and we will tell everyone in our kindergarten school and our slum that’ he’s a cheat, and we will tell the police guy also.  And we won’t let him say nasty words to our mum.  And that her cart is not smelly like he says it is.  That he is smelly.
 
And our teacher, she can read and write really well, she will help us also – stand beside us. She told us she grew up here next to the water buffalo slaughter place.   And we know that all of you reading this will stand beside us also.  And even if you are too busy, or don’t have time, we understand (well kind of a little bit) but we stand together.  Kindergarten #3 – Klong Toey. 
 
In conclusion – I send this on to all you wonderful folks – our family.  This happened just two days ago, and I wanted you to know – of our life here and the lives of our children and days in school.  We are well.  No COVID-19.  All 2,000 of our slum kindergarten kids in our 22 shack schools and kitchens healthy well and happy.  Thank you for being part of our family.  Don’t forget times are tough – lots of the poor without a job, but help us - so that I, old Fr. Joe don’t have to stand on street corners and in front of pubs asking for help for our kids …
 
With prayers & respect Fr. Joe & all of us.