Good Start Foundation
Our motto is “READ to SUCCEED.”
Learning the Thai Alphabet
Dear Friends and Donors,
Our motto is “READ to SUCCEED.” Our literacy and numeracy programs make a lasting impact on the 110 kindergarten children we support by :
preparing them to begin primary school,
encouraging their progress through high school and
helping them get a better job when they leave school. Thai companies only offer menial jobs to employees who cannot read or write.
Six Months to 30 June 2026
At a glance
Kindergarten children supported
Average 2026 Government reading exam score (Ava's literacy classes)
Cash reserves at 30 June 2026 (USD)
Total income, 6 months (USD)
Educational Programs
Our Thai language program continued to deliver good results. Credit must be given to Khemissara “Ava” Vannasing, the Thai language teacher we recruited to teach reading and writing skills to kindergarten children at Nong Tapao and Nong Kra Toom Schools. All primary school textbooks are in Thai language but, when Ava began teaching, the children had zero knowledge of the alphabet. Children, who had taken Ava's literacy classes, scored an average 88% in the 2026 Government reading exams, well above the national average of 78%.
Nong Tapao School received a special award from the government for her teaching innovations and reading exam results.
2026 Government reading exams
Average score of children who had taken Ava's literacy classes, against the national average
Numeracy
We were able to recruit through the referral of Khun Prapatsorn, director of Nong Kra Toom School, an experienced and capable teacher, Khun Sujira Makeniti, to introduce kindergarten children to mathematics. Sujira has designed a basic maths learning program, covering numbers up to 100, counting, simple additions involving single digit numbers.
Other Educational Initiatives
Small Group Learning
Ava allocated 2 days a week to small group classes, which divide a large class into smaller groups of 5/6 students. This allows Ava to pay attention to children who are shy or having learning difficulties while a second teacher supervises the other groups doing a set activity. We provided salary support for two local kindergarten teachers required for small classes.
Catch Up Learning
The school directors were impressed by Ava's teaching and requested her to give remedial language classes to primary school children, who had learning difficulties because of poor language skills. Ava designed a catch up program for these students and allocated one day a week to this task. These students were able to resume normal classes after 3 months.
Kindergarten Enrollment Packages
We provided 40 enrollment packages to children beginning kindergarten. These packages contained two school uniforms, sports clothing, a school bag, sleeping blanket and learning materials. They defrayed school entry expenses and were popular with parents, who all come from poor farming areas.
Summer Camp
We supported a summer camp for 110 students by paying overtime to 9 teachers.
Review of Finances
Our financial position remains strong with cash reserves of US$ 67,630 as at June 30, 2026. These reserves exceed one year budgeted expenses in accordance with our reserves policy.
The first audit of the Foundation accounts for the period ended December 31, 2025 was completed. Our fund raising calendar is based on completing the annual report and audit by the end of February so that these documents can be sent to donors to raise funds in March and April to cover our expenses for the school year beginning in May. Our donors were clearly pleased by our 2025 results and all made repeat donations. We were able to raise almost US $ 50,000, which more than covers our budgeted 2026 expenses.
Management accounts for the 6 months ended June 30, 2026 indicate :
Total income
Total Expenses
Educational expenses of direct benefit to the children we support
Administrative expenses
How we spent — Educational vs Administrative
Share of US$ 29,781 in expenses for the 6 months ended 30 June 2026
Income and expenses
USD, 6 months ended 30 June 2026
These reserves exceed one year budgeted expenses in accordance with our reserves policy.
Administrative expenses were high because of legal expenses associated with the submission of our first regulatory annual operating report. Administrative expenses excluding these legal expenses amounted to 14% of total expenses or US$ 4,312.
No member of the board receives a salary. Our director, Khun Pramote Srisamai is a partner of Price Sanond, to which firm we pay legal fees.
We hope that you are pleased with the results described in this report, which could not have been achieved without your kind support.
With many thanks,
Roger Perrin,
President, Good Start Foundation.
PO Box 106, Hua Hin Post Office, Prachuapkirikan, Thailand 77110 +66 89 88 36 670 goodstartcharity.org [email protected]