The King who Cares

You can find the complete feature here.

This is a very long feature that is divided into two parts: "The King and Public Health" and "The King and Education". Neither part is difficult to read and I'll help you get started with both.

Health: leading by example

In the opening section, we find out why His Majesty the King took such a personal interest in the health care of his people. We also find out the approach he used to bring about major changes in the system, especially in caring for the rural poor in remote areas. Read this opening section to find out what the traditional attitude of health officials towards treating their patients was. How was the King able to change it? Did the King simply order government heath officials to change their ways or did he use a more indirect method to bring about change?

You can hear this opening section (the first seven paragraphs) in two parts: here and here.

approach – a particular way of dealing with a problem
rural – areas away from cities, especially agricultural or forest areas
remote – areas far away from cities and places where most people live
prominent – very important
pioneering – doing something that has not been done before
dedicated – working very hard at something because it is very important to you
plight – a difficult or distressing situation that is full of problems
tenaciously – in a very determined way; refusing to give up easily
followed in the footsteps – did the same work or activity as someone else did before
ardent – having extremely strong feelings about something or someone
advocate – someone who publicly supports something     
compassionate – showing or feeling pity, sympathy and understanding for people who are suffering
champion – a supporter
scarce – not having enough of something
malnourished – physically weak because of not getting enough good food
desperate – in a very bad situation and willing to try anything to change it
fundamental – basic
mobile – moving or traveling from place to place
groundwork – early work which forms the basis for further work

    Let's continue now with the section on public health, this time without a sound file. Recording everything today would be a bit much. This section is long enough that you will probably want to divide it into at least two parts.

    We'll begin by reading about His Majesty's role in trying to eradicate three very serious diseases, tuberculosis, leprosy and polio. Read to find out specifically how the King was involved in the efforts to first contain and then reduce and, in one case, to almost completely eliminate the disease from Thailand

eradicate – to complete get rid of something bad; to eliminate
tuberculosis – a serious lung disease
leprosy – a serious disease that affects and damages people’s skin and flesh
polio – a serious diseas that often makes people unable to use their legs
contain – to keep under control and prevent from spreading
reduce – to make less
instrumental – involved in helping a process or an event happen
dreaded – terrible and greatly feared
sanitorium – a hospital where people who have long lasting diseases can stay and be cared for
rampant – (of something bad) very common and increasing in an uncontrolled way
incidence – the frequency with which something occurs
spearheaded – led, especially a campaign or an attack
stricken – severely affected by an illness, natural disaster, etc.
inoculate – to inject a weak form of a disease into a person’t body to protect them against the disease
contracted – became ill with a disease

Moving on  now, we will continue reading to the end of the public health section. Here you will find out about the King's involvement in many other areas of  health care.  Make a list of what they are.  Which ones were begun by the King himself and which are a continuation of the work of the late Princess Mother?  Find examples of how the King takes a personal interest in these activities.

late – of someone who has died
beneficiary – someone who is helped by something
serum – the watery, pale yellow part of blood; a liquid that are injected into someone’s blood to protect them against a poison or disease
saline drip – a liquid containing salt that is slowly dripped into an ill person’s body
allocate – to give a share of something for a particular purpose, in this case, a share of time
granted an audience – allowed to have a meeting with a member of the royal family
immeasurable – so large as to be unable to be measured
advocate – someone who publicly supports something
pioneering – doing something that hasn’t been done before
cure – to make a person well after suffering from a disease or injury

Education: a place for all with the will to learn

Let's begin here with the opening six paragraphs. As you will see it is a brief "then and now" segment. What was the situation immediately after World War II? How has it changed for the better?

 You can hear this opening part here . 

ascended to the throne – became King
recover – to get stronger after a period of weakness
in disarray – disorganised and confused
interrupted – caused to stop
fled – escaped
seek refuge – to find a safe place to live
devastated – damaged very badly; destroyed
massive – very large in size, quantity or extent
renovations – repairs or improvements (We saw this word yesterday, remember?)
minimal – very small in quantity, value or degree
plummeted – decreased by a large amount
hubs – centres
abysmal – very bad or very poor in quality
literacy rate – the percentage of the population that is able to read and write, excluding young children

    For convenience, let's divide the remainder of the feature into two parts. The main theme of both parts, however, is clear from this sentence: "The major achievements of the past six decades could not have been realized were it not for major contributions by His Majesty the King." You'll want to read to find out why. 

Click here for this part.

    

    Find out which groups of learners the King has paid particular attention to. Find out why learners in remote areas are able to learn along with students in Hua Hin. Why was the early part of the King's reign so challenging and how did he respond, i.e., what were some of the things he did? What is the purpose of the Navaruek Foundation?

reign – the period of time a particular king or queen rules a country
besieged – was attacked regularly
insurgents – people who are fighting against the government or army of their own country
isolated – a long way away from large towns and difficult to reach; remote
commit – to say or promise to definitely do something
initiative – an important act or statement that is intended to solve a problem motivated – caused to do something
bond – a strong feeling of friendship, love or shared beliefs and experiences that unites people

We're almost finished with what we are going to cover in today's lesson. In the last section, we find out about how the King played an important role in helping communties deal with two terrible natural disasters many years apart. What were these two disasters and what did the King do to help, particularly in making sure the children of the area continued to receive an education? What famous foundation was established by His Majesty as a result of the first disaster?

marginalised –cause to feel unimportant and apart from other people
perished – died as the result of a disaster or accident
destitute – having no money or possessions
orphaned – having lost both parents
catastrophe – an unexpected event that causes great suffering or damage
disparity – a noticeable difference
auspicious – something that indicates success is likely
morale – confidence and cheerfulness
inception - beginning

 That's it! We've read about seventy-five percent of the whole feature and you can now try the rest on your own.  It does make you appreciate His Majesty all the more, doesn't it