ABOUT US

Our Journey

Through regular music and arts classes, we are striving to make a positive difference in the lives of the children of the Khlong Toey slum community

 

FOUNDATION OF THE SCHOOL
 

The Paintbrush Foundation is a non-profit organization established in October 2012 with the aim of creating positive social change through music and arts.

Inspired by the Playing for Change (PFC) movement and related Playing For Change Foundation (PFCF), the Paintbrush team began by arranging free music lessons once a week for underprivileged kids in the Khlong Toey slum community.

Soon after, PFCF offered its support, and in June 2013, Paintbrush became the 9th music program to be officially endorsed by the Playing For Change Foundation.

Fast forward nine years later, the Paintbrush foundation is open 6 days a week, and teach western music, Thai classical music, visual arts, dance and English to about 70 children.

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KHLONG TOEY

 

With over 100,000 inhabitants spread over a densely populated swathe of Southern Bangkok, the Khlong Toey slum is the largest of its community in Thailand. The area was initially developed in the early 20th century around an enormous slaughterhouse, and is now home to Bangkok’s primary shipping port along the Chao Phraya River.

Many of the children who grow up here face daily challenges relating to poverty, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, drug addiction and alcoholism, just to name a few. Though loving families support and encourage some, a large percentage of children from the Khlong Toey slum encounter obstacles that a child should never have to face.

Khlong Toey - 7
Khlong Toey - 10
Khlong Toey - 11
Khlong Toey - 12
What drives us

Our Mission

We strive to empower the underprivileged children of the Khlong Toey communities by creating tangible opportunities for education and fostering personal growth through artistic activities.

OUR TEAM

Board members

President Paintbrush

MIND

President

Vice president paintbrush

BO

Vice-president

Board member

AUM

Board member

OUR TEAM

Staff

Co-founder - Director Paintbrush

GIGI

Co-founder – Director

Ukulele teacher

NUM

Director of operations

Administrator - Art program coordinator

M

Administrator – Art program coordinator

Staff Por

POR

Coordinator

Voice teacher - Music program coordinator

PAT

Voice teacher – Music program coordinator

Bass teacher

MCKEE

Bass teacher

Drums teacher

BALL

Drums teacher

Guitar teacher

GIFT

Guitar teacher

Thai classical music teacher

CHIM

Thai classical music teacher

Thai classical music teacher

PEACH

Thai classical music teacher

Thai classical music teacher

EYE

Thai classical music teacher

Thai classical music teacher

EK

English program coordinator

Thai classical music teacher

KUKKAI

Art teacher

Thai classical music teacher

NUNA

Dance program coordinator

Mind is a music and art lover. He is also a counseling psychologist and a lecturer. He deeply appreciates the Paintbrush Foundation team, for devoting themselves to cultivating a safe and empathetic space where children can grow and flourish in their own unique way.

Bo is a teaches English and Thai as a foreign language. She has been working in the education field for more than 10 years and believes that teaching knowledge and skills to children at their youngest age is essential as once they grow up, they will be able to help themselves and be an asset to their own country with these very same skills. She knows that children who have few opportunities in life really need the support of kind-hearted adults. Bo has worked at Paintbrush for 5 years as an executive coordinator, with the hope that music and arts would foster the children’s self development in terms of mood, mind and abilities. She has now moved on to a new chapter of her life but remains a trusted board member of the foundation.

Aum started learning music when he was 12 years old. He graduated from Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University in Bangkok with a major in Music, with a focus on Jazz Guitar. He says that “Music is a religion, it’s like a place where the mind can find peace.” Aum is our former guitar teacher. He has taught with us since our school first opened in October 2012, until December 2019. Since then, Aum remains a trusted board member of our foundation.

A musician since the age of 8, Gigi arrived in Bangkok from France in 2009 and first worked as a scientist at Mahidol University. Two years later, searching for something more meaningful, she followed a passion for music and began to formally teach piano. After about six months spent volunteering for different causes, she began to consider ways to have a consistently positive impact on the lives of those in need. Inspired by Playing For Change, she realized that her calling was to help underprivileged children learn music. With a few friends, she decided to found the Paintbrush Foundation in October 2012.

Num started playing music at the age of 7. Her very first teacher was her father. At that time, Num considered music as a real challenge for her skills. She believed that one had to practice very hard in order to become as good as famous artists. She started practicing with the aim of taking the university entrance examination. She dedicated herself to learning, for a "happiness that was only external" to herself. But as time passed, she started thinking differently and music slowly appeared as something beautiful that could bring inner happiness as well. For Num, music became an inspiration and a way to anchor oneself emotionally. This change in perspective is why she is determined to teach children in Klong Toey. She believes that during childhood and teenage years, kids need guidance, someone to steer them in the right direction. We can't oblige them to follow, but we can use music as a medium to guide and suggest a path for the children. Num hopes that music will serve as a protective shield and will allow them to choose and to distinguish how to lead their own life in a good way. After a few years teaching in Khlong Toey, she realized that there is more to being a teacher than just transmitting knowledge. She learned a lot about the social background of people in the community, and she also learned new ways of working with other people. Teaching to the children of Khlong Toey is a profound and valuable experience for her.

M graduated in Art and Language from university, but his artistic skills and other abilities remained unused for almost a decade. When the world faced the challenges of COVID-19, millions of people had to find ways to cope with the changed world. That is when our school started looking for an administrator. M started working at the Paintbrush foundation in July 2020. In addition to his artistic abilities, he finds joy in being with the children, and our students immediately adopted him. He very quickly established a trusted relationship with the children and the families, which is key to a strong community program. After a few weeks with us, M also took on the role of art program coordinator and art teacher, contributing to various aspects of the foundation's work.

Por began her career in corporate communications. Despite professional growth, she felt this wasn't her true path. A turning point came in 2021 when she resigned to pursue freelancing, which led her to the Paintbrush Foundation. Here, she's formed deep bonds with the children and finds joy in witnessing their development each day. After working here for 4 years, Por is grateful to Gigi and all her colleagues who have inspired her to work for the children. She admires the dedication of the entire team and feels fortunate to be part of the Paintbrush Foundation.

Pat embarked on the musical journey  by forming a band with his friends in the singer position. Together, they went through various performances and competitions, until he got the opportunity to study music further at the university, specializing in Classical Voice Performance. Pat is also interested and has experience in choir singing, music theory, song composition. 

For him, music is not just a skill, but rather, it is like a universal language that allows people to communicate beyond barriers. Music also serves as a tool to elevate the mind and helps people to understand one another.

Originally from Yala province, McKee started playing music at the age of 14, beginning with drums and later switching to bass at 18. He then pursued music studies seriously at the university level, initially at Thaksin University in Songkhla for two years before discovering his passion for jazz. He then enrolled in Jazz Music at Silpakorn University. He has been actively involved in the music scene, playing at Jazz Happen from 2010 to 2020 and performing at numerous hotels and jazz clubs. McKee won the Silpakorn Music Award (SMA) 2010 with a reggae song. He toured jazz concerts with Silpakorn University in 2013 at Khon Kaen University and Mahasarakham University. He also participated in the Thailand International Jazz Conference (TIJC) 2018 with the band "Sahamit Big Band" as a jazz arranger and bassist. In 2020, she joined the "Crazy Race Band" in the Jazz Neo-Soul genre. He has experience teaching at Sam Sen Wittayalai School as an assistant teacher for various bands from 2016-2018. Due to the end of his teaching contract at Sam Sen Wittayalai School and the COVID-19 situation, which paused music-related work, McKee had to find new teaching opportunities. He found the Paintbrush Foundation, which was looking for music teachers, and decided to apply. McKee discovered that the foundation is a very unique place, where children are encouraged to express their own identity. Teaching here is an experience that brought him great joy and fulfillment. Despite having better-paying opportunities to teach elsewhere, McKee declined them because he found happiness in teaching at the Paintbrush Foundation.

Sittichai Butibanda (Ball) began learning music before entering university. He discovered many new aspects of music and developed a strong interest to learn more. This led him to pursue music seriously at Ramkhamhaeng University, Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts. Since then, he has lived closely with music and felt the desire to share his knowledge with those who are just beginning their musical journey or are still in training, so they can explore the diversity and passion in the world of music, and perhaps discover their own life path through it.

'Music is something that connects people across cultures and generations. It is an important part of both human culture and history.'

Gift began playing music at the age of 12, starting with the school marching band. His main instrument was the tenor saxophone, and he also began studying guitar at the Siam Kolakarn Music School.

During lower secondary school, he continued playing the tenor saxophone in the marching band at Suankularb Wittayalai School. He had the honor of performing the royal anthem to welcome His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great and other members of the royal family. He also performed at the opening ceremonies of various sports events such as Chaturamit. Additionally, he took extra saxophone lessons at Ueam-Aree Music School and had the opportunity to perform at the Thailand Saxophone Conference.

In high school, he stopped playing the saxophone after transferring schools and began focusing seriously on the guitar. He studied at Prart Music School and prepared for university entrance exams with Maestro Music School.

For his  undergraduate studies, he enrolled in the Faculty of Music at Silpakorn University, majoring in Jazz Music with an emphasis on Electric Guitar. During this time, he began working as a professional musician, performing in hotels and restaurants, and also competed in the Thailand Jazz Competition in the individual category.

After graduation, he began working with both Thai and international musicians in Bangkok and started teaching music privately as well as in various schools.

Chim graduated from the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University. He began studying Thai music in elementary school. At that time, when he saw all his friends applying for international music clubs, and nobody was applying for the Thai music club, he decided to apply in order to play the national music.

Chim says that studying Thai music has given him a lot. It has taken him to places he had never been before, shown him things he had never seen, introduced him to many good friendships, and most importantly, it has instilled in him the desire to play and teach Thai music to children. Chim wants to pass on various knowledge about Thai music to children so that they can play and preserve Thai music for generations to come.

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Peach first began his journey in Thai music at the age of 9, when he was in grade 3, starting with the flute. Step by step, he developed his skills until his teacher recognized his potential and encouraged him to move on to larger instruments that required leadership in the ensemble, such as the ranad ek (Thai xylophone). From there, he gradually learned other instruments as well.

He became more serious about music in secondary school, competing in various contests and performing in many concerts to gain experience in Thai music. He later pursued a university degree in music education, which gave him deeper knowledge and teaching skills to complement the experience he had already built since childhood, nearly 15 years in the world of Thai music.

‘Thai music may seem old-fashioned or outdated to some people, but in reality, we can always make it contemporary if we truly love it and show more interest in it.’

Eye began her journey in music when she was in primary school. It happened by chance, without any intention or expectation at first, but it led her to many opportunities to compete in various contests. Living with music, studying it, playing it, turned indifference into interest, interest into love, and that love grew into a dream of becoming a music teacher who could pass on her knowledge for children to build upon in the future. This is why she decided to pursue music at the Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University.

For Eye, music is a living being, expressing emotions through sound: happiness, sadness, hope, excitement. It is like a friendship that makes us never feel alone. Music has no gender, no color, it harms no one, but instead is medicine for the heart, reminding us that we are still human.

Ek is someone who loves education dearly. With a bachelor's and master's degree in teaching from three continents, he has been teaching and co-managing schools for over 20 years. Ek reached a point where he felt fulfilled with his educational journey within the system and thus retired, yet his heart still longed for the joy reflected in the smiles of children. Witnessing children develop English language skills for a better future fills him with happiness.

Ek teaches and coordinates the foundation’s English program in Klong Toey for over three years. He consistently believes that the smiles of the children here are the brightest and most adorable in the world.

Kookkai graduated with a degree in Art Education from the Faculty of Education, Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University. He started liking drawing since he was a child, drawing continuously without a specific goal until his final semester of high school. He won first prize in the district drawing competition, along with a cash prize, which motivated him to pursue art seriously. Kookkai then enrolled in art education at the university level, opening up real-world experiences in art. He learned a lot, made good friendships, and went to places he had never been before. Besides being a source of joy, art can also generate income, create careers, support families, and build futures.

Nuna's journey in dance began at the age of 11, when she first discovered her love for movement. Over the years, she’s explored a variety of dance styles, from Jazz and Hip-hop to Poppin’, Wacking, and K-pop. Her passion has led her to countless competitions and workshops, she gained valuable experience from it. In 2021, her hard work paid off when she won the K-pop cover dance competition, earning the honor of representing Thailand and competing internationally. With nearly two decades of experience, She continues to work as a dancing freelancer, putting her heart into every project. She’s focused on finding opportunities that help her grow in her passion and share what she’s learned with others. One of her biggest dreams is to see her children participate in dance competitions and use dance to build confidence and open doors in every part of their lives. She believes dance is a powerful tool for self-expression and wants to inspire others to embrace it as much as she has.​