ABOUT US

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  has tried various jobs in her life, including being an air hostess and working for companies. Despite growing in the role of corporate communication, at some point, she felt clearly that this was not her path. After a turning point in her life in the year 2020, Por resigned from her job and chose to become a freelancer. This is around that time that she started working for the Paintbrush Foundation. It was like opening a new world in her work, where colleagues felt like siblings, and the students felt like nieces and nephews. Por feels happy and grateful to be a part of the Paintbrush Foundation.

Aum is a designer and freelance workshop teacher for art and craft, as well as DIY. She resigned from her regular job during COVID to travel and explore various countries. She gained access to children, cultures, and understood various problems that children face in underdeveloped countries. When she returned to Thailand, Aum decided to play a part in helping Thai children with issues similar to those she encountered abroad.

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.

Raam graduated with a Bachelor degree in Music. He started playing guitar at 14 years old. One of his neighbours was doing his military conscription at the time and left his guitar at Raam's house, which is how he first tried his hands on an instrument. His first teacher was a songbook, and he kept practising on his own up to the end of high school, where he decided to get more serious about music. He formed a band with friends at the age of 16 and started participating in competitions. Meeting other talented musicians became a real motivation and made him want to practice even more to develop his skills further. He realized also that without guidance and mentorship, personal development in music was slow.. He then entered university and met professors who were able to show him the way forward, and was finally able to progress much more quickly. This made him want to be a teacher himself, to become the one who guides and mentor students. After completing his studies, Raam became a guitar teacher at the Paintbrush foundation. This became the opportunity for him to help students find their own way, to figure out what kind of music they like, and how far they want to go with it. Because Raam knows that music can become a real-life opportunity, and that when the students are older, it can become a source of income for them to support their families.

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.

Kan started learning piano at the age of 5 at the Yamaha Music School. He progressed to Grade 6 and then pursued his studies at Silpakorn University, majoring in Jazz Music at the Department of Musicology. Karn has performed at the Catexpo music event under the name "Tsao" and later served as a backup musician for "Taengmo The Voice." Currently, Karn is part of the Cloudy Guy band under the Vanilla Village label. 

During his university years, Karn had friends who invited him to teach at rural schools in Sukhothai province. While teaching, Kan felt very happy to see children enjoying learning music together. Afterwards, he started looking for opportunities to teach underprivileged children and heard about the Paintbrush Foundation. Kan is delighted to see smiles and hear laughter from the children once again.​

Junior has been teaching drums for over 5 years, giving lessons to children, adults, and foreigners. The most rewarding aspect of being a teacher is getting to know and understand children from various backgrounds. This includes understanding their skill levels, learning abilities, attitudes, and personalities. Typically, these children come from families that support extracurricular activities, and have the time and financial situation where they can learn and explore their interests.

On the first day he joined the Paintbrush Foundation, he was able to witness the ongoing efforts of the foundation. Its main goal is to recognize the value of children in the community and society who may not have equal opportunities as others. Through music and art activities, the foundation aims to enhance skills, inspire creativity, and provide a safe space for students to seek guidance and life advice. Moreover, it helps nurture positive attitudes and qualities, making them quality individuals who are supportive, responsible, and accountable to themselves, their surroundings, and society.

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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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 two 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.