GONGPOB PANDEJPONG

Future of Culture,
Youth Advocate

Hailing from Bangkok, Thailand, Gongpob Pandejpong is a 15 years old Thai student studying abroad in school in England. Gongpob left home at just 13 years old, intent on seeing the wider world at such a young age. An energetic and outgoing person passionate about solving problems, particularly related to improving life in his home country, Gongpob hopes to one day take what he has learned in his international education and apply it to development issues in Thailand.

In school, his favourite subjects include math, computer science, and physics. He also enjoys playing squash and swimming while participating in musical clubs like the school’s orchestra. Gongpob is interested in pursuing engineering in the future and he wanted to use the skills learnt to improve the societies in many ways, as engineering is often at the heart of development and public infrastructure. 

Gongpob have been living in a stable and loving family since he was born. He therefore has always wanted to give back to those who are not as lucky as he is. While most people are familiar with Bangkok, a modern, fast-paced city, Thailand has many areas that garner minimal attention, where youth face problems like child poverty, lack of education and access to opportunities.  One of these areas is in the far north of the country, home to the ‘Hill Tribes’, groups of ethnic minorities living in remote villages. 

Many top-down government initiatives to help these communities have had minimal success over the years, so Gongpob determined that peer-to-peer, community-led initiatives would have the greatest impact. He therefore founded an organisation to help raise awareness of this issue and to create a mentorship and tutoring buddy network for Hill Tribe children, who he believes deserve the same opportunities and future as everyone else and is determined to do his part to help.