Thailand’s Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, has offered his condolences to the family of a 72-year old public health volunteer who died in a recent road accident, as he was on his motorbike delivering face masks and sanitizer gel to villagers in the Termbang Nangbuat district of Suphan Buri province.
“Grandpa Boonsong (Manaowaan) enlisted as a public health volunteer in his community in 1986. For 34 years Grandpa Boonsong dedicated himself to helping others. He was a good man of the community and the country and is worthy of praise,” said the Prime Minister in his Facebook post today.
There are about a million public health volunteers in Thailand. Despite only receiving a small allowance, they are a crucial part of the country’s fight to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the countryside. Among other duties, they play a role in monitoring people in state and home quarantine and in enforcing social distancing and stay-at home measures in local communities.
