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At five in the evening on 10 July, people gathered at Azur restaurant in Pattaya for a presentation of the Rotary Club of Pattaya Center International, the Pattaya club of the international Rotary volunteer network. The meeting was put on specially for a Russian-speaking audience, with interpreting, because the club’s working language is English; at its meetings there is Thai interpreting too when needed.
The tone was set from the first minute, and it wasn’t what you expect from a presentation. The organiser didn’t start with what members could get out of it but with the opposite: meetings like this don’t exist just so people can “take”. Think about how you could be useful to Pattaya. The rest of the evening followed roughly the same logic.
Who founded the club
Zhanna Suwannasri, the founder of the Rotary Club of Pattaya Center International, has lived and worked in Pattaya since 1994, when she opened a shop here. Over thirty-odd years she has dealt with people of dozens of nationalities, and the club grew out of that: it was set up in 2022, about four years ago, with the fairly simple aim of doing useful things for the city.
Today the club’s members come from the UK, the US, Hungary, France, the Philippines, Nepal, Thailand and Russia. They meet twice a month. Pattaya is smaller than Bangkok, but it’s here, Zhanna says, that you really notice how diverse the international community is, and how much it needs someone who translates more than words: she helps Thais understand foreigners, and foreigners understand the local culture.
What Rotary is
A non-profit volunteer organisation with about 1.4 million members worldwide and more than 40,000 clubs. The practical point of the network is that membership works beyond your own city. Going to Phuket? You can contact the local club, introduce yourself as a member of the Rotary Club of Pattaya Center International, and get information or join in with what they’re doing there. Clubs also team up for joint projects.
Rotary International has seven areas of focus:
- peacebuilding and conflict prevention;
- disease prevention and treatment;
- water, sanitation and hygiene;
- maternal and child health;
- basic education and literacy;
- community economic development;
- protecting the environment.
Each club chooses its own priority, based on what the city needs and who its members are. A water supply specialist can carry water projects; entrepreneurs can carry projects on the local economy. This year the Pattaya club is focusing on the environment and education.
The president is elected for a year and sets the main projects for their term. It isn’t a formality but a way of passing the initiative around: every member gets a chance to take on the role over time.
What the club has already done
During the pandemic the club handed out dry goods, rice and noodles to people in need many times. They supported children with disabilities and visited the Ban Kru Wanchu care home. The environment is a separate line of work: meetings with the Pattaya administration on environmental issues and tree planting on the hills, together with city services, other Rotary clubs in northern Thailand, community organisations and the police. The photos shown at the meeting are only part of what was done over the last two years.
Tree planting in Pattaya: how to take part
Tree planting got the most questions, and the answers were specific.
The project resumes in the rainy season: they used to plant about once every three or four months, but because of drought some of the trees didn’t take root. The next planting was tentatively set for September. The site has been agreed with the city, near the road towards the Cliff hotel; permission for planting has been obtained, and each event brings in partners, the media and people responsible for organisation and safety.
That also answers the question everyone asks: you can’t just plant trees wherever you like, you need permission. So it makes sense to join an approved event, where the planting is legal and organised. One of the people at the meeting immediately confirmed that his company was ready to support the planting of 200 saplings.
How much membership costs and what it gives you
At the time of the meeting, the annual fee was 7,000 baht. Of that, 3,000 goes to the head office and 4,000 stays with the club for its activities. Membership means taking part in charity projects and improving Pattaya, access to club events in Pattaya and Bangkok, and contacts in the Thai and international business community.
Stas, one of the people at the meeting, explained his motivation without any grand words: for him, Rotary is a way to settle into a new country, meet people and do practical good for specific people. He’s an entrepreneur, so he’s interested in community development and business connections. But the main thing, he says, is the chance to take part in what people really need.
Upcoming club events
15 August: a trip to Ban Kru Wanchu in Sattahip. About 260 residents of different ages live there, including children and adults with disabilities; the club is one of the home’s sponsors and helps with food and essentials. This time the focus is not on food but on attention: they’re preparing a big entertainment programme with a show and performers, sweets, games, contests and relay races. Other Rotary clubs will come, and local news coverage is expected.
The key point: you can join the trip without being a club member.
September: tree planting. November: a big international evening with representatives of clubs from other countries. Plus two large events at a hotel every year, one of them the formal installation of the new president, and open meetings like this one about once a month, at different venues.
Ideas are brought to the regular meetings. Projects on education, environmental protection and developing the business community are especially welcome.
How to join the club
The easiest way in is to join the next trip, and then look at the environmental events and regular meetings. Questions about taking part and membership can be discussed with Kalibri, through whom the club builds its connection with the Russian-speaking community, or directly with the club. Zhanna has a small meeting room, and she made a point of inviting people to come by with ideas.
You’ll find material about the club’s work on the Rotary Club of Pattaya Center International pages on Facebook and Instagram.
Rotary isn’t the only way to find your kind of people in Pattaya: we’ve written separately about how the IT Party grew out of Friday meetups on the beach (in Russian).
The meeting ended the way it began: without any sales pitch. Thank you for coming, come with your questions, we’ll be happy to talk. And a group photo.
