EPWF - Introduction

Introduction - 48 years of service to the nation

Introduction - Service to the nation since 1967

One man's vision

Vision Mission

EPWF flagship programs by Constructionist Methodology

The Education & Public Welfare Foundation represents the vision of one man, Mr. Chow Chowkwanyun - known by his many friends as Mr. Chow or simply as “K. Y.”( abbreviated from Mr. K. Y. Chow). This vision was shared by his wife Mrs. Sarunya (Lavinia) Chowkwanyun and passed on to their children and grandchildren.

The 1967 Articles of Association for The Education & Public Welfare Foundation listed five objectives, emphasizing education and medical aid and welfare.

After over 50 years of experience, there are now four parts to our mission statement, but the emphasis is less on ‘charity’ as such and more on insuring the effectiveness and sustainability of our projects and programs.


Sufficiency Economy Program	Vipassana Meditation Program	Constructionist Methodology
for water management, people development and good governance	to promote concentration and wisdom for all ages - a compass for daily living	A powerful method for lifelong learning

1948: A young couple arrives in Thailand

		The gunny bag factory
Mr. Chow moved to Bangkok in 1948, immigrants from China. Mr. Chow quickly became a pioneer in the first stages of Thai industrialization, founding or cofounding companies in five basic industries: a rice gunny bag factory, a sugar mill producing refined white sugar, a paper mill, a plywood factory, and a flour mill.	Perhaps his proudest moment, however, came in 1964 when the Thai Oil Refinery Company Limited (TORC) came into being as the first modern oil refinery in Thailand.
		Thai Oil Refinery Company (TORC)

Support from a close family friend H.E. Mr. Pote Sarasin, Founding Chairman of the EPWF board		1967: Starting to 'give back' through EPWF
To help him in his mission, Mr. Chow invited the highly respected senior statesman and close family friend, H.E. Mr. Pote Sarasin, to be the Founding Chairman of EPWF.	Subsequently, Mr. Chow invited many other distinguished persons to be members of the founding and later boards. Besides the Founding Chairman, founding directors H.E. Mr. Thavee Bunyakate and H.E. M.R. Seni Pramoj were also former Prime Ministers of Thailand. H.E. Mr. Pote Sarasin was succeeded in the Chairmanship of EPWF board by his sons Mr. Pong Sarasin (2001) and Mr. Arsa Sarasin (2014) and by his grand-daughter Mrs. Valliya Pangsrivongse (2019), Mr. Pong Sarasin’s daughter.	Toward the end of that decade, Mr. Chow founded The Education & Public Welfare Foundation, dedicated to distributing the benefits of the economic growth he was helping to create. In December 1967 Mr. Chow donated 19,500 TORC shares (at that time 19.5% of the registered capital of TORC) and Baht 550,000 to establish the foundation. From 1968 to 2012 EPWF has disbursed nearly Baht 206 million (Baht 4.1 million / year average) in over 700 grants to more than 200 separate recipients. This is equivalent to just under US$ 7 million at 2012 exchange rates (30 Baht = US$1).	More recently, donations for 2013 to 2019 over 7 years amounted to Baht 61.5 million (Baht 8.8 million / year average). The donations were concentrated on two Flagship Programs with the heavy involvement of the Foundation, namely Meditation and Sufficiency Economy Rural Development in Water Resources Management amounting to 74% of its donations split approximately equally between the two Flagship Programs. Looking forward, support will concentrate on the Meditation Program and the budding Mental Health Program which has tremendous implications for the benefit of Mankind.

EPWF's Past Flagship Projects
The Kra Canal Project		The renaissance of The Siam Society		HM King Rama IX The Great 2018
	A major highlight of EPWF's early years was its support in 1973 of a Pre-Feasibility Study for a Kra Canal Complex		The construction of the new five floors Chalerm Phra Kiat Building, in honour of the fiftieth Anniversary (Golden Jubilee) of His Majesty the King's Accession	The Foundation supported the Phaya Thai Palace to undertake a major renovation in order to house the Exhibit of The Life of HM King Rama IX The Great which was displayed at the Royal Funeral at Phra Maen Grounds. The Foundation also helped to fund the editing and the transfer to the Film Archives which will hold the record of the events surrounding the Royal Funeral of HM King Rama IX The Great.

Mental Health		Education Reform Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Non-Formal Education, Industrial Life Long Learning	Industrial Productivity Siam Cement Petrochemical Group
There are two impetuses for supporting Mental Health. Firstly there is an interest to support research Autism and related mental disabilities in children. It turned out that the research and development support will be in the field of Fragile X Symptom, a relatively little known mental disability in Thailand and the region.	Secondly, through Vipassana Mindfulness Meditation, it was found that the Complete Full Meditation Technique developed at Vipassana Meditation Center for Mind Development at Trang resulted in a reversal of aging symptoms. It is conjectured that this technique will be applicable for not only old age but also other mental disorders such as Parkinson, Hyper Tension and Stress, etc.	Under the Light House Project undertaken by Suksapattana Foundation which EPWF helped to set up, a broad study and experimental program was undertaken since 1997 and still ongoing ranging from Primary to Secondary and Tertiary Education as well as Non-Formal Education which formed part of the Village Development Program and Industrial Life Long Learning.	The Industry Productivity project was spawned from the Tertiary (University) Education Reform program resulting in transferring Petrochemical Engineering Education from the King Mongkhut University of Technology to the plant location for shop floor supervisors to learn by solving real life existing problems in the plant, in this case the Siam Cement Petrochemical Group in Rayong. Not only was petrochemical knowledge transferred to the operating shop floor, this had the potential ofchanging the	changing the organizational culture of the company from the traditional top down control the traditional top downcontrol from engineers to plant operators to plant operators on the shop floor being able to detect and initiate operational and investment decisions in a bottom up and sideways manner in accordance to Peter Senge’s Learning Organization concept. Participants in the course were also able to upgrade the knowledge of their colleagues by being facilitators in accordance to principles of Constructionist Learning.

Donations Profile 2013 - 2019

The donation for 2013 to 2019 over 7 years amounted to Baht 61.5 million (Baht 8.8 million / year average) compared to Baht 205.7 million for 1968 to 2012 over 50 years (Baht 4.1 million / year average). The distribution of the donations was about equally balanced between the donation purpose for Education and Public Welfare over the period 2013 to 2019.	Over the last 7 years 2013 to 2019, EPWF donations have been characterized by concentration on two Flagship Programs with the heavy involvement of the Foundation, namely Meditation and Sufficiency Economy Rural Development in Water Resources Management amounting to 74% of its donations split approximately equally between the two Flagship Programs; these donations are leveraged by Baht 12.8 million Donations Received by EPWF amounting 28% of total donations to support mainly the Sufficiency Economy program.	Looking forward, support of Meditation as a Flagship Program centered on Vipassana Meditation Place for Mind Development will continue to be a key activity while the Sufficiency Economy Program was would down at the end of 2018.	Other Flagship Programs are being sought preferably with the support of one of more directors of EPWF. Mental Health is a budding Flagship Program which has tremendous implications for the benefit of Mankind and will be carefully nurtured.

Donations Profile 1968 – 2012

Follow the link for further details of Past EPWF donations 1968 – 2012.

EPWF Time Line
A time Line of EPWF activities is given in EPWF Time Line.