Program Update

We’re pleased to report that we have become consistently better at determining how to support both individual participants and the group as a whole, as they work to realize their vast human and leadership potentials.

As evidence of our successes, we include here some of the reflections and goals that students shared at the 2018 SENS graduation ceremony held on April 4, 2018, generously hosted by Dr. Pichai at his Maenam Resort Nakhon Chaisri. Students crafted their own statements, but they received help with English phrasing, and their final statements have been edited for clarity.

We offer a limited selection of students’ reflections here, but we hope to offer more of our students’ voices, and share more about what we learned this year, in upcoming reports. If you are inspired by what you read here, you may help in one of these ways:

1) by spreading the word about the SENS programs;

2) by donating to the SENS Scholarship Fund : : https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/english-for-engaged-social-service-empowerment-program/;

3) by sponsoring a student in one of our upcoming programs. Next year’s course runs from January 6 to April 3, 2019. 

Excerpts from Statements by SENS 2018 Students:

SaeRob Lee – Jungto Society, South Korea


SaeRob Lee – South Korea

“For the benefit of all sentient beings.” In our Korean historical DNA, this commitment has been working deeply in our unconscious. …. My goal is to live by this teaching until I die. …. Thanks to this course, SENS, I’ve met engaged Buddhist practitioners, grassroots movement leaders, and learned about many social activities in Thailand. It is very hopeful that there are so many social changers—more than I expected. For a long time, I’ve concentrated on domestic social issues, but now I’ve changed. I want to work for more international or global issues. SENS gave me a chance to have a wider perspective and to be confident to communicate with international workers. We are not separated, but connected, so that we can cooperate in many ways. This is my great experience here.

SamkhamMeunsy – Participatory Development Training Center (PADETC), Laos

tudents of SENS 2018. From L to R, Samkham Meunsy (Laos), Sabin Rongpipi (Assam, India), Thet Nwe Soe, (Myanmar)

I want to create a space in the countryside where youth can come to learn skills outside of school and access resources for personal development, including scholarships to study abroad, workshops and training, as well as community and network-building. These are not new ideas. But this course gave me the confidence I needed to move forward with them. Thank you to the SENS community and to all of our supporters for giving me the opportunity to learn more English.

PhooPwint – Kalyana Mitta Development Foundation (KMF), Myanmar

L to R, Thet Nwe Soe and Phoo Pwint

Previously, I stood for my Myanmar people; now I realize I need to stand for all living things. Because we have the same problems and we need to solve them alltogether. English language is a tool for social change. Therefore, it can be applied to connect to a global network. …. I decided to set up my goals for after this course as follows:

  • To do regular practice for improving my English skills into advanced level in 2018.
  • To listen deeply to my friends and community when they need someone to listen.
  • To do research about the traditional environmental conservation customs and beliefs of ethnic groups and how to create an environmentally friendly culture in my country. I aim to complete this research within two years.
  • To initiate an Eco Campus Movement at universities in my country that will go broader and deeper than it has before.

A Student Who Wishes to Remain Anonymous

I see many new possibilities and learned a lot through this course. Through this program I have learned:

  • To be an effective leader you need to be able to respond to challenges with intelligence, strategy, and sincerity.
  • About the socialization and internalization of gender inequality through two wonderful women, Ouyporn and Ginger.
  • How important it is to have Kalyanamitra in one’s life.
  • When people have the same values, they naturally come together in unison in someways.
  • The importance of listening to what other people have to say.
  • How climate change impacts everything and everyone’s life, and that even our civilization is at stake.