Delving into the often-overlooked issue of underage pregnancies amongst the backdrop of national concerns about fertility rates, esteemed education and child development expert, Sumate Noklang, boldly states, “The government’s efforts shouldn’t just be a numbers game. It’s the future quality of life of these children that’s at stake, and that’s where our focus should also be.” Dr. Sumate Noklang, who lectures on the PhD Development Education Programme at Srinakharinwirot University, spearheaded a pivotal study through 2021-2022 that delved into the lives of 400 individuals from a rural community. This wasn’t just any community; it was marked as having the highest incidence of adolescent mothers in all of the land. The core objective? To craft a model that could empower the community and truly uplift the lives of the country’s future generations. The enlightening research unveiled that through nurturing self-worth, consciousness and communal support, the daunting issue of underage pregnancies could…
