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Chasing a dream
Cycling, and dedication from a man with a big heart, has turned the life of troubled teenagers around through a sense of purpose, discipline and perseverance
Writer: SANITSUDA EKACHAI
Published: 4/08/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Outlook
A rice farmer. A mechanic. A cyclist. A coach. Anant Sriruang is all of that. But for a group of boys from broken homes under his wing, Anant is the person who makes them realise that a meaningful life is one with a dream to chase after.
Their dream: To be on the national cycling team.
His mission: To help make it come true _ and much more.
Anant's equally important goal is to help lost teenagers discover a life goal, persevere to give it their best, feel proud of themselves, enjoy the difficult journey along the way and see each small step they make as a success in itself.
But most of all, he wants to turn the angst-ridden teenagers into adults with good conscience and generosity.
''It's no use to be successful and selfish,'' said the 38-year-old rice farmer-motorcycle mechanic who has turned his humble home in Ratchaburi into a training ground for young cycling racers.
His mission started nine years ago. His neighbourhood was full of rowdy teenage boys who terrorised the community with gang fights, heavy drinking, drug addiction, computer game addiction and theft.
Despite his annoyance, Anant felt he could empathise with these lost youngsters in many ways. Like them, he did poorly at school, which condemned them that they could not master rote-learning, forcing them to seek self-destructive sources for self-esteem. He still remembers vividly his own feelings of frustrations and overwhelming sense of failure his teacher gave him just because he could not recite the multiplication table.
'The big difference is that I have a loving, understanding mother while these problematic teens are from broken or abusive homes,'' he said.
In his youth, Anant discovered his source of pride in daredevil motorbike racing on the street. And like the teenagers in his neighbourhood, he was then seen as a menace to society.
When older and milder, Anant quit daredevil racing to concentrate on his bike repair shop while turning to long-distance cycling for the same high.
''I've been through a lot of their similar anger and pain. But I quit my dangerous life on the street. I wanted to find some other ways to help these kids discover the same joy from cycling.''
One night, he saw a group of drunk teenagers in a violent fight near his home. He decided it was time to act.
''The next day, I challenged one of those boys to a race with me,'' he said, referring to Panchanok Khamsor, nicknamed Green.
The plan worked. As Green's love for cycling grew, he became serious about practising for long-distance cycling and racing. When Anant learned that he was on the verge of running away from his drunk and abusive father, he agreed to let Green stay at his house, and to train him for his cycling dream.
One thing led to another. Green's friends wanted to join to form a cycling team. They flocked to his house, some even stayed on, to practise for their common goal.
The passion in cycling has taken the young athletes from Ratchaburi to various races despite the odds against them.
The children call him ''Na Ngao'' or Uncle Ngo. The nickname comes from his frizzy curly hair and sun-baked, dark skin that makes people think he looks like a hunter-gatherer Sakai nomad _ an ugly person according to the Thai concept of ''good looks''. For the boys under his care, however, Anant's big heart has changed their lives.
''Before, I didn't like myself at all. I was troublesome and not my own self. Now I can see myself in the eyes,'' said Tanit Khamsamang, or Bomb, one of the young cyclists.
Cycling, stressed Anant, is but his tool to turn troubled children around through a sense of purpose, self-discipline, mutual responsibility, team spirit and a never-say-die attitude to attain their goals.
At his house, each boy shares the responsibilities; getting up early _ unlike what they did at home _ to help with the household chores and contribute whatever they can to keep their new family running by easing the financial burden of their Uncle Ngo.
Some chose to help out at the bike repair shop, all the while learning the skills they can in order to make a living in the future. Others tend to the vegetable plots or fish ponds to reduce food expenses. And when the rainy season comes, all will head to Anant's paddy fields to grow their own rice. That is why they call themselves ''Farmers' Team''.
Each activity, said Anant, gives the opportunity for the children to learn by doing. ''By observing how things work through real experiences, they will learn by themselves how to make what they do better.''
Only in the late afternoon when the work is done will they hit to the roads to practise, trying to master the cycling techniques for both duration and speed.
''I will never forget the look of contempt we got when our team first entered a provincial cycling competition,'' he recalled.
While other cyclists had expensive, specially made bicycles for racing, his Farmers' Team's bicycles were not only plain, but worn out. The defeat, however, only added to their fiery determination to do better.
To keep the joy of cycling while practising, Anant combines it with travelling by taking his team on various beautiful and challenging rides in other provinces. Spending his every single baht on the seemingly mission impossible, he often found himself at the end of the rope.
Once, he found himself in an old mountain-top temple, alone and crying, not knowing where to find the next baht. But what happened next confirmed his faith in miracles when one is determined to do good.
The abbot, after learning what Anant was trying to do to save these troubled boys, gave him 15,000 baht to clear the crisis. When the abbot later saw him taking the boys to a competition on a carrier attached to a motorcycle that Anant had made himself, the monk sent the team an old car for safer transport.
Their first break finally came when Green placed 2nd in the Ratchaburi qualification rounds to compete in the National Youth Game.
The Farmers' Team never looked back since.
As the team members began collecting more prizes, bicycle companies took notice and offered them modern racing bicycles. ''They probably didn't want others to see that our old bicycles beat their fancy ones,'' he said, laughing.
These companies were only interested in successful athletes, however, leaving Anant in constant struggle to find decent bicycles for new members.
Despite the odds, the Farmers Team was in jubilation last year. Sarawut Sirironchai, 17, once the crybaby of the team, pocketed two golds at the National Youth Games in Ubon Ratchathani. Sarawut was also voted outstanding athlete while Anant was awarded outstanding coach.
Sarawuth also made the Farmers' Team's dream come true; he is now in the national cycling team, representing Thailand in international races.
As his team and mission became more known, more parents are seeking him out to entrust them with their troubled teens. The teenagers' commitment to change through willpower and discipline is only his condition.
''Sports help the boys to open up and realise the importance of willpower and self-discipline,'' he said. ''It teaches the kids that winning themselves is the biggest victory of all.''
Life in the make-do cycling camp also gives Anant an opportunity to instil in them important life values.
''Our world, not only our society, is degrading because everyone of us is on the take. We take and take from nature and other people. We must learn how to give, to help others, to feel happy with others' successes. This is what I keep telling them.''
Green, the first boy he took under his wing, does him proud. After leaving to live with his girlfriend in Chai Nat, he still keeps his passion for cycling. Now, he has become an informal coach for a cycling club there.
This is what makes him happy, he said, seeing his ''children'' knowing how to give freely.
For himself, Anant has long accepted that a heavy financial burden is part of the mission, which in return gives him happiness beyond words.
''A lot of people talk about problems but do nothing. I'm happy that I can do something about it in my own small way.
''Other Thais may like to make merit by donating to monks or building temples. But for me, I like building people. This is what I'm doing.''
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