American Schools and Hospitals Abroad

Earlier construction at Payap University, supported by ASHA.

New Project at
Payap University

The United Board has been invited to to negotiate a $500,000 grant from USAID’s Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) to assist Payap University with the renovations necessary to make its campus the first fully accessible university in northern Thailand.  If all goes as expected with the negotiations, a formal award could be anticipated in early fall.

This project will allow Payap University to provide equal access to people with disabilities throughout the campus, demonstrating its commitment to full integration into the campus mainstream.  Plans include creating access ramps where needed, replacing narrow entry doors with wider ones, widening restroom stalls and providing handrails, creating additional parking spaces for those with disabilities, and installing elevators for accessibility to higher floors of buildings. Persons with limited mobility will be able to navigate the campus and its buildings more independently and have greater access to a quality education.

ASHA provides grant assistance to U.S. organizations on behalf of selected overseas schools, libraries and hospitals that are founded or sponsored by U.S. citizens and incorporate America’s high educational standards.

In 2009 Payap University received an ASHA grant for $500,000 to strengthen its pharmacology curriculum. Payap University, located in Chiang Mai, is a liberal arts and pre-professionals school founded in 1974. It offers 26 undergraduate degrees, including four international degrees (instruction in English) and nine master’s degrees, including four international programs. The university received its first ASHA grant in 1994, and more recently has used ASHA funds for construction of a women’s dormitory and to equip a pharmaceutical laboratory.

The United Board is also managing a $400,000 ASHA grant to Hwa Nan Women’s College to furnish and equip its new library with appropriate technology. Hwa Nan is small, private institution in Fujian province that provides three-year professional training programs in applied English, clothing and design, food and nutrition, international business and home economics, among others. The majority of its 2,000-plus students come from rural peasant families. This was the United Board’s first ASHA grant for an institution in China.

The United Board has worked with partner institutions in the ASHA program since 1976, receiving grants for 16 projects totaling more than $11 million.

For more information on ASHA, please click here.