The outstanding mothers - five of them with disabled children - will receive the awards from HRH Princess Somsavali at a ceremony on August 11 at the dean's office at Mahidol University's Salaya campus.

Vice-president for special affairs Dr Prasert Salyawiwat said the event-organising committee had picked 10 mothers out of 144 nominees around the nation, as they had devoted themselves with great patience and perseverance to raising their children.

Fongchan Wankayo, 66, from Lampang, gets up at 1am to sell home-grown vegetables at a market 10 kilometres from home to support her ageing parents and her Prathom-6 son. The boy has won many awards for academic skills and good behaviour, while spending after-class hours doing odd jobs to help the family.

Sia Chaithanasakul, 62, a mother of five from Surin, worked hard all her life while getting through unfortunate events such as fire, theft and debt, until she landed a job making a kind of tofu that is known for its good taste throughout the province. Realising that the only heritage she could give her children was education, Sia managed to support all her children to get good educations and continues to work hard to repay loans.

Thongkham Chart-pheuk, 76, a widow with nine children from Chaiyaphum, sold food at a local market until she could afford land of her own. Through unfortunate events that required her to start life from scratch over and over, she never backed down from adversity and taught her children never to give up and to value education. She managed to see nearly all her kids graduate from university.

Another widow with nine children, 55-year-old Hodia Jaedae from Satun, could only write her own name. But she struggled through poverty, spending more than 15 years exposed to heat as she made sweet rice in bamboo pipes and did all sorts of other jobs to raise the children as good citizens.

Chai Nat native Saengduan Tamun, 38, shouldered the responsibility to support her two children after her husband had an accident and suffered from mental illness and was unable to work. Shortly after surgery for a tumour, Saengduan got back to work sewing clothes, growing vegetables and other odd jobs to support her children.

 A mother of 11 from Phichit, Tuanjai Kalthiyanant, 72, cared especially for her son, who was paralysed. Faced with difficulties including the children's illnesses and a fire at a family shop that bankrupted them, she was not disheartened. She lost her husband last year and later a son, both from cancer.

While Tuanjai was pregnant with her sixth child, she accidentally fell into a canal under a boat, gathering her last breath to keep the baby and herself safe as she struggled to the surface and survived.

A mother of two disabled children, Kongsiha Paso, 40, from Nong Bua Lamphu, deprived herself of enough rest, causing her to look like a walking skeleton, in order to work odd jobs and get money to pay for her children's treatments in Bangkok every month. She ensured her children got a good education by taking them to school every day.

A full-time farmer and part-time seamstress, Pornpan Saradam, 54, from Amnat Charoen, had four children - one died and two were disabled, the second son from an accident and the youngest daughter from a birth defect.

While caring for her disabled children in all their daily routines, Pornpan worked hard to support the family and repay a loan borrowed to fix her worn-out home. Her disabled son is now assisted by the Social Welfare Department, her third son is studying for a bachelor's degree and her youngest disabled daughter is studying at Mathayom 2 along with able-bodied students.

Nakhon Si Thammarat rubber-tapping worker Uraiwan Saengsawang, 44, is a single mother of three children aged 13, 11 and eight, the third of whom is disabled.

The family has no home of their own and can hardly make ends meet as they are plagued with debts. But Uraiwan never sheds tears in front of the children. She tries to sell vegetables at a weekend market to gain money.

Her children, seeing her cry at night, have vowed to help her work around the house and at the market, save money, and one day to take care of her and the disabled sibling.

A teacher at Ratchaburi Technical College, Prisana Chantakad, 52, has three children, one of whom has Down's syndrome. Her husband and both parents are dead, leaving her as sole supporter of the kids. She spends her after-work hours making and selling sweets. She has managed to take good care of her children, making them feel warmth and love for each other, and has helped her disabled son to live close to a normal life.