Visit to R35 school in Khao Lak, Thailand.

I visited this school in the summer of 2005 after becoming involved with the Tsunami Relief Network. I recently had the chance to revisit the school adn see the progress for myself.

If you want to read about my visit, go to my blog: http://theadventuresofmichel.blogspot.com/2008/02/visit-to-r35-school-in-khao...

Here is some history about the school:
During the tsunami on December 26, 2004, the Ban Bangsak School community suffered the most severe damage. The school buildings were destroyed by the giant waves leaving only the flagpole as a reminder of where the structure once stood. A number of children and parents died, people were left homeless and children became orphans. The devastation in the Khao Lak region was the worst in Thailand. Over 8,000 people died that morning.

Rebuilding the Ban Bangsak School was a massive and collaborative endeavor. The King of Thailand's Rajaprajanugroh Foundation oversaw the project and soldiers from the Thai army provided the labor for the construction of the school. Under the Royal Patronage, the school's name was changed to "The 35th Rajaprajanugroh School" (R35), which means mutual help and support between the King and the people.

On April 8th, 2005, the school re-opened. Classes are now being conducted for grades K-12. The majority of the students sleep in the school dormitories where a family system is used. The older children care for the younger children. Approximately one third of these students were orphaned since the tsunami and the other two thirds were affected by the tsunami and/or poverty.

Following the construction of the new school, the International School of Bangkok (ISB) Tsunami Relief Network raised funds to sponsor among other things, an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher project. Because tourism is a major employment sector in the Khao Lak area, English language skills will enable these students to find viable work. Since its inception, the ESL project has quickly flourished into a network of creative and highly qualified volunteers. The R35 ESL Experience volunteers now teach English to approximately 1000 students at R35.

Text from: http://www.r35eslexperience.com/about.html

For further information about volunteeting, visit: http://www.r35eslexperience.com

For more information about supporting and rebuilding the school, visit the Tsunami Relief Network site: http://www.isb.ac.th/Tsunami_Project_Update

Category:

Education

Tags:

• tsunami
• Khao
• Lak
• school
• R35