Why support Elephant Hills Children’s Project?
- 100% of items and funds donated to out elephant nature park’s are used to improve the lives of the less privileged children
- All funds are always turned into much needed equipment, we do not donate cash
- We do not deduct any admin fees
- In addition to donations of funds from our company, we donate manpower and time of our staff working within the projects
- Participating is easy! Check out how you can pack with a purpose for your family vacation when visiting Elephant Hills Park.
Become a partner
We are actively looking for individuals, travel agencies and other companies to co-operate with our Children’s Project through sponsorship. We have established several very successful co-operations all across the globe, which are much appreciated by the schools, agents, operators and us at Elephant Hills park. Doesn’t that sound like Win-Win-Win to you?
To stay updated on the latest developments and donations of our Children’s Project, please follow us on Facebook & sign up for our Newsletter at the bottom on the right-hand side.
If you, or your company would like to get involved, please contact us at projects@elephanthills.com to discuss the options.
Our purpose & objective
As a tourism business based in Khao Sok national park it is our company objective to work with the local community and based on past experience we feel trying to help children is a very good way to do this. We hope the revenue from operating elephant sanctuary experiences and nature park tours and funds donated by our guests and partners can help the children to have a better future and also to learn about the importance of conservation of nature and the local environment for the next generations.
The children’s future close to Khao Sok National Park could involve employment and business within the tourism industry and if the new generation has more comprehensive awareness of this unique area, they might be able to make a living out of it as they grow up. It can be challenging to transform the mindset of older generations, who often had very little money and lived by hunting and poaching wild animals, but if the local children have appropriate resources for their education and are made aware of the importance of preserving the nature, it can have a great positive effect to this very special area.
Helping rural schools in Mae Hong Son
Many of our elephants and their handlers originally come from the Northern Province of Mae Hong Son, and especially from a small rural town called Mae Sariang, not far from the Thai-Myanmar border. As we have a close connection to this area through our elephant sanctuary employees, we also try to help the rural schools situated in the nearby villages. There are several schools located in some of the most remote and mountainous areas of the country, suffering from insufficient resources and in need of help to prevent a cycle of poverty by improving the education.
The project
Elephant Hills sanctuary’s Children’s Project was founded over twelve years ago, to help less fortunate children by supporting their quality of education and thus providing them with the freedom to make their own choices in life. We are helping the schools in Khao Sok and Mae Hong Son by donating books, stationery, musical instruments, seeds and gardening equipment, sports and playground equipment and have also coordinated building a library, bathroom renovation, installing water filter system and arranged English teaching.
In addition to various other activities, we run a project called Trees Can Talk, which teaches the young children the importance of conserving the forests and wildlife, and encourages them to think out of the box when it comes to respecting the nature in their everyday life. Every year on Children’s Day we arrange a writing contest for the students and reward the best essays on nature conservation.
As a result, we have brightened up the faces of hundreds of children by giving them access to scientific and technical knowledge, modern teaching methods as well as improved school facilities.
Helping children with special needs
OT Freeland, the only private school and clinic dedicated to education and therapy of children with special needs in Chiang Mai province, was founded in Mae Rim district in 2012. We at Elephant Hills nature park, inspired by the amazing efforts of the founder, Mr. Ped and his team of occupational therapists, were one of the first companies to support the institution. With our donations, we helped to cover some of the costs of construction work, teaching equipment and first training courses.
Today the institution provides exercises, classes and therapy through various kinds of methods including neurofeedback, musical therapy, art therapy and horse therapy. They also maintain a teacher-student ratio suitable for children with developmental disorders such as autism, individualized curriculum, as well as flexibility and patience – all of which are very challenging aspects for government schools often suffering of lack of resources. Many families travel long distances from surrounding provinces to receive therapy that has given their children evident, positive results.
Introducing some of the schools we support
Wat Tham Wararam School
The Wat Tham Wararam Primary and Secondary School was founded in 1960 and is situated just around the corner of the Elephant Camp. More than 300 children from kindergarten age up to grade nine study in this school and are being educated by 20 teachers. Recently, our Children’s Project made it possible to provide them with new sports equipment and musical instruments, aiming to improve the quality of musical and physical education at the school. We are also working on renovating the bathroom buildings at the school grounds.
Baan Yaplong School
Around 150 pupils are attending the Baan Yaplong School, which was founded in the 1950’s. It’s located on the left side of the main road 401, 5 km from the Elephant Hills resort, when you are heading towards Khao Sok National Park headquarters. The pupils, from kindergarten age up to grade six, can enjoy a library which could only be built by our Children’s Project in co-operation with our partners. The most recent donations include playground and gardening equipment.
Baan Mae Tob Tai School
Mae Tob Tai School is located in Mae Hong Son Province in the mountainous Mae Sariang District. This school has 48 students, and it provides kindergarten and primary education. Twelve students are from very remote areas and therefore stay overnight at the school during the weekdays. The four teachers work extremely hard not only educating the students, but also cooking lunch for the students and taking care of the students who live at the school. Elephant Hills supports the food supply of the school by donating 45kg of rice each month. Within Elephant Hills Children’s Project, we have recently donated stationery and gardening equipment, as well as playground equipment, dried food and two pigs for their animal husbandry project.
Thankful and happy children
As we are based in Khao Sok, we help the schools nearby our resorts and have a close relationship with them. Every evening we are thrilled to welcome a group of young children to our tented camp (rotating between the schools) to perform some traditional Thai dances for you.
This helps both improving their English skills when communicating with our guests and of course preserving the beautiful tradition of Thai dancing. It also gives the children a little extra income to support their studies, and a chance to be proud of their culture and to interact with tourists from around the world. They are highly keen to introduce themselves in English, present their beautiful dresses and earnestly practiced choreographs and are appreciative and pleased to be part of our evening program – a little happening not to be missed!
How can you help?
Pack with a purpose
When planning a visit to Elephant Hills, please consider supporting our Children’s Project. The least little bit of space in your luggage can make a difference, if you fill it with one of the following items:
- pens, pencils, erasers, rulers, notebooks and other stationery
- warm clothes for children living in the mountainous areas of Northern Thailand
- watercolors and crayons
- calculators
- educative toys and games
- kids toys, play-doh
- tooth brushes and tooth paste
- piggy banks
- books (very basic English books: colors, animals, weekdays & months, simple phrases and short stories)
