Elephant Hills builds a new dormitory for a rural school
Over the past couple of years, we have been supporting Baan Mae Tob Tai School in Mae Hong Son province in many ways. We have delivered plenty of essential stationery, educational material and clothes donated by our guests. Moreover, we have aided them with specifically requested items, such as food supplies, gardening equipment and mattresses. We are absolutely thrilled to inform, that our most recent donation; a brand-new dormitory, built by Elephant Hills Co., Ltd is now ready!
Check out the video of the opening event:
During our several meetings with the teachers it became obvious that the old dormitory building was no longer sufficient for the school’s needs. This school provides dormitory placements also on behalf its sister school Baan Mae Tob Nuea. The small two-story dormitory accommodated 12 students in very limited space. Furthermore, Baan Mae Tob Tai School had needed to turn down several families living in very remote areas in the mountains, asking for a dormitory placement for their children.
All children gathered to the brand new dormitory building for a Buddhist ceremony
Construction of the new dormitory
Based on the discussions with the headmaster and the teachers, we made a detailed plan with a local constructor. Our main goal was to make the building convenient to use, safe and large enough for the school’s needs. The ground floor of the old dormitory occasionally floods during heavy rains. Therefore, we carefully selected a good location for the new building. Moreover, the foundation was made high enough to prevent any possible surface runoff entering the dormitory.
Elephant Hills builds a new dormitory for Baan Mae Tob Tai School in Mae Hong Son province
We were very pleased with the local construction team. The work progressed according to the schedule whilst following the high standards we set up for this project. What matters the most, the children, headmaster and teachers were overjoyed of their new dormitory! Currently 22 students stay at the new building. For many, getting the dormitory placement was the key factor for attending school in the first place.
We arranged a traditional Buddhist ceremony to officially open the new dormitory. Many villagers, as well as local authorities joined this beautiful event. Obviously, we wanted to make it a fun day for the kids too, so we brought ice cream and prepared a tasty barbecue lunch for all participants.
Attending school in Mae Hong Son province
Mae Hong Son is the most mountainous province in Thailand. Sadly, it’s also ranked the poorest area of the country. This breath-takingly beautiful province is a home for several hill tribes, majority being a mix of different Karen tribes. Our elephant handlers at Elephant Hills are also originally from Mae Hong Son. Through centuries, the area has been famous for elephant training and husbandry. Hence, the Karen people possess a high level of expertise and deep knowledge about caring for these majestic creatures.
Kids playing and dancing during the dormitory opening celebrations
For the rural children here, the distances between home and school are often very long. Not only long, but in many cases also hard to travel and lacking proper roads. Most of the students in Baan Mae Tob Tai school are part of Karen hill tribe, and many come from poor conditions. Thanks to the newly opened dormitory, more and more less privileged children will be able to attend school.
Students and teachers of Baan Mae Tob Tai School in front of their brand new dormitory
We are actively looking for individuals, travel agencies and other companies to co-operate with our Children’s Project through sponsorship. If you or your company would like to co-operate with Elephant Hills Children’s Project, please contact us for more information at [email protected].
