The Krabi Project is an excellent example of how Rotary clubs can work together to achieve great outcomes.
In 2021, the Rotary Club of Dapto in Wollongong was contacted by expat Kate Neuss, who was living in Krabi, Thailand. Kate asked if the club was able to fund a small project at the Klong Muang Primary School in Krabi – a Muslim school in a very poor village.
The school provides education to 255 students over three years of kindergarten and six years of primary. There are 91 students in kindergarten and 164 students in the primary school.
Teachers are required to accompany K1 and K2 children to the toilet, and while the existing toilet block is not far from their classrooms, teachers must leave the room to take a child to the toilet, disrupting lessons and leaving the other children unattended.
The new covered walkway at Klong Muang Primary School in Krabi, Thailand, means teachers can always see students as they cross from their classroom to the newly refurbished toilet block
The director of the school has long wanted to build toilets that are attached to and directly accessible from the three kindergarten classrooms. Because class sizes are between 20-35 children, toilet breaks can be highly disruptive.
The students in P1 are allowed to go to the toilet block by themselves, but there is no cover between their classroom and the toilet. The director had also requested a short walkway of approximately eight metres be built between their classroom and a building with a toilet, which will be refurbished for their use. This refurbished toilet will let the teacher watch any student using the walkway and the toilet building from the classroom.
The school also needed funds to upgrade the playground equipment for the kindergarten to supplement and/or replace existing equipment, much of which is old and handed down from other schools.
After several meetings, the Rotary Club of Dapto formed a project team with Kate as project manager, and members of the Rotary Clubs of Krabi, Coffs Harbour and Camden. The Rotary Club of Dapto contributed $5,000 and the Rotary Clubs of Coffs Harbour and Camden $2,500 each. The Rotary Club of Krabi did some of the hands-on work and organised local contractors.
The project was completed in February 2023, with the building of three toilets, the covered walkway, the upgrading of existing playground equipment and the purchase of new playground equipment.
The impact on the children, teachers and the community has been significant.
