Children of the Tsunami, Khao Lak – a Story of Hope is an inspirational book project championed by 52 students and a team of dedicated staff from Bangkok Patana School, one of the city’s leading international schools and an important part of the Bangkok community, for the children of Khao Lak and other tsunami affected regions of Thailand.
This important volume not only honours the courage of tsunami survivors and the memory of those lost but also aims to raise significant funds to further the education of children affected by the disaster.
Despite the scale of the disaster and the terrible loss of family, friends and property, Children of the Tsunami, Khao Lak - A Story of Hope focuses on the positive stories that have emerged from the tragedy.
Children of the Tsunami is a positive, story of hope. It is the story of how the children of the Khao Lak region of Thailand witnessed those unexpected, horrific and catastrophic events of December 26, 2004 and how their lives were permanently altered by the Tsunami. It is also a story of how ordinary children: the students of Bangkok Patana School, decided to do something about it and how the Tsunami Book Project was born.
The official launch of Children of the Tsunami, Khao Lak - A Story of Hope on November 23, 2005 is the culmination of an exciting and ambitious project, the first of its kind, in which children have helped children to help themselves and their own community.
The book is a beautiful collection of photographs of, and stories, poems and pictures by, the children of the Khao Lak region of Thailand. Its focus is on how the community of the Khao Lak region, and in particular their children, have moved on in one short year, from being ‘victims’ to becoming examples of hope to us all.
The book concentrates on the positive aspects to have come out of those terrible events; it re-tells stories from the children’s perspective: stories of community, of bravery, of hope, of motivation and of love.
All the artwork for the book was drawn by the children of the four schools in Khao Lak, Thailand – Pak Weep, Bang Niang, Bang Sak and Watkommaneeyakhet School.
On the advent of the first anniversary of the Asian tsunami, Bangkok Patana School, the British International School in Thailand and a centre for excellence in education, has proudly made a lasting contribution to the lives of those children affected by the disaster. Over 900,000 baht in sponsorship funds were raised by an energetic and passionate team of children and teachers and 5,000 full-colour hardback books have been printed.
All profits from book sales will pay for the education of Thai children affected by the tsunami. The project has already captured media interest here in Thailand, both in the national press and on TV.
Mr Robin Nagy, Project Coordinator for the Tsunami Book Project explains, “Profits from the book will enable local children who were affected by the tsunami (some of them orphaned and many of them made homeless) to help themselves and to raise money for their own education. (All profits from book sales will go back towards the education and schooling of the children of the tsunami affected regions of Thailand). This is their book, earning money in order to help themselves and their community. They gave us all the material – the students at Bangkok Patana School simply helped them to make it into a book.”
But the book is about more than that.
“We hope that it will also inform people all over the world that the Andaman coast is open for business once again and that it will attract many tourists back to this beautiful part of Thailand, a region whose long-term economic survival is so dependant on the tourist dollar.
“It is also a story about how the impossible becomes possible with enough imagination and determination. We were told by major UK publishing houses that it was simply not possible to produce a book in the timeframe we were planning and that it was unfeasible that we could have a book ready in time for Christmas. This group of children proved them wrong!
“This is a unique project which was undertaken by students for the benefit of students. The book has been published in time for the first anniversary of the Asian Tsunami and I hope that it will receive the worldwide publicity that it deserves.
“I feel privileged to have worked alongside so many inspirational and dedicated young people and staff.
“There is an old saying that ‘for evil to triumph, all it takes is for good men to do nothing’. Surely it also follows that when good people refuse to do nothing, truly remarkable things result. Because of people like the children of Khao Lak, the students and staff of Bangkok Patana School, the sponsors of this project and because of every individual who buys this book – good has indeed triumphed,” Mr Nagy added. |
Photo © Robin Nagy 
Photo © Robin Nagy 
Photo © Nicholas Mak 
Photo © Nicholas Mak 
