Alumni Axis Tsunami Relief Project
‘Giving Back'
Wat Kom School Fundraising Project
Khao Lak, Phang Nga
Thailand
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| Opening Ceremony – Canadian Ambassador | Opening Ceremony– Ribbon Cutting |
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| Library Signage | Kids in front of the Library |
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| Brand New School and Library | Kids in the McRae Alumni Learning Centre |
We are very pleased to announce that our Tsunami Relief fundraising efforts, and the project management efforts of Dusanee Promtan (apmcp 16), have been rewarded with the completion and official opening of the McRae Alumni Association Learning Centre at Wat Kom School.
Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony for both the Learning Centre and the new Wat Kom School was held on November 2nd. The big day started with a blessing ceremony conducted by nine monks from the local community. VIP guests at the ceremony included the Canadian Ambassador, Mr. Denis Comeau, the Governor of Phang Nga Province, the Director of the Phang Nga Education Service Area Office, local government officials, teachers from other local schools, members of the community, and students from Wat Kom school.
According to Dusanee, the event was a major success. In her report from the ceremony, she writes, “I would say the McRae Learning Centre was the highlight of the event. Everybody loves it. They all said it is very special and different from other traditional libraries. Teachers from other schools asked me if I could help them find some funds to build the same thing.”
The photographs from the opening event also tell the story of a special place. We should be very proud that we were able to contribute to making such a place a reality.
McRae Alumni Association Recognition
The name of the Learning Centre is displayed in large letters on the outside of the building, prominently recognizing the McRae Alumni Association. Inside, a plaque describes the Alumni Association and explains:
“After the Tsunami of December 26, 2004, the graduates of the McRae Institute came together, inspired by the desire to make a positive difference and ‘give back’ to a region that has had a deep and enriching impact on many of their lives. The result was the drive to raise funds to build The McRae Alumni Association Learning Centre.
The McRae Alumni Association Learning Centre is dedicated to all of the brave men, women and children in Thailand, and throughout Asia, who experienced the devastating impact of the Tsunami in 2004. It is our hope that the Learning Centre will become a gathering place, where everyone is encouraged to question, learn and discover, and that it will help build a better future, filled with dreams and hope, for the students of WatKommaneeyakhet School and the community of Khuek Khak.”
Looking Forward
We hope that the Learning Centre at Wat Kom School will be the first of many philanthropic projects for the Alumni Association. At the 20th Reconnect Conference, we plan to discuss with Alumni how we can continue to make a positive difference. We’ll look forward to hearing your ideas at the Conference.
Alumni AxisTsunami Project Article in The Vancouversun
Fundraising target surpassed by more than $3,000!
We are excited to provide an update on the Alumni Axis Tsunami Relief Project.
As many of you may recall, our target was to raise $10,000 for the construction of a library at Wat Kom School , located in one of the areas hardest hit by the Tsunami. We are very pleased to report that we not only hit our target, but surpassed it by a considerable amount. In total we raised $13,145.59! Thank you to everyone who donated so generously. We should all be very proud of our fundraising success.
Special thanks go out to Bob Bagshaw who tirelessly made personal phone calls to alumni both in Canada and overseas. Bob's extra efforts played a major role in helping us meet – and exceed – our goal.
Construction began in November 2005 and is expected to be complete by June 30 th , 2006.
The details of the building structure are:
Total project costs are approximately $128,000, of which $10,000 has been earmarked for the library.
Project management for the building of the school and the library is being expertly handled by one of our own: Dusanee Promtan, Year 15.
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| Wat Kom School students |
Wat Kom School students |
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The school building under construction |
The view of the library from the outside; the library will be in the rooms with the large windows on the 1st floor |
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The view from inside the library |
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In a meeting held at Bob Bagshaw's home at the beginning of May 2006, the Tsunami Fundraising Committee discussed how the surplus of more than $3,000 should be utilized. According to Dusanee, donations in the form of computers and books have been fielded from numerous international organizations, so there is no need for additional supplies. Instead, we agreed that the surplus funds will be put towards furnishing the library with tables, chairs, bookcases and possibly fans and/or air conditioning.
We would like the library to have a name that honours the efforts of the McRae Alumni, while at the same time recognizes the central role a library can play as a gathering place in a community, where everyone is encouraged to question, learn and discover. As such, we have proposed that the library be called The McRae Alumni Association Learning Centre . Our hope is that the Learning Centre will be utilized not only by the students at Wat Kom School , but also by members of the community seeking to further their education and expand their knowledge.
There will be a naming ceremony, and we will have a plaque made for the entrance to the library.
Dusanee will work with the contractors to ensure that the entire school is completed by the end of June—one month after the start of the Thai school year. A blessing ceremony for the school is planned for some time in September 2006 to allow enough time for landscaping. We will keep the alumni posted on the date (which will be chosen by the Monks) in case any would like to participate.
Again, we would like to thank you for your kind and generous contributions to this wonderful initiative.
– The McRae Alumni Association Tsunami Fund Raising Committee
Alumni AxisTsunami Project Article in The Vancouversun
Khuek Khak, Phang Nga , Thailand
Wat Kom School is located 7 kms north of the village of Khao Lak in Khuek Khak sub-district in the South Eastern province of Phang Nga in Thailand . Khao Lak was the area hardest hit by the Tsunami in Thailand .
Project Manager Dusanee Promtan is a Thai national and fellow alumna from APMCP year 15. Dusanee is managing the entire project to re-build the school, including the library. She is providing us with regular progress reports on the project and ensuring our funds are properly allocated.
Rather than reacting to the immediate need for water and blankets, we wanted to put considerable thought into a project that could be embraced by all APMCP and LAMP alumni, and which could become a legacy for the Alumni Association, meeting our values and those of the McRae Institute. The criteria below were used to assess various opportunities to participate in relief and reconstruction efforts.
We wanted the project to be:
• Related to building hope for the future, preferably through education;
• Free of costly and frustrating bureaucratic red tape. We wanted to know that all of our funds would be applied directly to the project selected;
• A project that would allow opportunities for hands-on participation for those interested;
• Something that we could put our name on and which would become a lasting legacy for the Alumni Axis and the McRae Institute;
• A potential model for a project that could be replicated in Latin America at some future point; and,
• Something tangible; something that we could build, touch and feel.
Wat Kom school served a vital role for the area of Khao Lak in the immediate aftermath of the Tsunami, both as a community gathering place and as a central point for the distribution of aid and supplies. The Khao Lak area was severely hit by the Tsunami. In fact, it suffered the most devastation of any area in Thailand .
The Tsunami had a direct and significant impact on many of the Wat Kom School students:
• 22 students from the school lost their lives while another 11 students are still counted as missing
• 90 students lost their homes
• 13 students suffered the death of their parents or guardian
• 12 students have a parent or guardian who is still considered missing
($200 +)
Andreas Aalhus (1,450)
Cameron Hunter (1,000)
Geoff Perfect (1000)
Rob McDowell (750)
Bob and Bobbi Bagshaw (500)
Quentin Mai (501)
Shawn Brooks (500)
John M Powles (500)
Sally Christie (500)
Daphne Yu (350)
Peter Zdanowicz (300)
Eric Cipriano (250)
Tracy Chmelauskas (250)
Richard Robertson (250)
Frederic M Guillo (250)
Gaetan Desmarais (200)
David Nagy (200)
Catherine Price (200)
Jean Lemire (200)
Suzanne Williams (200)
($100 - $199)
Wendi Backler
Shannon Boase
Jen Elliott
Edwin Kwong
Peggi Peacock
Jennifer Hall
Tricia Heywood
Sarah Grasset
Lorne Braun
Dusanee Promtan
Marie-Claude P Lebeuf
Stephen Goodman
Harley Bostock
Quentin O'Mahony
Sean Georget
Scott Anderson
Matt Fraser
Rosanne Lee
Kristy K. Murao
Mark Herringer
Sue Carey
Russell Hobbs
Mark Craig Johnson
Lawrence Lefcort
($50 - $99)
Carolyn Anderson
Lana Gudmundson
Melroy D'Souza
Dawn Morrison
Alison Bailey
Karen Lo
Tina Chow
Nigel Beckmann
Rachel Keilb
Joe Altwasser
Jamie W Tooze
Shari L Virjee
Liane Gillies
Sheila Rank
Cam Sylvester
Alumni Axis Holiday Party Raffle
Thank you to all donors for ‘Giving Back' and making this initiative possible!!
Alumni AxisTsunami Project Article in The Vancouversun