February 8th, 2008

HEALING BY HELPING

By Marcia Kelly-Gerritz and Cynthia Rasicot

A group of ISB middle and high school students, parents, and teachers traveled to 35 Rajaprajanugroh School (R35) in Phang Nga province in late January to provide a day of fun for 200 students who were victims of the 2004 Tsunami in Thailand. The former school on the site was destroyed by the Tsunami, and a new, larger facility was built to replace it. The ISB team arrived early Saturday morning. As one parent surveyed the sprawling campus and white-polished three story buildings she said, “Wow, this school looks a lot better than I imagined.”

But according to a staff employee standing nearby, new buildings aren’t the only things these children can’t live without. “In the beginning a lot of visitors came. But now, ISB is the only school that still comes down to visit.” Three years after the Tsunami tragedy, many of these children need to know they have not been forgotten and that people still care.

As the ISB students entered the main quad area, R35 students sat quietly, lined up in eight neat rows of twenty children sitting cross-legged on a cement platform. But the quiet soon evaporated into peals of laughter and shouts as the children gathered into four smaller groups. A teacher handed out Bingo cards to the first group. “ARE YOU READY“?

“Yes,” forty Thai students yelled in unison.

Curtis, a tall, lanky ISB student with a mischievous grin, picked a number from the shoebox and waved it back and forth. Leaning in to get a closer look, a girl called out “Thirteen.” “THIRTEEN!” the other voices echoed. Within minutes another girl shouted “Bingo!” and ran up front eager to claim a prize. Her face lit up when an ISB teacher handed her a white Teddy bear. She clutched the bear guarding it close against her chest.

At the opposite end of the quad, four ISB volunteers joined students for a game of musical chairs. Everyone marched around in circles to the beat of Hotel California. Soon, only twelve Thai children remained. On the sideline, kids cheered, stomped, and clapped for their teammates. With just two contestants remaining, an athletic R35 student hurdled over the top of a wooden chair to grab the last empty seat. He thrust his fists up in the air, victorious.

Another group of children made friendship bracelets weaving beads onto colored strands of plastic thread. Ethan, an ISB 7th grader assisting a 5th grader, was surprised when his companion handed him the bracelet he was making. After lunch there was a tug-of-war out on the grass followed by homemade ice cream and a goodbye ceremony in which everyone gave and received a Wai and a handshake.

An hour later a frustrated teacher shouted, ”It’s time to go! They won’t go unless we tell them,” he mumbled. Students lingered in small groups, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders, smiling for one last photo. They tore small scraps of paper and hastily exchanged phone numbers. ISB students piled into a long songthaew and waved good-bye to the kids through open wooden slats as they pulled away.

After a day of sweating and running relay races with the children at R35 an ISB high school student, lowering her eyes paused to reflect. “You feel so good, the kids eyes light up when they see you. Just a little smile makes them really happy.” Another student summed up his experience this way. “If we don’t learn how to give something back, how will we ever be happy?” By the end of the day, this lesson was clear to everyone who participated.

Since the 2004 Tsunami, ISB has established a close, personal and important connection with the children at R35. The ISB Middle School Friendship Weekend described above is only one of the annual activities that bond ISB and R35 students. This spring ISB high school students will visit the school in Bang Sak for a Week Without Walls trip. Garbage clean up, mini car races and teaching about computers are potential items on the week’s agenda. Last fall, ISB hosted R35 students for a weekend in Bangkok to explore city life at the malls and Thai heritage at The National Museum. R35 and ISB students had an opportunity to get to know, support and learn from each other. “I was so impressed with one of the kids at R35, Potter, who has a positive attitude and helps to take care of all of the younger kids,” said Kris Rasicot, an ISB tenth grader.

The ISB Tsunami Relief Network (TRN) sponsors the student programs, donations to the school and volunteer support. The TRN was formed in response to the 2004 Tsunami in which many ISB students and family members experienced loss of family, friends and homes.

Two weeks after the fatal wave, a team of ISB and Taipei American School students, parents, and administrators scoured the Tsunami stricken landscape of Phang Nga province in search of a way to contribute. There, they met representatives of the King of Thailand’s Rajaprajanugroh Foundation who were developing plans to build a new school campus to replace four schools that had been destroyed by the Tsunami. The Foundation was seeking donations. The Network decided to fund one classroom building of the new campus. This project was a perfect match: international schools helping local schools.

A crusade to collect funds ensued, creating a network of families, corporations and a long list of schools, which include international schools across the globe, as well as national schools in Holland, Britain, Canada and the United States. Almost one million U.S. dollars came streaming in from the proceeds of magic shows, rummage sales, jellybean counting contests, and personal donations. Cendant Care, which represents many tourist industries throughout Thailand, provided a check for a significant portion of the cost of the classroom building. Altogether almost 500 donors have contributed.

“ISB was only one of the contributors to the construction of the R35 campus but we continued the support after the school was built. I think the children at R35 may have a better life because of this tragedy,” says Dr. William Gerritz, head of ISB. In the last three years the ISB Network has funded a playground, copy machines, a language laboratory, a home economics room, an administration building and a host of other projects to support the children. An ESL program staffed by volunteers was developed, thereby providing a practical education for the students who live in an area where tourism thrives. ISB teachers formulated the After the Wave project, which sponsors fifty of the most disadvantaged children at R35, to pay for their basic needs. “We wanted a personal connection with a child who needs support,” says ISB school psychologist David Anderson, one of the founders of After the Wave.

Volunteers associated with the TRN have worked at R35 to help out with the students. “As a Network, we can pool the resources of adults from Thailand and all over the world to provide an education and a safe environment for the children at the school in Bang Sak,” says Leanne Chadwick, co-chair of TRN. One of those adults, Patty Walsh, a dentist from the United States, examined the teeth of over 800 students. She plans to enlist the help of other dentists to come and volunteer at R35 and combat the tooth decay that plague many of the children. Maile Busby, the president of the ISB alumni association, and her husband, Brian Lindley decided to spend a year working at R35. Since July, they have managed to organize the new library, prepare a yearbook with photos of all of the students and teachers, and to simply read and play with the children. The couple has become famous for their Movies with Maile, which they hold every Sunday afternoon. Maile and Brian enjoy the close relationships they have developed over the year. When speaking of a particularly frightened and shy student at R35, Maile says, “ We feel very lucky to be able to be a part of this project and feel we have gotten back more than we could ever give - these are very special children.”