ThyssenKrupp support projects for tsunami victims
Ban Tab La Mu School
In the six southern provinces of Thailand the authorities have identified around 150 schools which need help. The Ban Tab La Mu School, located to the south of the tourist area of Khao Lak in Phang Nga province, was severely battered by the tidal waves.
Shortly after the tsunami: the settlement of Ban Nam Kem lies in ruins.
The primary school, which is under the authority of the Basic Education Commission of the Ministry of Education, is located in Lam Khan subdistrict, Tai Muang district, Phang Nga province, the province most severely hit by the tsunami. Around 150 children who live in the region were educated there. Though all the children and teachers survived, the school buildings and teaching equipment and materials were all destroyed. Some of the children have lost their parents.
The remains of Ban Tab La Mu School shortly after the tsunami.
Under the supervision of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and the Ministry of Education, this aid project involves not just rebuilding the school, but also expanding and modernizing all other facilities. ThyssenKrupp is providing the majority of the funding for the project: the rebuilding of one of the three main school buildings – a two-story building with six classrooms – and a multi-purpose building which will include a canteen for the children and their teachers.
The main building of the Ban Tab La Mu School financed by ThyssenKrupp. There will be three of these buildings in total, each with 6 classrooms.
When Executive Board member Dr. Olaf Berlien first visited in February, only the ruins of the school could be seen here. The children were being taught outside or in emergency shelters. The remains of the building have since been demolished and new foundations laid. By the time of the latest visit by the ThyssenKrupp Group Representative François Schefman at the end of October, both the main building and the multi-purpose building of the school were half-finished. The intention is to finish the majority of the construction work by December and hand over the school to the children and their teachers in February.
In addition to the funds already provided for the construction of the school buildings, Dr. Berlien promised a further 5 million THB to the crown princess in November for basic teaching materials and school books on behalf of ThyssenKrupp.