Ban Pang Tong School - Mae Hong Son Province
Ban Pang Tong School is set in the most beautiful surroundings close to the Buatong Flower Fields near the Mae Surin water falls, half an hour east of Khun Yuam.
Attached to the school is a dormitory to house children from the surrounding, more remote villages where the Karen people live. English volunteers have been involved in teaching children at this school for the past 4 years and have been aware of the poor state of accommodation, particularly in the boys dormitory where 50 children slept for 10 months of the year. There were no beds but the floors were flooded as the rains swept into the open spaces above the walls. This was particularly bad in 2005. There was no mosquito netting.
The boys were moved to sleep in the classrooms and even then had to sleep on the desks to keep off the wet floors. The headmaster fortunately found some bunk beds for the boys but the building itself needed around 500,000 baht spent on it. The girls dormitory (a series of small huts) suffered from poor drainage and lack of mosquito netting.
The work was finally completed in May 2006 ready for the new school year. The Director of the Karen Hilltribes Trust visited Ban Pang Tong in June and attended a celebration with Government education officers and staff. There was great excitement and thanks to BCTFN and other contributors. The school dormitory is now water-tight and mosquito proof with a new covered way which provides dry access and an area for games such as table tennis.
Bunk beds have been provided by another school and KHT will buy mattresses.
The bedrooms are now dry and protected from wind, rain and mosquitos. KHT will fund mattresses in the near future.
The girl's dormitories have also been renovated with new flooring and improved drainage. Plans are now being drawn up to improve the girls accommodation further.
The Karen Hilltribes Trust (KHT) is very grateful to the BCTFN for its ongoing support.
