Bangkok--24 Sep--Vivaldi Public Relations SEALNet, a non-profit organization founded in 2004 to improve the well-being of people in Southeast Asia, has successfully completed a comprehensive programme of water sanitation and conservation at the Ban Nong Thong Lim School in Buriram. A multi-national SEALNet team was led by four King scholars and a Malaysian government scholar. This team was also mentored by a director of Volans Asia. Suksiri Kulvaraporn, a co-founder of SEALNet, acted as a consultant. For this year, the voluntary project on development was brought to Ban Nong Thong Lim school, located at Tambon Nong Bot, Amphoe Nang Rong, Buriram, with students from kindergarten level to grade 9 totally of 463 persons. The project’s objective was to solve the immediate water hygiene problems and to provide a framework for long-term maintenance and sustainability. The team started working on site on 31 August 2008, and their work was completed on 12 September 2008. “Our immediate task was to tackle the sanitation problem and our approach right from the start was to involve the students at every level to give them a sense of ownership,” said project leader Supatchaya Parapiboon.Practical initiatives were complemented by interactive lessons on the importance of conservation and sanitation, as well as on leadership skills. To impart practical knowledge on conservation and sufficiency economy, the SEALNet team led the students in fixing their on-site food sources—a fish pond and a vegetable garden. The fish pond was cleaned, and a water efficient drip irrigation system was set up for the vegetable garden to ensure continuous supply of fresh fish and vegetables for the students’ meals. To improve the school’s sanitation level, the SEALNet team and the students first cleaned the toilets, and then painted the walls together to instill pride in the ‘new and improved’ toilets. With the generous funding from the Let’s Be Good Project of DTAC, Johnson and Johnson Medical, and PDA the SEALNet project has constructed 2 new water tanks with capacity for 2,200 liters each and a water tower, and drainage system to ensure that enough water is supplied throughout the school area, including the toilets, fish pond, and vegetable garden. The students’ active participation in all the project’s activities created a sense of ownership and commitment to future maintenance. In addition, the leadership skills learnt both through lessons and during the activities would empower the students to tackle future problems in their school by themselves, reinforcing their inner potential to a higher degree. Suksiri Kulvaraporn said, “The recently completed Ban Nong Thong Lim School project illustrates the practical and sustainable approach SEALNet brings to its projects. We provide the resources and skills to effect immediate improvements to the school, especially those related to sanitation and health, and we also work to empower local youths to help themselves through the SEALNet’s leadership curriculum. Our unique focus in grooming local youth leaders differentiates us from many other student volunteer groups.” As the project was completed on September 12, 2008, Khun Peerapong Klinlaor, head of the CSR department of DTAC honorably gave his congratulations at the project site, saying, “according to our Let’s Be Good Project, this programme is consistent with DTAC’s intentions to encourage people to do good things in any way they can. Whether paying attention to others, sharing their knowledge, or bringing new technologies to improve people’s lives, DTAC is pleased to see students who have studied abroad share their valuable knowledge and goodwill to uplift the quality of life of the people. Besides students at Ban Nong Thong Lim School getting improved sanitary water supply, the volunteers, themselves, got a chance to share experiences with others and to develop the community, establishing sustainable well-being.” SEALNet’s mission is to continually build and nurture a community of youth leaders who are passionate about social development in Southeast Asia. SEALNet raises awareness of social problems, inspires youth to take responsibility, and empowers them to take the lead in solving problems in their community. For more information, please contact: Chanpim Merakate (Pim) PR Consultant, Vivaldi Public Relations Mobile: 081 425 7017 Office: 02 319 1031 ext. 1152 Fax: 02 718 2135 Email: [email protected]