Grade 11 School Build
Concordian International School’s ‘School Build Project’ is an annual service trip that G11 students have undertaken for many years, but in November 2023, this year’s G11s finally completed School Build for the first time since 2019.
From November 27th until December 1st, this year’s G11 cohort traveled to Phitsanulok province in northern central Thailand to help construct a school building at an underprivileged school in the small town of Baan Rong Kla which is nestled in the mountains within Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park. The following passages convey the daily experiences of some of the students throughout the week.
Mr. Ben Weil Service/CAS Coordinator
Day 1
On the 27th of November, we woke up in the early morning and assembled at the school’s lobby for our long journey to Phu Hin Rong Kla, Phitsanulok - our destination for the Grade 11 School Build trip. The ride started at 6:00 am as our buses began the 5-hour road trip to the town of Phitsanulok.
Once we arrived, we went to the local village located in the middle of a rice field to learn about the local culture. We got to dye our scarf using the traditional tie-dye technique and make the local dessert which is made from sugar and starch powder, pressed inside a flowery mold, while admiring the beautiful scenery.
Luckily, that night fell on a November full moon, which happened to be Loy Krathong day in Thailand. We had the chance to walk around the Muang Phitsanulok Loy Krathong festival alongside the Nan River. The fair was packed with people from around the province, various food stalls, games, and street performers, decorated with fairy lights and many balloons. On the riverbank, we prayed and released our krathongs into the river, wishing for a good year. Then, we returned to the hotel to rest before our journey up to the Phu Hin Rong Kla in the morning.
Day 2
On November 28th, for the second day in a row, we had another early wake-up call. After having breakfast in the dining hall, we were divided into small groups of 5-6 for our journey up the mountains, where we would be staying for the next three nights.
Upon arrival at the campsite, we all hurriedly chose beds and began unpacking. Before we knew it, we were called back to our vans to visit the school that we were building and to have lunch at a nearby restaurant. Upon arrival at the school, we were introduced to the kids, teachers, and school organizers who spoke about the importance of the school-building project. Initially, we were divided into three different groups: construction, painting, and murals. The construction team worked on placing planks on the walls, the painting team painted the walls with a light blue color, and the murals team began designing various murals. After a few hours of work, we headed back to the campsite and stopped by the restaurant for dinner.
At the campsite, a campfire awaited us. The entire grade gathered around the bright red fire, made s’mores, and took numerous pictures together. It was an amazing bonding moment overall. As the day finally came to an end, one by one, we decided to take a shower in the bathroom behind the cabin. The bathroom itself was an entire “experience.” The shock of ice-cold water, and spiders the size of our palms… made everyone realize how fortunate we were and how much we took for granted the small things, like a seemingly simple hot shower.
Doudou
Day 3
On the third day, we continued to work on our school build. Some of us worked on construction: placing planks and installing the windows and doors. Some others worked on repairing and repainting the chairs and tables. The others worked on painting the murals and we divided ourselves into two teams to paint in two different classrooms. One team painted the ocean with sea creatures and alphabet bubbles in the first classroom, while the other painted the world map with different continents and different species of animals living in that region in the second classroom.
Before we headed off to our campsite, the school and village arranged a village tour and house visits. In smaller groups, each of us visited the Bann Huay Nam Sai students’ families and houses. We interviewed them to learn about the unique cultures, traditions, and lifestyles of the tribe. For the first time, we got to interact with the villagers and received their warm welcome.
Once again we returned to our campsite to take a shower in the icy-cold water. Then, we met with the villagers again and they provided us with a special performance of their traditional dancing. In return, we performed two songs for the villagers.
Day 4
On the fourth day, we finally finished our school build. We finished the construction and held a small handover ceremony which ended with taking a large group photo. The teachers and students of Baan Huay Nam Sai finally got to see their new classrooms.
The students were excited and happy to see the murals that we painted, and their brand-new walls, chairs, and desks. Just seeing them smile and happy with our work washed away the exhaustion from all the things we had done until now, and made us feel that our efforts did make a change, not the least by bringing smiles to those children.
After parting with the students, teachers and staff of the school, we headed to the nature trail of the national park where we got to trek to high cliffs, windy mountains, and lush forests with all kinds of fascinating insects and creatures to observe. We enjoyed the trekking and had fun taking pictures.
At night, we did a reflection on the school build experience with Khun Varnee, each of us sharing our thoughts and the takeaways from the trip before heading to bed and ready to return home.
Day 5
December 1st was the last day of the trip. At 6:00 am we all headed off to grab breakfast at the bottom of the mountain. The majority of the day was the 6-hour bus ride back to Bangkok which we spent by looking back at the different pictures and reminiscing about the moments when we played with the little kids at the village.
“Education is the best gift you can give to someone.” This line is forever engraved in our minds, a lesson taught by Concordian ever since we were in nursery. This experience - from planning and fundraising to going to Phitsanulok to build the school - apart from genuinely eyeopening, was also extremely memorable.
And a final message for the younger grades: Good luck guys, it’s fun, it’s memorable, and it’s an experience you won’t forget!
