The Rotary Club of Royal Hua Hin has proudly announced the conclusion of their ‘Clean Water Project’ at the Ban Phamak School. The school has around 160 students from a small Karen community of about 650 inhabitants west of Hua Hin close to the Myanmar border. The Club’s aim was to provide an eco-friendly and sustainable way to access clean water by the community. The project committee has been under the leadership of Members Joachim Drewitz and Michael Ruess.
Their technical knowledge was used to source and supervise the installation of the necessary equipment. The project involved the installation of energy efficient equipment, including a water pump powered by four solar panels generating 1000 Watts of electricity, replacing two aged and partly damaged diesel powered pumps. Water is pumped from a nearby river uphill over hundreds of metres to water tanks then filtered and distributed to school outlets as drinking water and for personal hygiene. A proportion of the water is used for irrigation of the community’s farmlands.
The project budget of 270,000 THB was funded from the Club’s contribution of 50,000 THB but also thanks to fantastic financial support from the German aid organisation; ‘Stuttgarter Hilfe für Flüchtlingswaisenkinder aus Myanmar’ or in English – ‘Stuttgart Help for Refugee Orphans from Myanmar‘ (SHFM). SHMF is a non-profit association managed by President Mrs Eva Hoetzel and her husband Dr. Gerhard (‘Jerry’) Hoetzel, both members of the Rotary Club of Royal Hua Hin. A cheque for 200,000 THB had previously been handed to President Christoph Leonhard by Mrs Hoetzel. Stating that “together we are strong”, SHFM will continue to closely cooperate with the Rotary Club of Royal Hua Hin to help Karen children in Thailand.
Club Board Members will visit the community from time to time to verify that the system is still working efficiently. Other Club Members or those wishing to support Rotary Projects are welcome to join future trips. For more information about this Project, other Rotary Club of Royal Hua Hin activities and contact details visit: www.rotaryroyalhuahin.org