A GROUP of youngsters will be travelling to Thailand to help build a community centre for a village of people who lost their homes during the tsunami in December 2004. Alexis Thompson finds out more.

TEN students from Cobham Hall, an international school for girls in Cobham, will be visiting Ko Phi Phi Island in October to take part in the project.

The volunteers aged between 14 and 17-years-old will spend a week in Krabi village helping architects, designers and architecture students from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok build the centre.

The Baan Leam Tong International Community Resource Centre will provide the village people with a meeting place, as well offering classes in higher education up to A level standard and vocational training taught by voluntary teachers.

Voluntary GPs will also be on hand providing medical assistance and advice.

Paul Gilchrist, a maths teacher at Cobham Hall will be flying out to Thailand to supervise the group.

He said: “The village was completely wiped out by the tsunami and those people who did survive were left homeless.

“Homes are gradually being rebuilt, but this community centre will provide the village with a focal point which they didn’t have before and it will make a positive contribution to the community.”

The project was set up by Round Square, a not for profit association made up of more than 60 international schools around the world which help out with humanitarian projects.

Mr Gilchrist, a Round Square representative said: “We were invited to take part in the project because our school is part of Round Square and other Round Square schools have been helping out too.

“The project began in 2006 but I think it has taken so long to complete because it has relied on volunteers and funding.

“The funding comes from Round Square, which in turn relies on charitable donations from schools, individuals and companies.”

The girls will help out with manual labour work, which will involve building the retaining wall and installing the water storage.

Mr Gilchrist said: “Instead of walls 22 columns will support the structure, which will mean water can run straight through it rather than knock it down flat, making the building tsunami proof.”

Mr Gilchrist says the girls will be spending an extra week in Thailand to do some sight seeing, which will involve visiting Bangkok for a few days to visit the Father Joseph’s Mercy Centre, a hospice for street children with AIDS.

To raise the money to finance the trip, 25 students and staff from Cobham Hall will be cycling between all of the Round Square schools in England.

Their sponsored ride will begin on June 26 and will take them from Newcastle, to Cumbria, Staffordshire, Berkshire and Surrey and they will return back to Kent on July 3.

Mr Gilchrist added : “They are currently working hard on their fitness and stamina and training rides are being held most weekends.”

To find out more about the project log on to phiphi-design-workshop.blogspot.com