TBL Staff

JUST after the devastating December 2004 tsunami, the Grand Master of the West Australian Grand Lodge of Freemasons had the idea of supporting a related worthy project.

At the same time a member of Lodge Pattaya West Winds S.C. in Thailand was contacting a Freemason friend in Perth with details of a project to construct temporary but sturdy buildings to be used as schoolrooms in the tsunami affected areas on the southwest coast of Thailand.

This Perth Freemason contacted a fellow mason who frequents Thailand regularly. The end result was the Grand Master made the decision to launch an appeal.

Within four weeks there was enough to cover the cost of the first building to be located at the Kamalar Monastery on Phuket Island.

The prefab buildings are made with the heaviest piece only weighing 11 kilograms and the sections are small enough to go on the back of a standard truck.

When completed, the buildings can be up to 18 metres in length and erected in a very short time.

Monks, schoolgirls and volunteers all help with the painting of the frames of the building.

They are on brick foundations with timber floors and tarps stretched over the dome structures.

Freemasons, Thai Rotary clubs and private donations have enabled six of these buildings to be erected, with three funded by the West Australian Freemasons.

The dome buildings are used as dormitories at night as well as school rooms by day.

In February this year the Grand Master and Mrs Maley, accompanied by 63 West Australians, including Murray Williams and Lindsey and Cay Gell from Wagin, visited Thailand to see the buildings and while there attend Masonic Lodge meetings in Phuket, Pattaya and Bangkok.

Sight seeing included a day trip to Thramkrabok Monastery, where a unique program for drug addicts is being trialed, the River Kwai, Don Rak War Cemetery and Museum and the Tiger Temple, where the Monastery is carrying out tiger conservation program.

The evidence of the devastation around the coast of Phuket shows how horrendous it must have been, although a huge amount of cleaning up and restoration has been done with the villages getting on with their lives and hotels again taking tourists.

Two of the Masonic funded buildings being used for schools have been erected at Khao Lak, where a large school, a university and orphanage are being built.

Although not finished, many children are being housed there. Around this area 2000 children were either orphaned or their fathers were out fishing and families have nothing.

The youngest at this particular project were just three years old when orphaned.

As the tsunami hit on a Sunday the schools were empty but two that had 1000 and 2000 students were completely demolished.

The Khao Lok project has government funding and is being built as a memorial to the King of Thailand's only grandson who was lost in the tsunami. He was windsurfing when the wave hit.

A constant reminder of just how far the wave came inland and took everything before it is the navy patrol boat which was patrolling the area where he was surfing and was washed inland 1.3 kilometres and has been left there as a reminder of the tragedy.

All the crew except one jumped overboard and were lost at sea. The only survivor was the one who stayed on board. There doesn't appear to be any damage to the boat, which apparently just rode the wave inland!

In this area 10,000 lives were lost and in the compound where bodies were kept for identification there are still 500 unidentified.

The next night after visiting this area the ladies were invited to the dinner following the lodge meeting and five little girls from the orphanage sang and danced for us - so small, such smiling faces, such love and care from the people looking after them. It was heart breaking. One felt like bringing them home, but of course that would be too cruel after all they have been through. One wouldn't want to take them away from all they know, even if it were possible.

While in Thailand the West Australian Freemasons gave another $20,000 for continued support for tsunami victims.