Teacher appeals for tsunami aid

School children are being helped by the Westhill teacher

An Aberdeenshire teacher has appealed for continued help for the tsunami-hit people of Thailand.

Kay Melville, from Westhill Academy, is working on a three-month voluntary post teaching English in the country.

She said she had been left shocked at the conditions still being endured after the 2004 disaster.

Mrs Melville hopes to help schools restock to aid local children and appealed for aid through the charity website www.tsunamivolunteer.net.

Volunteers are also helping to build new accommodation.

I bought all the notebooks I could find in Khao Lak and took them along with a pencil and rubber each to the children Kay Melville Volunteer

Mrs Melville said: "I didn't realise just what I was coming to.

"I came out here after much research into volunteering for a non-profit organisation.

"I happened upon the Tsunami Volunteer Centre web site and found that they were running an education programme for children and adults affected by the tsunami."

New volunteers arrive every week and are involved in either construction or teaching, depending on what skills they have.

Mrs Melville has been in Thailand for a month and has another two to go.

"During that time I have been involved with both adults and children, teaching English, hoping to give them a better command of the language," she said.

"This will give them an advantage in the employment market, particularly in this area where they are desperately trying to get the tourist trade back to pre-tsunami levels."

'So excited'

She said the schools were very small and cramped, with up to 40 children in a class room, squashed up on wooden benches.

"When I went into my first one I was horrified to see that the 30-something children were sharing seven or eight pencils, most of them very short, and only one appeared to have his own jotter," she added.

"I bought all the notebooks I could find in Khao Lak and took them along with a pencil and rubber each to the children.

"They were so excited when they were given them and obviously could hardly believe it when we didn't take them away with us."

Hundreds of pounds have already been raised at Westhill Academy and the chemistry teacher urged as many other people as possible to help.