The school is actively continuing to raise funds and expects an additional B30,000-40,000 to be raised by the time this goes to print.
So how did the school raise so much money in such little time?
Through sponsorship of various student activities last week, explained Year 2JS Class Teacher Josh Singh, who has Nepalese ancestry.
“I’ve experienced success with sponsorship at schools I have worked for in the past, and so when we started discussing how we could contribute to Nepal, sponsorship seemed like the perfect solution,” said Mr. Singh, whose Nepalese father has a strong background in charitable organisations.
Mr Singh explained that sponsorship is a good way to get everyone in the community involved – students, teachers, staff and all their relatives and friends.
“You can always ask for donations, and sure you will get something, but sponsorship allows the community to get more actively involved in the cause, and it encourages children to know about what they’re getting involved in,” he said.
Each class at KIS, from Reception up to Year 9, planned their own activities, mostly in the form of challenges.
For example, Year 1 (5 years old) students vied for an accumulative 500 skips in an hour; Year 2 for 1,000 bounces of a basketball; Year 3 running backwards for 200 laps; Year 4 egg and spoon race for 100 laps around the track while Year 5 students sprinted for 500 laps around the track.
Year 6-9 students got sponsorship for “a week without...”, prompting students to sacrifice things they enjoy, for example, ipads or chocolate.
Moreover, students with musical talent busked for donations, playing the piano and singing songs, while other students prompted sponsorship by opting not to wear their uniform for a day.
Asked about what the money raised will be used for, Deputy Director Nicola Chokkeua explained that KIS will be selecting a local charity, in Nepal.
“We want the funds to go directly to those in need, as opposed to covering admin costs of a huge organisation. So we've narrowed our choices down to a few and are conducting due diligence on them all first before we send the money,” she said.
Mr Singh added, “Being a school, we want our funds to benefit children affected by the disaster, whether it be for rebuilding schools, or providing food, water and other educational materials for children in need.”
In addition to money, KIS has also collected a lot of clothes, food and first aid materials, noted KIS Sports Teacher, Lennard Kolthof.
If you would like to contribute to KIS’ fund raising, or have any questions or suggestions, please direct your comments to Mr. Josh Sing joshsingh_kisp@kajonkietsuksa.ac.th who has been the event coordinator.