In 1966, we donated 50,000 Baht to build a school in a small village three hours south of Bangkok. The Princess Mother came to open it and gave it our name. Nearly 800 children study there today — and we're still involved.
In 1966, the Rotary Club of Bangkok donated 50,000 Baht to build a school in Nong Plub, a small community in Prachuap Kiri Khan Province, about three hours south of Bangkok.
Construction took three years. When the school opened in 1969, H.R.H. the Princess Mother — "Somdej Yaa," as she was affectionately known — came to visit and gave the school a name: Rotary Bangkok School (โรงเรียนโรตารี่กรุงเทพ). The first classroom building, a single-storey wooden structure, was named the "Somdej Yaa Building" in her honour. It still stands.
What's There Now
From one donated building on donated land, Rotary Bangkok School has grown into a school of nearly 800 students, from kindergarten through Mathayom 3 (Grade 9), drawing from both Prachuap Kiri Khan and neighbouring Petchburi provinces.
The Somdej Yaa Building is still in use as an art classroom, music room, and small museum that tells the school's history — photographs of the Club's involvement over fifty-five years on every wall. But it's showing its age. The foundation, flooring, and windows all need serious work.
The Visit in April 2025
On 25 April 2025, President Danu Chotikapanich led thirteen members and their families down to Nong Plub for the annual visit. They were met by School Director Kunthalee, welcomed with a ceremony honouring the Princess Mother's statue, traditional dances by the students, and a Songkran water-pouring ceremony.
Director Kunthalee walked the delegation through the Somdej Yaa Building and laid out her renovation plan. The school has some of its own funds, and the local temple has offered a contribution. But the structural work — foundation, flooring, windows — is beyond what those can cover.
Rtn Lalida Wongnirund Tepanart, an architect and Club member, did an initial structural assessment during the visit.
Why the Relationship Matters
Rotary Bangkok School isn't just a service project. It's a relationship that's been going for nearly sixty years, connecting a Bangkok-based international club to a rural community in a way that goes beyond any single donation or repair job.
When Club members go to Nong Plub, they're welcomed like family. When the school needs something, the Club shows up. When the school wants to show its students where it came from, the museum in the Somdej Yaa Building tells a story with the Rotary Club of Bangkok on every wall.
You can't build that kind of relationship from scratch. It takes time — lots of it. This one has been built across generations of Rotarians and generations of students.
Rotary Bangkok School (โรงเรียนโรตารี่กรุงเทพ) is in Nong Plub, Prachuap Kiri Khan Province. The Rotary Club of Bangkok has supported the school since 1966.