Hanseatic School for Life

The Hanseatic School for Life is a large non-profit organization in Thailand ^[1] that cares for children and adolescents in need. The Hanseatic School for Life pursues an educational concept on the basis of the "situational approach", which UNESCO classified as a "... much needed world-class innovative effort in the field of education" and a "new standard of educational excellence for the world community of the 21st century".^[2] Through family-like living and project-oriented learning, the children and adolescents gain basic professional, social and entrepreneurial skills which can give their life a positive direction. The intellectual father of the situational approach is the Berlin educationalist Prof. em. Dr. Jürgen Zimmer,^[3] who founded the International Academy for Innovative Pedagogy, Psychology and Economics gGmbH (INA) at the Free University Berlin, and who accompanies the implementation of the concept at the Hanseatic School for Life.

History

Tsunami warning sign in Khao Lak

Hanseatic School for Life, formerly Beluga School for Life, in Na Nai ("village in a rice field") near Khao Lak in the south of Thailand was founded by Niels Stolberg and inaugurated in October 2006. The initial aim was to help the numerous children in Thailand who had lost their parents due to the tsunami in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. Thailand was among the regions most affected by the natural disaster. From the beginning the concept of the Hanseatic School for Life rested on the two pillars of living and learning. The children live in family-like structures, similar to those of the worldwide SOS Children's Villages. Knowledge transfer takes place in so-called "Learning Centers" on the premises. The objective of the Beluga School for Life is to promote lasting successes in the region. The focus of the school is therefore no longer exclusively aimed at the victims of the 2004 tsunami catastrophe, but also at local children and adolescents in need. The former premises of a coconut plantation in the heartland of Thailand have been continuously developed since the opening of the school.^[4] Currently, 150 children and adolescents live in the newly built village. The age of the children ranges from infancy through adolescence. The Hanseatic School for Life is open to the public, and since 2007 it has also been possible to temporarily live on the premises as a visitor.^[5] The first School for Life following the concept of Professor em. Dr. Jürgen Zimmer was already founded in 2003 in the north of Thailand, near the provincial capital Chiang Mai. This facility focused primarily on AIDS orphans, as AIDS had caused the death of many parents in the region and left numerous children in utmost poverty.^[6] The School for Life near Chiang Mai is located approximately a 45 minute drive away from the provincial capital on the farm "Suan Suo Fha Sai", which in English means "clear skies over beautiful gardens". Today the school cares for and teaches more than 120 orphans.^[7]

Activity

Partial overview of the Beluga School for Life campus

The objective of the Hanseatic School for Life, and a distinguishing feature compared to similar aid projects, is the clear orientation towards the transfer of practical and easily applicable skills which are designed to allow the students to set up their own business in the future and thus to even create new jobs.^[5] The concept is based on the idea of "helping people to help themselves", and aims at lastingly reducing poverty. The guest area of the village, the ”Hotel Training Institute“, serves as a "Learning Center", the only one of its kind in Thailand. At the institute, school graduates have the opportunity to practically learn how to cater to vacationers and qualify for employment in the hotel business during a one year training course. The situational approach serves as the educational basis.^[8] It prepares the children for specific everyday "key situations" and thus for their future life. The children are encouraged to be proactive and creative and thus become independent personalities. Many kindergartens in Germany also follow the method of “social learning”. This process opposes isolated learning which is far removed from real life, a kind of educational approach which is still often found at conventional schools.^[9] In order to achieve these realistic key situations, the teachers not only convey skills in basic subjects such as writing, reading and math, but their main objective is to emphasize the practical relevance of the acquired knowledge. According to the situational approach it is important to implement the knowledge transfer as realistically as possible. The so-called "Learning Centers" at the Hanseatic School for Life were specifically created to this end, and are geared towards the transfer of specific skills. Currently, six different subject areas are offered:

Organic Farming
Culture Sensitive Tourism
Nutrition and Health
Body and Soul
Cultural Heritage and Development
International Communication

The Learning Centers are used to convey social, professional, and entrepreneurial knowledge. The children learn, for example, how plants have to be cultivated to grow in an optimal way. Simple market analyses and business calculations are part of the agricultural projects: The proceeds have to cover the costs for seeds, tools and other expenditures.^[10] The organization of the school and the education on-site are the responsibility of a total of 60 employees. Five of them are German nationals, the rest are from Thailand.

Financing

The Hanseatic School for Life primarily finances itself by means of donations and sponsorships.To date, more than four million euro have been invested into the construction and maintenance of the village. Legally the Hanseatic School for Life is operated by the charitable Hanseatic School for Life gGmbH. In October 2005, the Thai Beluga S.L. Ltd. was founded, which acts as owner of the premises and buildings.^[11] The plan for the near future is that the project will be able to largely finance itself on the basis of proceeds from "culture sensitive tourism" at the Beluga School for Life, which began in 2007. As guests of the Hanseatic School for Life, culturally interested vacationers receive authentic insights into life in Southeast Asia on equal footing with the Thai residents. To this end, additional guest bungalows have been erected on the premises.^[12]

Awards

On September 30, 2007, the Hanseatic School for Life was selected by the initiative „Germany – Land of Ideas“^[13] as a “Landmark in the Land of Ideas“.^[14] In November 2008, the Hanseatic School for Life received a personal award from Willi Lemke, UN Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace. He particularly emphasized the quality of the Beluga School for Life: “I will tell the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon that this is the best project I have seen so far”.^[15]

Criticism

The Hanseatic School for Life uses on its own website, the words "We are a UNESCO project school". According to Volker Hörold, coordinator of the UNESCO-school network, the use of this information is prohibited in this form.^[17] In addition, it is not awarded the German DZI seal, which certifies the proper use of donations. The shipowner Niels Stolberg, founder of the predecessor of the Hanseatic School for Life is, according to prosecutor Frank Passade, embezzling donations of school.^[18]

Media Coverage

Critical Reports in the media about the new Hanseatic School for Life:

ARD Rettung der Hanseatic School for Life 11. Juli 2011
SZ Reeder Stolberg der Veruntreuung verdächtig. Eine Spende, die nicht ankam 5. Oktober 2011
TAZ Waisenhaus-Finanzierung.Die Spur der Spenden 14. März 2012
WDR Hanseatic School for Life 22. Januar 2012
NDR Wo sind die Spenden für die Beluga-Schule?, Mitarbeiter sprechen von einem Etikettenschwindel, 13. März 2012