Balls to Bangkok: From Phuket with Love

PHUKET: A total of 100,000 EM (effective microorganism) balls handmade by Phuket students and three flood-rescue boats were handed over to the Royal Thai Army yesterday in the hope of providing some assistance to flood victims in Bangkok.

Somboonsri Koeysiripong, president of the Women’s Territorial Defense Volunteer Association (WTDVA), yesterday made a token handover of the balls to Lt Gen Chanpradit Saengnil, Commander of Army Area 41, based in Nakhon Sri Thammarat.

The ceremony was held at the Srinagarindra The Princess Mother School at Saphan Hin in Phuket Town. Present to officiate the handover was Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha.

“The EM balls are expected to help improve the water quality in the affected areas,” explained Mrs Somboonsri.

“We started the project with students at the school on November 1. So far, we have already reached our target number of EM balls and we’re ready to send them to Bangkok via the 4th Army Area Command,” she added.

Once the balls have been safely delivered to Lt Gen Chanpradit, he will then hand them over to his superior officer, Army Region 4 Commander Lt Gen Udomchai Thammasarohrat, chief of the Royal Thai Army Southern Thailand headquarters, also based in Nakhon Sri Thammarat.

The balls and boats will then be handed over for deployment in Bangkok.

— Warisa Temram