The Story

Born from the sea.

Twenty years of Ban Nam Khem — from the 2004 tsunami to the classrooms and concerts of today.

A story, first
1994
Before the wave

Seldon co-produces The Swan Princess.

The storytelling instincts forged in that film — heart, humor, silent expression — will one day become the DNA of everything that follows. A decade before the wave, the soil is quietly being turned.

The wave
2004
December 26

The tsunami. Seldon is near the village, and survives.

Ban Nam Khem, a Thai fishing community on the Andaman coast, is among the hardest-hit places on earth that morning. The day does not end. It begins something else.

The return
2005
The year after

A promise made in the rubble.

In the months that follow, Seldon keeps coming back. The village is rebuilding. The school is reopening. He commits to being part of what comes next — not as a visitor, but as a friend who stays.

The drum
2013
Nine years on

A music program takes root at the school.

Instruments go into children's hands at Ban Nam Khem School. A keyboard. A drum. A chorus. The beginnings of a sound the village did not know it had. This is where Seldon's pink argyle sweater becomes part of the story.

The stage
2022
After the pandemic

The Swan Princess Band takes shape.

Drumsticks, rehearsals, the first real public performance. Students born after 2004 stand on stage in the village their parents rebuilt — and play a song. The band becomes the loudest thing the village has heard in a long time.

Remembrance
2024
December 26

Twenty years since the wave.

The whole community gathers at the memorial wall on the beach. Candles. Names read aloud. The children of survivors lighting lanterns for people they never met. The anniversary becomes, quietly, the start of what comes next.

The words
2025
May 1

Waves of Words begins.

The first English-conversation interns arrive at Ban Nam Khem School. Not textbook drills — daily games, songs, meals, field trips, classroom assistance. Kindergarten through third grade. The children learn the way children actually learn: by laughing, mispronouncing, trying again.

Now
2026
Today

The work continues.

The intern program grows. Music continues. A library, a storytelling workshop, cultural exchange, and the beginnings of Professor WOW — a silent, bouncing cartoon ambassador born from the pink argyle itself. A fishing village on the Andaman coast is becoming, slowly, a school that teaches the world back.

Scroll to walk the timeline →
They've been through so much — yet are so resilient, always offering that world-famous Thai smile.
Seldon Young Founder · Waves of Words
Seldon Young, founder of Waves of Words
The man behind it all

Meet Seldon Young.

Producer of The Swan Princess. Co-founder of Nest Entertainment. Survivor of the 2004 tsunami. Wearer of pink argyle. His story is the reason this one exists.

Meet Seldon Young →
Ready?

Ride the wave.

Apply to intern → Contact the program director