| |
|
|
| Home > What We Do > Thailand > Field Report May 15, 2005 |
| THAILAND |
| |
|
 |
|
|
| |
KIRF Tsunami Relief Field Report #3
May 15 , 2005
by Mark Kirwin in Ranong, Thailand
The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity. We had productive meetings with the head of the department of education to set up scholarship funds for the tsunami victim orphans. We decided that the best way to do this is to have a party at our Ranong contacts office where the children will come with guardians, get their photos taken and file out a short paper telling us what they want to do. We are arranging for a bank representative to be there also to help with setting up separate accounts for the children's education.
I saw photos of the children, which we had asked the department of education to give us. They were small photos but one could see the listlessness in each face, not a single smile in a culture of smiles…
After these meetings, we began searching for other tsunami projects but ran into some dead ends. This was disheartening because I knew the need was there. The next morning my brother Stephen rallied the troops, me and our interpreter, Stephen's friend Bee, and said lets go find that catholic priest that is helping with Burmese orphans.
We did not find him but in the search, we rode our motorcycles into a church courtyard, kinda like aliens from outer space, two big white guys during a school session of the church children, asking about some priest from another denomination. As you can imagine it was a rather strange experience, but going with the flow, this happens a lot.
As it turned out, when we were explaining what we were doing, after waiting for awhile for the Pastor to show up, explaining that we were not promoting any religion, but just here to help, I heard the Pastor say Tsunami and Moken.
This lead to an intense hour long discussion where we found out that this church, and only this church in the world of international and national tsunami relief, are the only ones helping out this Moken village that was hit by the waves. No deaths but they lost all of their boats. The Moken are a boat people, historically nomadic that live on the sea. They have been forced by the Thai government to live on islands. As we came to see, this arrangement was a cross between a Native American reservation (without any funding) and the untouchables in Bihar India, where my Mother helps with aid.
Thirty minutes later we were on a boat motoring to the island. What we experienced next struck so very deep- utter poverty, malnourishment in the children, clep-mouth adults, muscles as the only food that they could gather from the beach, dilapidated pole structures as houses, minimal and worn clothing, a women who had lost her husband and infant to malaria and on... They were in dire need of help. Yet they were very proud of whom they are and smiled at us with kindness.
The local Thai government will not help because the Moken have no registration. The local Thai businesses will not sell to them because they are not registered, or maybe it is racism...(that is the feeling I got while walking with the chief of the village down a Thai street after returning to the mainland- racism it seems bears its nasty head all over the world.)
So a meeting was called. Bee translated, helped ease concerns, and gave words of encouragement, explaining who were. Stephen took photos and I asked them what they needed. Bee told them that they were worth more than what they were getting in aid. She told them that we would help as we could. What was the need?
What followed were many of the people telling us what then needed: rice, salt, noodles, cloths for children (sarongs), oil, chilies, nets, boats, motors, canned fish (the fish in the ocean have not returned yet and their boats are all ruined from the wave), water storage supplies, a generator - no electricity.
So, today, we started the rounds of Ranong buying what we could.
Tomorrow we purchase more and back to the island. This afternoon we are going into the mountains to see more poor people in the villages that my need aid.
Call it Karma, direction from God, being in the moment, or whatever one wants, but it was truly amazing that we rode into that church and within hours were on the path to helping these very kind people that were so extremely poor and hungry.
Until later,
Peace,
Mark
|
|
|
|
|
back to top |
| DISASTER RELIEF |
At
|
|
| SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT |
KIRF invested |
| back to top |
| EDUCATION |
KIRF
|
| back to top |
| CONSERVATION |
| Conservation v |
| back to top |
Home | Privacy Policy | Member of IHC | Contact Us
© 2005–2008 Kirwin International Relief Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
|
| |
|
 |
| |
| |
Most important of all is poverty alleviation, which is number one, and then the role of women. Women are very, very important in the development process.
– Mechai Viravaidya
|
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
