"My people needs your small help"

The village of this little boy was distroyed. There is a way to help, please make your contribution here.

The purpose of your donation:
"The Tsunami Relief Fund will provide assistance to tsunami impacted coastal communities on and near Koh Phratong. In doing so, it will emphasize a community-driven process, and cooperate with other parties involved in the relief effort in working toward the long term sustainability of these communities."

The goal of your donation:
"Provide (short and mid-range) assistance to ensure that tsunami victims have access to housing, education, health, and can rebuild their livelihoods."

For more information related to Koh Phra Tong click here.
For information related to other affected areas, click here.

Koh Phra Tong needs your help!

A child smiles at a primary school - Koh Phra Thong, Thailand - Feb.2003
See this child's village here.

Extracted from Lost Horizons website where you can track Koh Phra Tong island’s status:

The impact on the island:“There are three villages on Koh Phratong: Tapa Yoi, Bak Jok, and Tung Dap. Of these, Bak Jok and Tung Dap have been completely destroyed. Other severely affected villages in the area include Baan Talae Nok and Hat Praphat. The villagers have lost not only homes, but their fishing boats - the main source of food and income for most families. These families rely almost completely on the sea for their survival, there is very little farming, cottage industry, or tourism in the area.”

You help will make a difference:

You can volunteer to give a hand:
“It is my understanding that Golden Buddha is ready for volunteers to help with the reconstruction. Please email reservations@goldenbuddhabeach.com if you would like to volunteer to help rebuild the resort. In addition to general help, the resort (and then the relief project) will need bilingual people, clerks, and those with construction skills.

For those that are interested working with the villages, we will have a volunteer program up and running as soon possible, but it will take a few weeks to set up. Any one interested, please email LHtravel@inet.co.th.

It is my understanding that there are many volunteers in Thailand looking for things to do. If you know any of these people, please have them email LHtravel@inet.co.th.”
Bodhi – Golden Buddha Beach

Or/and you can make your contribution here to help Bak Jok and other villages recover from the Tsunami damage.

For more information related to Koh Phra Tong click here.
For information related to other affected areas, click here.

Children of Koh Phra Tong need our help

I know its silly to focus on a specific village when thousand others have suffered the same fate but I am limited and this village is very special to me.
I just wish that all victims are receiving the help they need and soon they can restart their lives put on hold that tragic morning of 26 December.

Two years ago, I met many children from the village Bak Jok, in Koh Phra Thong Island also known as Golden Buddha, and their smiles never left my mind since the day I left.
These children irradiated such a wonderful and positive energy that made you forget any problem you may had.
I will never forget that wonderful day I spent at this school, it remains as alive in my memory as theses picture remain visible here.
Today the fate of these children is unknown to me. I just wish that they are all ok and that soon they will be smiling like before.
Meanwhile I want to share their smiles with you and ask you to please help them smile again.
I know that there is no money that will bring the ones who died back to life but with all respect to those, lets focus on those who survived and help them rebuilt their lives as close as they were before.
For sure we can make some of these smiles to happen again!

You can make your contribution here to help Bak Jok and other villages recover from the Tsunami damage.





You can read a personal experience here
here, of what happened that tragic morning in Golden Buddha Island.

If anybody has any news about the villages of Koh Phra Thong Island, I would appreciate if you could update me.
I will be publishing here whatever information I can find or receive about the tsunami victims of Koh Phra Thong Island.

Ajude-os a voltar a sorrir... Help them smile again

smiles at a primary school - Koh Phra Thong, Thailand - Feb.2003

Estou triste, porque ha muitos sorrisos que deixaram de o ser, assim de repente sem aviso.
Estou triste porque me iludi que esses olhos que me sorriam iriam brilhar para sempre.

No ano passado estive numa pequena ilha no oceano indico, junto ‘a costa occidental da Thailandia - Koh Phratong - um pequeno paraiso ainda pouco frequentado por turistas. As razoes que atraiam as pessoas a esta ilha eram essencialmente o movimento de conservacao e preservacao do meio ambiente ligados ‘a sobrevivencia de tartarugas e um retiro de yoga. Havia ainda na ilha 3 aldeias povadas por pessoas maravilhosas e criancas sorridentes.
A paz e harmonia cohabitava com a beleza natural e fazia deste lugar, uma terapia para a alma.

No dia 26 de Dezembro, tudo isto foi varrido da sua existencia, de uma forma tao subita como triste e devastadora.

Relatos do que aconteceu nesta ilha (nao mencionada pelos media, pois nao fazia parte dos principais destinos turisticos):
“There are three villages on Koh Phratong: Tapa Yoi, Bak Jok, and Tung Dap. Of these, Bak Jok and Tung Dap have been completely destroyed. Other severely affected villages in the area include Baan Talae Nok and Hat Praphat.”Bodhi from Golden Buddha Beach

“We went to the fishing village near the mangroves and it's unbelievable. There is nothing left at all. It's not like there's some foundations or rubble because the houses were all wooden. A government worker went to asse the situation and said that there was no disaster because he couldn't see any sign that humans had lived there. All the kids were killed and every adult except for two who climbed trees. The bodies of the rest have been found. The only sign that humans have been there for any length of tine is a kid's swing left swaying poignantly in the wind; unfortunately there's no-one left to swing on it now. When you think of all the kids shouting "Hello!!" at you it really brings tears to your eyes.”e-mail by Paul Saunders

Ler mais aqui.
Read more here.

Se puder e quiser contribuir com ajuda monetaria para ajudar directamente as aldeias da ilha Koh Phra Thong, click aqui.

Please donate here to help Bak Jok and other villages recover from the Tsunami damage.