We care - help for the long haul

[Nicke]

Help for the long haul

Volunteers have flocked to the Andaman coast to lend a hand, but committed people are still needed for the long term to help locals rebuild their lives

KARNJARIYA SUKRUNG (Bangkok Post)

It is 8pm at the Khao Lak Nature Resort Tsunami Volunteer Centre, and some volunteers are just now having their first meal of the day. They start work at 8am, and there's a lot of work to be done. Every second counts towards helping displaced and affected tsunami victims get on the fast-track to recovery.

A group of young volunteers sit riveted to the computer screen, typing into a database containing information on thousands of unidentified bodies and disaster relief activities. Next to the data-entry volunteers are translators, who help ensure that all the information can be reached by users worldwide.

Some volunteers hitchhike to survey villages and collect information, essential in planning for long-term development projects for local communities. Others saw up unneeded coffins to make furniture while still others do chores like cooking and cleaning the centre, which has become a second home for some 150 to 200 volunteers, both Thais and foreigners from 20 countries.

It has been almost a month now that volunteers have been stationed at or rotated through this resort-turned relief centre, sorting out things they can do to establish sustainable development in the affected areas. The job is far from over.

"Now that the immediate work such as collecting corpses is almost completed, it's time to help the surviving victims reconstruct their lives. This rehabilitation will take much longer, I think, at least a year. So we need a lot of volunteers to help out with many projects throughout the year," said Sombat Boon-ngam-anong, director of the Mirror Foundation or "Krajok Ngao".

Initially, Sombat and his IT team came down to Phangnga to build a database with information on the deceased. The project expanded to databases for other information and they initiated community-based activities.

Today, projects on which volunteers work include building IT databases and collecting information; building houses and furniture; teaching children; constructing a fresh water supply system; and creating career opportunities for those left unemployed by the tsunami.

"To tackle these many projects, we really need volunteers who can work with us at least for a month. A fortnight might be negotiable. It takes time to train people to understand how to work towards our goals," said Sombat. This is necessary for the projects' continuity.

"It's difficult to train new volunteers each time they come to the centre. The orientation is really time consuming. Most of the short-term volunteers return home just when they start to know how to do things. Then we have to start training new volunteers again," he said.

The centre needs volunteers who share their common mission.

"We may come here to help, but our help has to be community-based. We work with locals and help them sort out their problems using their local wisdom. Sometimes, it might be easy to use expensive technology to solve water problems, but these locals have their own way to ease their problems, so we have to listen to them," Sombat said.

Since the disaster, help has poured in to the affected areas. At times, well-intentioned projects and initiatives have already been made redundant, and they hamper the aid effort.

"I think down here, we need to have a centre to coordinate all the projects so that they go towards the same direction. So we really need those who have managerial and coordinating skills and experience to help us set up a system," he said.

So far, the organisation has worked to establish itself as such a nerve centre from which to support relief operations in the area.

"We want to become a systematic database centre so that anyone or any organisation that wants any kind of information can get it from us. Also, we try to be a volunteer management and distribution centre. This helps to get the work done smoothly and efficiently," said Sombat.

Now that all the information on some 3,700 unidentified bodies is complete, volunteers are moving on to entering information on projects, problems and things needed in the affected areas. Each day, a group of volunteers travels to local communities and relief centres to find out what problems villagers are having and what they need. Volunteers at the centre then input the information.

In the Internet age, volunteering can even be done online. "Those who may not be able to come down here can help translate text from Thai to English. They can do this online," said "Boon", a key volunteer at the centre who asked not to be named. Sombat added that they still need Web content writers and translators.

In addition to the database work, excess donated items need to be dealt with immediately, Boon said. Perishable food has ended up spoiled in the garbage, and mountains of donated clothes have filled the storage space and spilled out onto the street. Clothes that are left out on the ground can be destroyed by the humidity and open air.

"The supply of clothing here has exceeded the demand. I think some of it might be better used by people in the North and Northeast who are suffering through cold weather. We need volunteers to take the initiative to think of projects that can make practical use of this clothing," Boon said.

Excess coffin donations have been stacking up at the temples, and they are now being transformed into useable furniture. Affected villagers need not only housing but basic furniture; schools need tables and chairs. Currently, there are about 10 people with carpentry skills, but Boon said they need more to speed up production.

The centre also needs a number of long-term volunteers who can assist them in on-going community-based activities. Boon said that one of the projects coming up in two or three weeks is a beach clean-up on a 36-kilometre beach in Phangnga that has been "extremely spoiled' by the tsunami.

"We are trying to involve up to 10,000 locals in this project. However, it would be great if we could have people with environmental management skills to help us plan or manage garbage problems in the areas," he said.

The next large project in the works is organising the 100th-day tsunami memorial service for April 4. Part of this memorial project is the construction of a tsunami exhibit. Boon said the centre will share some of its space to display items that recall the terrifying destruction, such as ruined jet skis and clocks frozen on the minute the tsunami struck.

"For these two projects, we need a lot of volunteers and coordinators. For the memorial, we could use people with artistic and exhibition management skills to help us," he said.

Sombat added that for the memorial, they need many volunteers who can speak languages other than Thai to coordinate with participating international organisations and embassies.

No matter what the project, the bottom-line success rests on team spirit.

"There is no one-man show here. And we will not force our help on communities. This kind of work needs to heed the communities' desires before our own sense of fulfilment or achievement," said Boon.

Each volunteer has to be able to help each another, pitching in to do everything that needs doing at the centre. For example, IT specialists leave their keyboards to grab a mop and clean up.

Volunteers not only offer their hearts and free labour, but they pay for their own transport to the centre. Some have come from as far as Paris or New York. Because the expense incurred by the centre each month can amount to over 100,000 baht, each volunteer is asked to contribute 100 baht a day to cover for their accommodation in a resort room or tent in the area, simple basics and food.

Sometimes, volunteers must cover their own transportation when they visit local villages. To save money, some hitchhike instead.

"We need down-to-earth volunteers, people who can tolerate tough conditions. There might be water shortages, and sometimes we have no electricity," Boon said.

The centre can only provide 40 resort rooms, so most volunteers must stay in tents erected nearby. Their main source of fresh water is from a small creek, about 600 to 800 metres away.

Despite the basic conditions, many volunteers find it challenging and adventurous. "It's fun to walk up to the creek and wash there," Boon said, chuckling.

Recently, the centre has been trying to install an irrigation system from the creek to ensure easy access to fresh water. They have also received large water tanks as donations.

The environment at the centre transcends friendship, Boon said. After leaving, many volunteers have written blogs about how they miss their time at the centre and their new friends. "The centre is a great learning experience _ a real-life university where we can learn about many things and cultivate a true sense of friendship," Boon said.




INFO FOR Donations

Donations to support projects and operations at the centre can be made to the Mirror Foundation

- Thai Commercial Bank, Chaiyos Branch

Savings account number 040-2-37446-1

For more information, call the Mirror Foundation, Phangnga office on 09-882-8840, 09-8826187, 09-882-5615 or 01-018-3004. Alternatively, email info@tsunamivolunteer.net

[Nicke]

CAN YOU HELP?

The Tsunami Volunteer Centre in Khao Lak Nature Resort, Phangnga is looking for a large number of volunteers who can contribute their skills in the following areas:

Web Site

- web and graphic designer for www.tsunamivolunteer.net

- writers for articles and web content

- web content developer

IT support

- programmers

- computer and network installers

- network troubleshooters

Language

- translators to translate the Web site and other written materials from Thai to English

- interpreters: native Thai speakers with proficient English

Volunteer coordinators

- experienced coordinators for variousvolunteer activities

- people to support volunteers

Special projects staff

- experienced project coordinators

- long-term volunteers who can assist in ongoing volunteer projects including: beach clean-ups; financial management; the 100th-day tsunami memorial service (volunteers and exhibition coordinators wanted); and outreach to families of disaster victims

Fund-raising

- product designers and producers

- marketing and PR staff

- data collectors

- radio programme hosts to produce local radio broadcasts

To help out, a committment to working with the centre for a minimum of one month is requested. A shorter time may be negotiated if a particular expertise is needed. Team spirit is essential, as is respect for the affected communities.

Volunteers should arrange their own transport to the centre and donate 100 baht per day to help to cover operating costs. It would be appreciated if those working with information could bring a laptop computer to use.

For more information, visit www.tsunamivolunteer.net or email info@tsunamivolunteer.net

Source: Bangkok Post