As we mentioned earlier, organisations that we have contacted and appear to be bonafide are as follows:

www.kolanta.net (fishing boats - details below)

www.thaitogether.org this is a charitable organisation which represents a number of local groups from which you can choose a project.

www.surin--relief-fund.org this is the redevelopment of Surin Beach and there is a gentleman who is fundraising for Spain.

If you look on the above websites you will see some of the different ways in which raised funds are being spent. e.g. we have seen video footage of the Kolanta organisation actually purchasing fishing nets and wood to make and repair the fishing boats. We also met through this charity a British 747 pilot who for the last two weeks has helped and completely paid for one of the fishing boats and the Thai family concerned have named the boat after his daughter. Within their website you will see different ways in which your raised monies can be spent. Alternatively why not spend your next holiday on the beautiful island of Kolanta and help the people by spending your money there. A little goes a long way. A fishing boat is about 1200 Euros and we are told that the sea gypsies can build their version for a fraction of the cost and are willing to help.

The school, Ban Kamala school is our recommended project for several reasons. This school is for pupils aged 5-11/12. The school is fairly basic and children from poorer families attend. We met up with the headmaster Mr Preecha Puenrak who has been a teacher for 25 years and headmaster of the school for the last five. He was visibly exhausted but nonetheless gave us a warm welcome and was pleased to see us again. He explained to us that the school was built 75 years ago. It has suffered no basic damage other than the loss of two outbuildings. However there are several children that have lost immediate family, their homes and their parents' businesses have been washed away. He allowed us to take more photos at will and you can see the children's shoes, both boys and girls, the typical classroom, the dinner canteen which lies behind the main building which protected it from the Tsunami wave. On talking with some of the teachers, we established that there was a lot more suffering than came to the eye and as this school is relatively unscathed, in the scheme of things, the bigger organisations will probably overlook it, although some donations have been made such as stationery. We then took a tour of Kamala Beach. The village was a thriving tourist resort. You will see from some of the photos that all that stands are the concrete buildings and most of these have been completlely washed through. 1000 people perished that morning in this local area. The local Thai people relentlessly rebuild and even managed a gentle wave to us as we passed. It is indescribable merely through words, photos and video to understand the devastation and loss here. The children are all so brave and affectionate to each other. It is almost as if nothing has happened, but I am sure the nightmares continue. The headmaster assures us that if you use all the bank details including the bank code listed below it will not be a problem to transfer funds directly to the school via this local bank. This is a further reason that we favour this project as the funds are going direct, not through any charity or middle man.

To give you some idea of how little you need to donate to help these children, a pair of shoes costs only 3 pounds (5 Euros), the average wage is about 80 pounds (110 Euros) a month and to feed a child is between 5-6 pounds a week, which is less than 10 Euros. We enquired as to the possibility of installing a web cam in the playground so that you would be able to see the children playing live and direct whever in the world you might be. This unfortunately cannot happen at present because the school does not have an ADSL line. We understand that 90% of Phuket computer users have this facility. We are looking into the cost of this.

We said goodbye to the headmaster, hugged the teachers, waved and photographed the children and left there silently with tears running down our faces. Please help. This could have been our Coast, our children, our families, our homes and our livelihoods.

Here are the bank details:

Bank Code KRTHTHBK 007895
or KungThai Bank, Patong Branch Phuket
Account Number 837-0-00808-9
Account Name Ban Kamala School (donation)

If you have any questions or ideas that may help, please do not hesitate to contact us at keymagazine@yahoo.com. On this website are answers in both Thai and English to questions that we asked the headmaster bearing the school stamp.
 

On the right hand side of this text are the photographs taken by KMG at Kamala Beach in Phuket and at one of the many schools affected by the Tsunami. Most of the children have lost relatives and/or their houses. The KMG members who visited the school have spoken with the headmaster and gathered a list of basic needs. The extact details will be reported here on Maps Costa del Sol and also in the main Local Press and live on the Coast's main Radio Stations. Following is the Press Report posted by the KMG from Phuket.

We recently spoke to two charities which have been working raising funds for the Tsunami survivors. We will post their full details along with their ideas so as to give you all a choice as to where to send your funds. In the meantime the Key Media Group visited a local school at a place called Kamala Beach. This is about 4 Km north of Patong, please see map. We will post more information on this site about the destruction of this area and inform you that over a thousand people both local Thais and tourists died that Sunday morning. One can only thank God it was not a weekday as the school would have been open and many children would have died.

The local school, Bann Kamala School, stands approximately 400 metres from the seashore. A small road runs between the main school buidling and is two stories high and is built with bricks and concrete and was unaffected. However all the outbuildings have been destroyed and the general area has been levelled. Whilst visiting, the headmaster showed us a room full of parcels which had been received from various charities. These consisted of mainly stationery, pens, pencils etc. We asked the headmaster if we could briefly interview him with ideas we had to help the school children. With visible pain in his eyes, he described what was needed. Firstly here are five very young children who have lost their mothers, one of whom is still too traumatised to attend school. The other four children are pictured. There are about 20 children who have lost family and/or their complete homes (pictured). There are another 15 children who have lost something, for example, half their home has been destroyed along with personal possessions and parents who work locally have no work.

The headmaster and the school have set up a bank into which funds can be paid directly and dispersed to whom and whatever is needed. For example the end of term is just three months away and the children step up a year. New shoes will be needed and this cost is approximately 3 pounds, or the equivalent of five euros, so you can see how such a small donation can help. We are currently trying to find out the best way to transfer monies as we know the Spanish banks will make charges for transfers, so it may be an idea to set up a Spanish bank account for the children and transfer funds on a monthly basis. We have also been informed that there may be tax implications so by using one of the charities we spoke of earlier there may be a way to save expenses. We will be talking to them shortly and will list all their details in the next bulletin.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with any ideas you may have regarding the above and watch this space for the next update.



 

Issue 39 of the Key to Mijas Costa magazine will be available from the 18th of February, with a mention of our intentions and all our contact details, and in issue 40 we will include a special feature.

Thanking you all on behalf of the Thai people of Phuket for your help and understanding.