TwoHelp.org Updates

Fundraising goal reached!

Thanks to the generous support of our 40 donors, we achieved our fundraising goal! Any additional funds donated to us through TwoHelp.org will be donated in their entirety to ongoing reconstruction projects in the Khao Lak area. Once the money is donated, we will post updates that detail the projects to which the money is given.

Noteworthy local projects include the Cape Pakarang Boat Shed, which is building boats for the Sea Gypsy people who lost their livelihood as a result of the tsunami and 4kali.org, which supports Khao Lak area children orphaned by the tsunami. Thank you for your generosity, and help us keep the donations coming!

Another sunny day in Thailand

Well, it’s still the rainy season, but you’d never know it this week. It has been sunny and gorgeous, but HOT. Clay and I escaped for the weekend to a beach further south, Railay, to actually enjoy rather than avoid the water. The beaches here are still very unsafe for swimming or even running on, both because of the fierce currents this time of year, and the tons of debris (literally) that are on the ocean floor and still washing ashore every day. So far, beach clean up efforts in this area have collected and removed over 50 metric tons of trash, but this undertaking is still far from complete. There are many things known and unknown beneath the water, including parts of resorts and housing (concrete blocks, tin roofs, TV sets, etc.), trees, boats, and the like, but diving clean ups cannot resume until after the end of the monsoon season in October. Sadly, this means that many of the beaches of Khao Lak are not (yet!) where we want to spend our days off.
Continue reading Another sunny day in Thailand…

Stinky Fruit

It is over two weeks since we arrived in Khao Lak, and the only consistency here is that every day is different. We work a variety of different projects — some construction, some administrative. Among other things, we created a map of the town of Bang Ban La On that is connected to a business directory. While the purpose of it is to keep incoming volunteers informed, there has also been some outside interest from travel guide companies.

One funny story, and then some pictures:

Alexis once fell in love with Ka-noon — Jackfruit. While I’ve had jackfruit before and seen it growing on the tree, it turns out that both of us were unaware that it has a smaller cousin. Neither of us remembers the name.
Continue reading Stinky Fruit…

The Force of The Wave

To give you an idea of the force of the waves that hit this area, take a look at this picture:
Continue reading The Force of The Wave…

Day 6

So, it’s Day 6 and I think I’m beginning to get the lay of the land here, maybe, sort of. Today was gorgeous. It was the first day without a cloud in the sky and my plastic poncho finally got a chance to dry out. Clay and I did some work in the “office” at the Volunteer Center this morning. I am undertaking a survey of local businesses; on the surface to provide a map and directory of services for volunteers, and more peripherally, to assess if any that have re-opened are having financial troubles or any other difficulties. It is a very basic and somewhat haphazard needs assessment, mostly because if serious needs are identified, it is unclear what assistance the Tsunami Volunteer Center will be able to provide.
Continue reading Day 6…

The ‘Re-Bar’

Since beginning work with the Tsunami Volunteer Center(TVC) I have been working in the village of Bang Sak, about 15 kilometers north of Khao Lak. Spread across the village are the sites of more than fifty homes that the TVC is helping to reconstruct. Most of the future tenants/owners of these homes used to live near the beach (which is absolutely beautiful, by the way), but are now too scared to live near the water. Hence, while some of the houses are being rebuilt near the water, many of them are up in the jungle on the side of the mountain.
Continue reading The ‘Re-Bar’…

Day Two

Greetings from Khao Lak. It’s day two here, and I’m still getting adjusted to things here. It’s a sometimes eerie mix of everyday and everyday after a disaster, if that makes any sense. Many things look totally fine and are up and running and other parts are completely devastated. The local people are friendly and welcoming, but also clearly quite affected by the disaster. It is also the rainy season; I guess I never really knew what that meant. It rains torrentially and frequently. I find that the water, often flooding the low-lying areas already wrecked by the tsunami, makes things seem sometimes more hopeless, especially as I think of the many people living in leaky, shanty-like temporary housing while waiting for a more permanent alternative.
Continue reading Day Two…

Arrival in Khao Lak

After a brief stop in Bangkok, Alexis and I arrived safely in Khao Lak today, where we will be for the next two months. It is the rainy season here - it has been raining steadily since we arrived several hours ago. While we have yet to get a feel for the area and the work that is ongoing, it is impossible not to notice the vast amounts of runoff and mud from the rain. Undoubtedly, that makes everything more difficult.
Continue reading Arrival in Khao Lak…