Tsunami Relief and Redevelopment

The aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, which hit with countries around the Indian Ocean with such devastation in December 2004, has provided a major new challenge for the Duang Prateep Foundation.

Immediately after the tsunami, Duang Prateep Foundation (DPF) volunteer fire-fighters set out to help with the rescue work. By dawn on the day after the disaster struck, the team was at work in Phang Nga Province, the worst affected area just north of Phuket, to assist survivors and help locate bodies of the dead.

The head of the Duang Prateep Foundations Aids Control Project, Ms Nittaya Prompochuenboon also travelled immediately to Phang Nga Province, where she was able to use her experience of dealing with fire disasters in Khlong Toei Slum and her training as a psychologist to assist the bereaved and injured.

Youths from the Duang Prateep Foundations New Life Project at Chumphon (drug rehabilitation) also went to volunteer their help in clearing up the area.

After the tsunami, the government soon made it clear that they would take over responsibility for rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed or damaged by the tsunami - the schools, the housing and other facilities.

The Duang Prateep Foundation decided that the expertise accumulated in almost thirty years of working with disadvantaged children could be very beneficial in the areas ravaged by the tsunami. Therefore, in the first week of January 2005, Ms. Rotjana Phraesrithong, the head of Nithan Caravan Puppet Theatre, was appointed to head the southern activities of the Duang Prateep Foundation and plans were formulated for a long-term programme of assistance.

By the end of January 2005, the Duang Prateep Foundation had already set up activity centres in Baan Nam Khem and Phu Teaw communities of Phang Nga Province.

Each centre was set up in a tent, offering a range of activities for children and youths. The centres provided mother and young child care, art activities, play activities, toy libraries, sports activities, play ground equipment, computer activities and similar. Craft items were soon being made out of locally available material, mothers and older children became busy sewing items for sale and very quickly many other activities were taking place.

From the beginning, batik work proved particularly popular and many people visiting the area have bought batik paintings. Other craft items have also been developed such as a wide range of bags, decorated fans, t-shirts, table mats, mobile phone holders and more. In addition to the above activities, young people have been able to go on camps with DPF staff to other provinces.

The Duang Prateep Foundation was also able to find finance for new fishing boats and start-up capital for other income generating activities. The Foundation has also been able to provide educational sponsorship for over four hundred tsunami affected children.

Since the start, the programme in Phang Nga has helped boost incomes and provided gainful occupation for people of all ages, at a time when work in the tourism and fishing sectors was unavailable. More importantly, the work of Duang Prateep Foundation staff helped people come to terms with the traumas of the tsunami - with the loss of loved ones and the loss of all they possessed.

In addition to the centres in Phang Nga Province, in February 2005, Nithan Caravan started a two-year programme of visiting two hundred and sixty kindergartens and primary schools in the six tsunami affected provinces. At each school the puppet troupe is performing, and training teachers in the making and use of puppets and story-telling and drama techniques.

In each province Nithan Caravan is setting up one or more resource centres for teachers, which will be a source of books, toys, games, puppets and other educational material. The resource centres will enhance activity-based learning in the local schools.

Within a few months of the disaster, the Duang Prateep Foundation moved to recruit local staff, who were trained by DPF workers from Bangkok. Soon the locals were replacing the Bangkok based staff who had provided the initial assistance. Under Ms. Rotjana Phraesrithong's guidance, the local recruits have responded superbly to the many new challenges they have faced.

In the second half of 2006, DPF staff have been able to move their programme of activities from the tents to permanent community centres. The first building opened at Phru Teaw in August 2006, with another centre at Baan Nam Khem to follow later. At Phru Teaw over twenty orphans are living in the DPF centre, with others living in houses close by. The buildings also provide a night care facility for working parents who do not want their children left alone at night.

In addition, the new buildings are centres for many community based activities. Local residents of all ages come to the DPF buildings to enjoy the toy library, to study music and dance, to learn craft skills and for other vocational training and income generation activities, to participate in youth groups, and to attend community meetings.

The relationships formed between people living near the Duang Prateep Foundation centre in Khlong Toei Slum, Bangkok, and the people living in the tsunami affected villages, will continue to be strengthened. In particular, young people in both areas will benefit from the opportunities to learn from and assist each other.

The Duang Prateep Foundation is committed to working with tsunami affected villagers over the long term. The new centres will provide the facilities needed to further build on the impressive start made in the months after the tsunami.