The Relief/Trust Fund:

February 22, 2005
Phuket, Thailand

Dear Friends,

I have been working as Interim Coordinator of the Tsunami Relief Fund for the Children of Takuapa, north of Phuket, since shortly after the Tsunami. Our goal was to set up a program with the local government officials that would provide direct relief to the children most severely impacted by the Tsunami. 100% of all funds contributed go to the Children in our program.

The Information Memo #2, February 20th, 2005, included here, has all the details of the Foundation, the Children and the methods of contributing.

I have summarized the information for easy and quick reference below called “THE RELIEF FUND : In a Nutshell.

I encourage everyone to use this website tsunamirelieffundtahi.org for current news
and in particularly the link called “Progress Memos”.

Also, please let us know if you would like to do any fundraising. We can provide you with information on how others, in a simple way, have been able to raise substantial sums for the Tsunami victims.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give,
Eugene McCain
Interim Coordinator
Tsunami Relief Fund for the Children of Takuapa

One of the many children of Takuapa that needs your help.

Some smiling faces are the results of the Fund's work.

These children are now back at school, learning for a brighter future.

A temporary Buddhist Shrine setup near the tent-village ...

The aftermath in Takuapa of the Tsunami's destruction.

Compared to the destruction all around it, this boat seems small, but it is actually
a 170 foot Thai naval ship that was left 2 kilometers inland by the
destructive Tsunami waves.

A young girl in Takuapa is able to attend school again.

Tsunami Relief Fund
for the Children of Takuapa
Information Memo Number Two
(TO VIEW MEMO NUMBER ONE, CLICK HERE)

February 20, 2005

Dear Friends,
For those that have not read any Information Memos to date, the following is taken from First Information Memo on January 20, 2005:
" The Tsunami As we all know, on December 26th, 2004 a devastating Tsunami struck the countries lining the rim of the Indian Ocean and Andaman Sea. Phuket and Southern Thailand, only about 800 kilometers from the earthquake epicenter, were inundated by the first tidal wave to hit Thailand in over 300 years.

Phuket:
Phuket itself was damaged and sustained tragic loss of life, both local Thais and foreign visitors and residents. But the reporting by the major TV news outlets dramatically overstated the damage to Phuket. Most of Phuket, about 98%, was untouched by the Tsunami. Now Phuket is tending to it’s rebuilding of infrastructure and spirit. It is doing well, with substantial rebuilding already underway and an easily felt spirit of commitment to positive growth. Plans are underway to use the rebuilding of beach areas as an opportunity to restrict tacky development and provide more open and natural zones along the
beaches.

North of Phuket: Khao Lak and Takuapa:
In sharp contrast to Phuket are the areas to the north, Khao Lak and
Takuapa. Where Phuket sustained damage and loss of life, the coastal areas to the north were almost completely destroyed with massive loss of life. This was mainly due to the fact that the wave that slammed into Khao Lak and Takuapa was around 12 to 14 meters (40 to 45 feet) versus the wave that struck Phuket was around 6 meters. Khao Lak looks much like Banda Aceh in Indonesia. The Tsunami rolled in at around 45 kilometers per hour onto the low lying coast plains and flattened most of the hotels, homes, fishing villages along that section of coast. Here hundreds of children have lost their homes, parents, sisters, brothers, everything that they knew as theirs is gone. Most
are in relief camps or moved into friends or relatives homes.”

I. INTRODUCTION
The Homeless Children
The grounds of the local Thai Government District Office (OrBorTor) in Bang Muang, near Takuapa, became the temporary tent city for most of the homeless in the aftermath of the Tsunami. Several Thai fishing villages and nearby island communities received the most severe onslaught of the Tsunami. These were in the Takuapa area and most of the survivors moved into the tent city. Over the past few weeks some have found shelter in the homes of relatives or friends. Some have moved into temporary wooden or metal one room "homes". And others are still in tents. Construction of permanent housing is underway with the help of the Thai Government, the Royal Thai Police and hundreds of students from Vocational Schools in Thailand who now receive school credit for helping build homes in this area. More information on the status of permanent home construction will be
provided when available. With the help of the OrBorTor it has now been confirmed that there are just over 950 children that lost their homes in this severely affected area. Of these, 50 have lost both parents, and about 300 have lost one of their parents. All have lost their homes, many relatives, including brothers and sisters, friends
and neighbors and all their belongings. It is to help these children…. so that they may have a chance…..that this Fund is dedicated.

Specific Tragic Cases:
Some of the Children are so Dear and their Lives have been so Shattered - At our last gathering at the Relief Camp, the OrBorTor told us of three very sad situations. Then they proceeded to contact those children and have them come to see us.

1. “Nung” is a 4 _ year old little girl. When the wave came in on
December 26th, her Mommy and Daddy were working in the hotels in Khao Lak. She was with her Grandma. Their home was at the back of the hotel strip, over a kilometer from the shore. Grandma, in shock, saw the wave coming in, with a huge boat riding the wave coming straight at their small home. Grandma grabbed Nung by the hand, ran out the house, up the hill, thru the brush and trees, to higher ground. There they watched their house destroyed by the wave. Nung’s mommy and daddy did not survive. Nor did any of her family. Only Grandma. Grandma has no home, lost her own children, has no job, has been diagnosed with Diabetes, and doesn’t know how she can take care of her grand daughter. She cried as she told us her
story. Little Nung doesn’t believe her mommy and daddy are really gone.

2. “Oot” is a 10-year-old boy from Baan Nam Kim fishing village.
Both of his parents, his three sisters and his two brothers were lost to the Tsunami. He has no home and all his belongings; everything he knew as his, is gone. He is still traumatized and often can do no more than sit, consumed by sorrow, and stare off into this world that no longer makes any sense for a little boy. His aunt is caring for him. One of his cousins, about 13 yrs old, brought him in to see us. I asked if Oot was living in her home, she said no, she is from another part of his extended family, but they were all trying to help Oot. Oot was gracious and smiled as we told him we would help him. But his smile could not hide the pain that consumed him.

3. “Dream” is a baby girl of 8 months. Her father is 27 years old. His wife was working at one of the hotels in Khao Lak. She was lost. Their home is gone. The young father has no relatives other than one brother, with whom he is now living. He has no job. He had not been staying at the Relief Camp and had been embarrassed to ask for help. But his little baby, Dream, had no milk, no clothes, and her father was desperate, not knowing how to care for the baby. The baby would look up and smile, oblivious to tragedy surrounding her.

Each of these children are hardship cases. We try to make special
arrangements for them, not as an official part of our Foundation, but as we learn of specific needs of individual children, we, as individuals, are able to help. Each of these three children, through their guardian, received special funds to help them get started back on the path of recovery. The pain and suffering is palpable. It is hard not to be overwhelmed by the heaviness of hearts. None of us made it through our meetings with these children without the flow of tears.

II. DONATION PROCEDURES
100% of Funds Contributed go Directly to the Children
Our Foundation has committed to have 100% of all donations go directly to the children. Local staff and administrative costs will be donated and /or covered by some of our Founding Sponsors and other Friends.

The main check and balance to our fund and program is that that all donors will be able to confirm that 100% of their monies have gone to these children in urgent need, and that the children that are in the program, and who will continue to receive the donations each month, are enrolled in and attending school The only exceptions apply to those children under 6 and also during the first 3 months after the Tsunami.
Regular monthly accounting updates will be made available to contributors. A local accounting firm will be auditing all accounting and approving all transfers of funds to the children.

Sponsorship Methods:
Many of our contributors have responded affirmatively to having their
contributions apply to specific children, that they would “sponsor”. We are working on this, but are also having to be careful about maintaining security and privacy for the children. As our fund is open to the public to contribute, we do not have the ability to screen and monitor the nature of the persons making donations and do not want to expose the children to inappropriate behavior.

Therefore, until we refine a program with proper checks and balances for security for the children, we will be accepting funds into our general fund, knowing funds will go first toward those most in need. We are also accepting funds for a specific number of children requested by the donor.

For example,
a donor may want to sponsor 10 children through completion of education. We are estimating this is about US$2000 (80,000 baht) over an average of 10 years. So, a US $20,000 dollar donation (800,000 baht) will provide all funds necessary for sponsoring 10 children thru completion of schooling.

Contributors will fall into the following categories, based on amounts contributed:

Tax Details:
The Foundation has applied for USA Tax Deduction Status under Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption. The Foundation is working with other countries to be recognized as a legal charity.

III. ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
The Foundation and its Trustees
The Foundation was started through the effort of a small group of Phuket residents who wanted, for themselves, and for many others in touch with them, to find a straightforward way to provide direct funds to the children most damaged by the Tsunami.

Through openhearted meetings with the District Officers in the Relief Camp at Takuapa, a clear program of long-term educational support for these children was proposed. While there are many other very worthy relief undertakings being set up and supported by many good persons, it was felt that this program was so simple and clear, that it warranted a firm and immediate commitment. That commitment was backed up at the first event of the Foundation, in mid-January, providing the initial payment to each child in the program to allow them to open up their bank accounts. 275,000 baht was given out in the form of an envelope with 500 baht, to each child as they submitted their documents for OrBorTor approval.

Over the past six weeks, many, many persons, groups, international
organizations, schools and businesses have learned about this fund and requested to participate with us. These parties all have been given information both thru the web site and thru direct phone and email discussions. We have asked all contributors to wait until our initial bank account is opened and the Foundation legal documents have been formed. Please see below for this information.

As word has spread about the foundation and our program, with articles in the Phuket Gazette and discussions among several government organizations, we have been fortunate to have a number of prominent Thai community and business leaders step forward to offer to sponsor, become an advisor to, or to become a Trustee of the Foundation.

An initial meeting was held in early February to outline the goals of the
foundation and how best to implement the goals. It was decided to name the foundation “The Thai Children’s Education Fund”. It was decided to not use the name Tsunami, as the fund will go on for over 10 years and we do not want the fund to always be a reminder of the tragedy. We will initially continue to use the name “Tsunami Relief Fund for the Children of Takuapa”, for our fund raising activities.

It was also decided that the Fund would prioritize receipts to go first to the children without any parents and next to those with only one parent. If funds are sufficient, then it will include all the children.

At this time it appears as though we will be able to take care of all of the children. It was decided to open an initial account in several Trustees’ names with commitment letters from them that all funds go into the Foundation account when it is opened. Two signatures will be required for transfers of funds from this account to either the permanent Foundation account or to the corresponding distribution account set up in Takuapa by the OrBorTor.

The Initial Board of Trustees will include:
Khun Chestavit Tantiphanwadee, Chief Prosecutor for Phuket
Khun Somsri Tantiphanwadee, Phuketian, businesswoman
Khun Sonanta Kolsamon Phuketian, Interim Coordinator
Khun Sharon Baxter Legal Consultant
Khun Eugene McCain Resident Phuket, Interim Coordinator
Khun Kathy Davies Resident, Phuket
Khun Julie Buck, Phuket homeowner, Fund Raiser, (HK)
Khun Guy Franks Thomas Cook Travel, Bangkok

Advisors to The Foundation:
Khun Tansuthanyalak Suporn: Phuket Attorney, Surat, Suporn and Associates, Foundation Legal work
Khun Chainarong Maharae: Head of OrBorTor for Bang Muang, Takuapa

We would like approximately 6 more Trustees. Several of you who have been in touch with us and expressed interest in helping with the fund should get back in touch to discuss opportunities to participate on the Board.

OrBorTor's Letter - Click photo (above) to read the entire letter.

Meeting with Thai District Government Office (OrBorTor) at the Relief Camp in Bang Muang:
A meeting was held at the OrBorTor Offices in Bang Muang on February 8th that included several of the interim Foundation Trustees and the Chief of OrBorTor and staff. At this meeting a letter from the Foundation was presented to the District Office describing the Foundation’s commitments and the requested participation of the Office of the OrBorTor.

After discussion over the procedures for the Funds, the Chief OrBorTor stamped and signed the letter, approving their participation. (See the Letter which is being posted to our Web Site).
At this meeting the procedures for distribution of the funds were decided as well as other issues of monitoring the funds and which children are eligible for the fund and what are they and their families required to do to maintain their status in the fund. These issues are explained below.

How the Foundation will provide funds to the Children:
Each of the children must register with the OrBorTor to be part of this
program. Registration includes Thai ID, School registration card, Family ID, and approval stamp of OrBorTor. Each child must open a bank account at Siam Commercial Bank in Takuapa in their own name, or with a family elder.

Many of the children have already opened their accounts and the rest are still being helped to get this done. For each child we now have a data file showing this information as well as the back up documents. This includes name, age, original home address, whom they are living with, their bank account number, and additional information on
special needs.

For the first few months, funds will be given out to the children at the main OrBorTor offices. This is to help the children understand and be part of the process. Those who are contributors to this program are invited to come to Bang Muang for the monthly event, which will include games, food and other activities for the children. The children get to see some of the people contributing to their education. After several months, rather than having a large event of distributing the funds, the funds will go electronically from our main account directly to the accounts of each child.

Withdrawal and Use of the Funds by the Children
On the advice of the OrBorTor, we have broken the fund up into three levels of need:
1. Children who have lost both parents: 2000 baht per month
for two years, then 500 baht per month.
2. Children who have lost one parent : 1000 baht per month
for two years, then 500 baht per month
3. The remaining homeless children: 500 baht per month.

There will also be a household limit of 5000 baht per month. The funds will continue to be paid until the child has completed their 18th year (upon their 19th birthday) or until the child withdraws from School, if earlier. The basic 500 baht per month is the amount that we provide to be used for the children's educational needs. The uses of the 500 baht include books, school supplies, school uniforms, money for school projects and also basic medical care. (We may increase this base, over the years, due to inflation.)

The first two categories of urgent need (those children with one or no parents) are given more than 500 baht per month. We expect the families to use these additional funds for food, clothing, and other necessities that are critical for the children to be able to have basic necessities and to ensure their ability to thrive and go to school. For these hardship cases, it is the Foundations judgment that we must first make sure the children’s basic living needs have been met, if we want the children to be able to attend school.

Monitoring the Use of the Funds by the Children
The OrBorTor will monitor the attendance and performance of the children at school. The principals of each school will provide attendance records and report cards to the OrBorTor. If children are not attending or having problems at school, their parents or guardian will be contacted to explain. The Foundation will have some leniency, but ultimately, if a child does not maintain their commitment to school, they will lose their right to participate in the Fund.

If the children are attending school and the parents are providing them with the tools they need at school, then our fund is successful.
If a child withdraws from school or does not have the supplies, books etc., the OrBorTor will first check if there are problems with the child’s family before a child is removed from the lists. The OrBorTor will seek to find ways to help any children that want to attend school but have impediments, such as transportation or poor guardianship support. Those children that do drop out will always be eligible to be reinstated, by meeting the registration requirements, which include school attendance.

Monitoring Non-school Necessity Funds
The balance of monies going to the families of those with one or both parents lost (an extra 1500 baht and 500 baht respectively), are, in simple terms, to be used by the families to help them get started from nothing. This extra monthly gift runs for two years. It is a general gift, without strings attached, given in trust, understanding that the families are in desperate need and respecting that they know best how to use these funds. Those whose lives have been shattered know how best to deal with their basic needs Only they know “if they should use funds to pay for surgery for grandma, or clothes for Pa, so he can go to work, or for more rice, or to repair the fishing boat, or buy more cooking utensils, etc.” There is only so much far that we can impose financial structure on those in need.

Web Site:
We now have a very nice web site up and running at:
www.tsunamirelieffundthai.org
We are having the site translated into Thai, German and Swedish. (Largest number of victims of the Tsunami in Khao Lak and north were German and Swedish). Persons viewing the web site will be able to click a button for their language choice.

Please regularly review the Web Site for Updates, Photos of the Children, News items and Links. This Information Memo Number Two will also be added to the Web Site.

IV. Summary
The Tsunami Relief Fund for the Children of Takuapa has taken life and form rapidly over the past 6 weeks. The objective was to establish a Foundation with 100% of all contributions going directly to the children who were most devastated by the Tsunami.

We now have in place the organization, the procedures and the cooperation of the Thai Government to meet our objectives.
Therefore, we now move into the fund raising phase of our effort. As of today, several dozen groups have expressed a commitment to provide funds to us.

Upon receipt of this Second Information Memo, we should start having
substantial funds coming in. We have asked all donors, up to now, to wait until we have our organization procedures and bank account set up. Now it is done.

We believe that there are thousands of organizations out there, all over the world, that are trying to find some way to have a meaningful experience of giving to the victims of the Tsunami. They face the same concerns we all face, how to be sure your funds go to those in need and the desire to have some feedback…to be able to experience the help that you are providing.

Our simple but very focused program to help these 950 children, provides a very specific opportunity for contributors to see that their donations are going to those in great need and able to get feedback, follow up and even participate.

It is up to those of us familiar with our Foundation to get the word out to as many people as possible, all over the world. We are ready to take on the support of individuals, small groups and major organizations. Some of the large organizations and institutions are facing the same issues as individual contributors. The organizations are getting the same requests from their donors….”please use these funds in a way that you are sure the funds go directly to the survivors…and is there any way we can know where the funds
go and who they are helping”.

Our Foundation is ideal for these many organizations, as their contributors will get the participation and feedback. Also, we can work with organizations, small and large, so that they can participate in the monthly donation event at Takuapa, get pictures of their representative(s) giving out funds to the children, etc.

Thank you all, each of you, for your help and support in this effort to reach out and lend a helping hand to these beautiful children whose lives have been shattered.