Sir, The Jumble Sale and the Charity Variety Show at the De Valence on January 22, together with some very generous donations, raised a total of £1,505. This sum was taken to Thailand and changed into 109,400 Thai baht which was then rounded up to a total of 120,000 baht. I duly arrived in Phuket with the money in cash to donate to a worthy cause serving orphans. The Thai authorities have focused their relief efforts on the popular holiday destinations, as tourism is a major industry on the coastal area struck by the tsunami. The town of Patong on Phuket Island is now almost back to normal, though I found the aroma of stale brine and disinfectant a constant reminder of the disaster. The other holiday destinations, with the exception of Phi Phi Island, are also recovering and most will be back to normal conditions by mid summer. In the remote fishing villages where whole villages, particularly those built on stilts over the water, were swept away and many fishing boats lost or damaged beyond repair, the situation is less reassuring. Relief work is further complicated with most fishing families being semi-illiterate at best and all documentation needed to support any compensation claim lost in the disaster. I linked up with three expats living on Phuket who had joined forces to try to help fishing communities and individuals who were 'falling through the cracks' in the relief net. For example, a 29-year-old widow who has lost a husband, home and fishing boat, leaving her to struggle to support three young children. After spending some time with the three of them, I felt that the cash from Tenby could be put to the best use by these three gentlemen. The cash will cover the schooling cost for 15 children - currently 10 children have been identified. Any unallocated money will be used to provide additional aid; for instance, one five-year-old was on the beach with his mother when the tsunami struck - she was drowned. Now he is so terrified of water that it is difficult just to wash his face. Finally, I will confess to being a little naïve in that I had seldom seen Thai children playing with dolls and had assumed it was a cultural matter. In truth, it was an economic concern and the Tenby Observer teddy bears were the first dolls many of the children had ever seen, much less owned. For some of the children the teddy bears have become a security blanket to the extent that I was told that some even got bathed each day with their owners. Once again may I express my sincere appreciation to all those Tenby residents who helped raise funds. If anyone is interested, they can log onto http://www.phuketdeepseafishing.com">www.phuketdeepseafishing.com to monitor the use of the money. There are numerous photographs of the area during and after the tsunami and of relief activities - Tenby Orphans is listed under 'Projects'.
John H. T. Griffiths,
3 Scotsborough View, Tenby.