Cooperation and brotherhood for tsunami victims
Krabi (AsiaNews) Despite all sorts of obstacles and insufficient government funds, reconstruction is underway in the six Thai provinces on the Andaman Sea hit by last December tsunami. According to the latest figures 5,320 people died in the catastrophic event with another 12,293 are still missing.
Fr Pornchai Techapitaktham, a member of the Stigmatine Congregation and director of the Tsunami Relief Center in Krabi, said: "The ongoing rehabilitation is moving forward with help from foreign organisations. Our team of religious men and women and some lay volunteers has visited the villagers and advised them on hygiene, provided them with medicines and psychological support."
Still the situation remains precarious. Sister Marasri, who works with children at the Krabi Centre, explains: "The government-funded budget for meal lunch is not enough; [it] pays for only 30 per cent of the cost and covers only one meal per week. [. . .] School attendance on that day is 100 per cent because students come for a free lunch."
What money can't buy are the personal rewards that come from the human experiences.
Sister Monica, from St Paul de Chartre, said that "on my first day at Krabi Centre I lost my way. I asked a Muslim woman for directions and she took me to my destination. Before she left she donated some money for the Centre saying she would like to do charity work with Catholics". For Sister Monica, "the sum of money was less important than the woman's willingness to share."
Sister Urasa Thongumpai, deputy director of the Krabi Centre, confirmed that the Muslim woman's reaction was not an isolated incident. "Muslims' attitudes towards us Catholic is getting better and better as time goes by," she said. "Some families even invite us over for a meal in return for our continuous concern; some even express an in interest in helping out."
"At Krabi, Muslims and Catholics share the same sense of brotherhood in Christ," she added.
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