WATCH The Tsunami: A Decade of Recovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEHfm_dxioo&feature=youtu.be
PHUKET: Leading up to the 10th Year anniversary of the 2004 Asia Tsunami that wreaked havoc on our Andaman Coast, the Rotary Club of Patong Beach wanted to produce a video that reflected back on that event to show the lives of a few who were devastated and their road to recovery 10 years later.
This video is a tribute to all Rotary Club of Patong Beach members at that time who did a tremendous job in assisting so many.
Thousands of lives were touched by our club. Rotary members were also victims. They cried, hugged, and buried or burned the dead together.
Yet we survived, together, and our lives are forever enhanced with the spirit of helping others and the ultimate rewards that come with doing that.
We went through the extreme emotions of hope and then reality with the victims, we were witnesses to some things no human should ever be a witness to, yet we have become better from our experiences and much more humane in the process, and for that we are thankful, better prepared, and we continue to help those that need help in this world.
This video also is a tribute to those that helped us raise close to US $1.5 million and assisted in so many ways with our hundreds of projects to aid recovery.
To our donors, our volunteers, our medical personnel, our experts in so many endeavors, and to Rotarians, corporations, and everyday people around the world, your support came from every continent on the planet and is a testimony to human good will and compassion.
This video is also to remind us all, of the capability we humans possess for good will and passion that is within every one of us.
It is also a tribute to our new members, those who did not go through that difficult time in life living on the Andaman coast, but who understand and have come to join us in the spirit that erupted in us from the tsunami and Rotary's main motto: ''Service Above Self.''
The tsunami ignited our club into the world of service above self, and that light is still very prevalent. We witnessed the world open its arms to us in Thailand and our little Rotary Club has led Phuket's efforts to return that generosity when other natural disasters have hit since 2004.
On behalf of Phuket we have sent aid in the form of up to US $20,000 to others around the planet where natural disasters have hit since 2004 - an earthquake in Haiti, Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, Hurricane Katrina in the USA, an earthquake in Pakistan, an earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, and others.
We have learned that education is the single biggest catalyst to pull people back on their feet after disaster, to lift them from poverty, and give hope to their communities.
Through our Tsunami Scholarship Program, over 360 children affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami got a guaranteed education through to grade 12, with over 160 still in school today. Education is the best way out of the cycle of poverty and we invite you to join us in bringing education to more needy children in Thailand.
Through this video we also then hope to reignite our scholarship program and we hope you will join us again and contribute. A thousand US dollars will put a child through four years of high school or a year of university in Thailand.
If you interested in contributing to our Expanded Scholarship Program, contact us through our web page or Facebook page, or send me an e-mail at esppkt@ksc.th.com for details.
Brad Kenny - President
WATCH The Tsunami: A Decade of Recovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEHfm_dxioo&feature=youtu.be
WATCH After The Wave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFKWg5eCVJw
