Thursday, 17 November 2011

A charity born out of the floods A Dane mobilises a network of friends to help those whom the officials missed

What began as a rescue mission for one man's family unexpectedly turned into a volunteer group providing relief to flood victims who have been left behind by official channels.

Danish duo Bo Kristensen and Jakob Lykkegaard Pedersen initially organized a rescue mission for Kristensen's family, stranded by floodwater in Pathum Thani. Relief supplies had yet to reach them.

In doing so the pair realized there were still many more people facing the same predicament, so they formed a group of volunteers to deliver flood aid, called Thailand Direct Flood Relief.

"The idea came out of the blue," Mr Kristensen said. "There was no help available in the area in which my wife's family lives in Pathum Thani.

"At first I was just trying to help them. But then we realized many other people were also receiving no help so we decided to start our own flood relief group."

An IT entrepreneur, Mr Kristensen, 47, has been married to his Thai wife and living in Thailand for more than 10 years.

Their house in Bangkok was not flooded but that of his wife's parents in Pathum Thani was under water for over two months. They were also running out of supplies, with no help in sight.

Mr Kristensen posted a message on Facebook asking people who might be interested to help.

One of the first responses came from Mr Pedersen, 24, also an IT entrepreneur from Denmark.

The two were already friends who met regularly every week for their "Wednesday Club" at a restaurant in Nana. They decided to form a non-profit volunteer group accepting help from friends and neighbors in the Nana area.

The group is formed under the slogan "No middle men, no red tape, no delays". It hoped to raise 1 million baht for the cause of delivering aid directly to those in need.

"Our plan is to take help to areas that are out of the way and might have been forgotten by authorities," Mr Pedersen said.

Each Sunday, Mr Kristensen and fellow volunteers load up supplies into backpacks and into a friend's truck, and taxis.

As soon as they reach a flooded area they put on their backpacks and wade in, or charter boats in the neighbourhood to reach their destinations.

Mr Pedersen said the locations are selected based on intelligence from acquaintances.

He said since the intelligence comes from people they know and not strangers, it is reliable and less prone to falsified claims and fraud.

Mr Kristensen said the group buys supplies and delivers them itself, which cuts out the middleman and ensures supplies reach people in need.

He said he does not necessarily blame the government for the fact that help still fails to reach some areas, but he wishes authorities would worry less about bureaucracy and just get on with the job.

The group has about 12 volunteers helping out but he is encouraging more people to join. "The more the better," he said.

The organization has attracted volunteers from Denmark, France, South Africa, Austria, Thailand, the USA and Hong Kong.

Volunteer Jacob Ross, 25, an English teacher from the United States, said he enjoys the experience of helping people.

"There are many ways to help but it's great for me to deliver the supplies personally."

Volunteer Sylvain Mathieu, 32, an IT manager from France, said: "It is a great experience to help people and it makes you feel good."

Mr Kristensen's neighbor Rob Hall, 43, an advertising executive from Australia, said he felt moved to help after 40% of the staff at his company were hit by floods.

"You could make donations but it's different when you are able to help people directly yourself," he said.

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