Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association relief news from Thailand.
Across 10 southern Thai provinces, heavy storms starting at the end of March set off flash floods and mudslides that claimed at least 61 lives and affected over 2 million people.

Tens of thousands of villagers were displaced as 400 homes were destroyed and more than 10,000 were damaged, along with roads, bridges, schools, and official buildings. Many thousands of hectares of farmland were also inundated.

Leader of Tai Kuan community, Phun Phin District, Surat Thani Province, Thailand (M): This year, there is a lot more water than any other year. It’s got to be related to global warming. There is no water for drinking or for usage. The tap water is gone. The electricity is out. With all her love and prayers, Supreme Master Ching Hai
donated US$20,000 for emergency aid, asking that our Association members please go to assist those most in need.

This amount could purchase US$109,000in urgent items obtained in the United States, based on the cost of living in Thailand. Our Association’s relief team from Bangkok, including a doctor and nurse, quickly went to Phun Phin District in Surat Thani Province on April 4. Once there, they traveled to the most affected regions that were only accessible by truck due to three-meter high floodwaters.

Relief recipient 1, Phun Phin District, Surat Thani Province, Thailand (F): Seeing my home’s plight, everything is gone except the roof. I could take just a few things with me: a set of clothing for each person. The food distributed each day is enough for one meal. Not many people came.

VOICE: Our Association members had prepared drinking water, and nutritious vegan food such as rice, instant noodles, and vegan milk for children, along with slippers, clothes, and undergarments, as well as informative SOS flyers about the vegan solution to such disasters. They also distributed supplies for 200 families who had been unable to leave their homes and were stranded on upper floors as well as about 500 families staying on roadsides or in schools because their communities were still submerged.

Leader of Tai Kuan community, Phun Phin District, Surat Thani Province, Thailand (M): On behalf of the community committee, the village health volunteers, and all of the people of Tai Kuan village, I would like to thank you so much for coming to help.

Relief recipient 1 (F): Thank you very much. I truly thank you for coming to help. May you be prosperous.

VOICE: Our gratefulness for Supreme Master Ching Hai’s love and support to the disaster victims, as we also thank our Associations’ relief team for their diligent efforts. Wishing that the regularity of daily life is soon restored to the Thai people and that such calamities may be averted through humanity’s kinder,eco-stabilizing ways.