Tsunami survivor wants to help in recovery
Businessman hopes to provide jobs, education in Thailand
It’s been almost five months since Lawrence businessman Tom Van Holt was snorkeling off the coast of southern Thailand with other tourists when the giant tsunami that devastated much of southern Asia struck.
Though Van Holt knew something was wrong because of disturbances in the water, he didn’t understand what had happened until he went ashore. He was not prepared for the horrific sites that confronted him. The experience upset him so much that he sought counseling after he returned to Lawrence.
“I still get weepy about it,” Van Holt said. “I’ve been moody pretty much since that occurred.”
Van Holt now is developing a plan to assist relief efforts in Thailand by starting his own nonprofit organization to provide jobs for adults and pay to educate Thai children who are tsunami victims. His plan calls for what he describes as a multicultural service operation and a miniature Peace Corps.
“This is not going to be something where we go over there and just throw money at people,” said Van Holt, owner of Starving Artists Moving.
Van Holt’s plan calls for coming up with money from donations or other sources to pay Thai victims who can make crafts and other artwork. The arts and crafts would then be sold in the United States and the money returned to Thailand to help relief efforts where needed, such as building a school. There are corporations that already exist for similar ventures elsewhere in the world and Van Holt said he hopes some type of partnership can be worked out with one of them.
A second part of Van Holt’s plan calls for recruiting groups in the United States to “adopt” children to pay for their education over a several-year period. Those groups could be churches or community or professional organizations and clubs.
Van Holt’s relief efforts would center on hard hit areas along the southern west coast of Thailand in the areas from Ranong south to Kuraburi and Phuket. Those areas were very reliant on tourism dollars and those who survived have seen their livelihoods severely hurt by the tsunami, Van Holt said.
Thus, a third part of Van Holt’s plan would be to send Thai-Americans who can teach Thais to speak English. Knowing English would be an additional benefit for their tourism-related businesses, he said.
The United States and various relief agencies, including the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, have supplied millions of dollars in supplies to tsunami and earthquake stricken areas in southern Asia. The U.S. Department of State referred inquiries about tsunami relief to its Web site and to that of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Most of the aid has gone to Sri Lanka and Indonesia, according to USAID. As of a report dated May 6, USAID listed total U.S. government assistance to Thailand at $1.06 million, used mainly for restoration of fisheries and fishing industry infrastructure.
Van Holt said he will return to Thailand early next month for at least a couple of weeks to tour the areas he wants to help and talk with Thais about their needs, he said. He hopes to go back again later this year and stay longer to get his organization up and running.
“I’m prepared to spend at least $10,000 of my own money in advertising costs and to get this going,” Van Holt said. “I want people to know where their money is going.”
Van Holt has already come up with a name for the organization: Waves of Relief. He said he has hired an assistant here in Lawrence and has lined up a Thai translator to travel with him when he is in Thailand.
“My dream is that this will be a long-term effort,” Van Holt said. “We do need to sustain the relief efforts because so many people are still living under very precarious circumstances. The Thais are very easy people to fall in love with.”
6News video: Businessman starts tsunami relief organization Photo gallery: Daily life in Thailand At least 77,000 dead; hope fades for missing (12-30-04) Lawrence businessman recounts experience (12-30-04) Tsunami strike unlikely but could happen in U.S. (12-30-04) KU knows of no students, faculty affected by disaster (12-30-04) Animals apparently escape harm (12-30-04) Lawrence resident survives disaster (12-29-04) 6News video: Family of Lawrence man in Thailand gets good news (12-28-04) Death toll tops 58,000 (12-29-04) Agencies don’t want food, clothes (12-29-04) Swedish toddler lost in Thailand claimed by uncle (12-29-04) At least a dozen Americans killed (12-29-04) Scenes shock KU students (12-28-04) 6News video: Lawrence resident waits for news after tsunami hits (12-27-04) Tidal wave death toll tops 22,500 (12-28-04) Generation of children lost in epic disaster (12-28-04) U.S. sends $15M in immediate aid (12-28-04) Quake, tsunamis kill 13,000 (12-27-04) Indian Ocean nations not part of system that warns of waves (12-27-04) U.S., world respond quickly with relief efforts (12-27-04) International Red Cross Doctors Without Borders