Mekong village house fire fund
Donation protected
I’d be really grateful if you could take the time to read the information below. I hope you might then consider making a modest donation to the funds we are raising.
Carolyn and I recently came back from a holiday in Laos, which involved a boat trip up the Mekong from Luang Prabang to the Thai border at Huay Xai, a 2-day trip. On 6th February we stopped at a remote village on the banks of the Mekong, where we witnessed a very sad and upsetting scene where one of the village houses caught fire and was burnt to destruction within a few minutes. There was little water available (the river being too far away) and there was nothing the villagers could do to save the house, though they stopped the fire spreading to other buildings. There were immediate rumours about what had caused the fire, ranging from amateur electrical installation to a cooking mishap. The parents/owners were out working and we witnessed their daughter returning home (from school, we think) to see the charred remains of the family home. She was inconsolable. The family had lost everything – their house and all their possessions.
A number of tourists in our group made donations locally with the help of our guide, Keelee. Keelee explained that villagers would help the family with food and accommodation short-term but that, obviously with no insurance and with minimal income, it was a huge personal tragedy for the family. So we decided that we would intervene and raise the funds needed for rebuilding the house and replacing essential possessions that were lost.
Of course, we realise that this village is somewhat privileged by being a tourist stop-over, and that there is plenty of need elsewhere in Laos, but this was an opportunity for us to do something practical that would have immediate benefits and would also help our feelings of sadness as wealthy tourists witnessing a terrible incident with very poor people relative to us.
So we told the daughter and the village chief, through Keelee, that we would provide the money necessary to rebuild the house and to help with replacing lost possessions. Since then, the following developments have taken place:
· The money raised on the day amounted to US$542. Of this, about $500 will go towards rebuilding and the rest towards replacing essential personal possessions.
· Through our travel agent, Audley Travel, we have been introduced to their local agents in Laos, Exo Travel. Exo has a charitable entity, the Exo Foundation, and we will channel the money through them for onward distribution to the village.
· Exo have had experience of rebuilding this type of village house following typhoons, and they say that the full cost would be $4 – 5,000, but it could be about $3,000 with a diligent amount of local sourcing and support by the villagers. So we have determined to raise $3,000, of which $500 is already in place. Carolyn and I will initially put in £250 ($325) and the same amount has been pledged by a group of four French passengers on our boat, who will donate €300. So we are trying to raise an additional $1,850.
· Work has already started on rebuilding, on a slightly different site because the villagers feel that the “spirits” would be rather negative if the house was rebuilt on the old site.
Keelee works for the cruise company, Luang Say Cruises, so he passes by the village at least once a week. The proposal is for Exo to channel funds through Keelee in line with progress reports on the rebuild. It won’t be possible to get Western-style audits so there has to be some trust, but we will ensure the house is built and anyone donating who wants it will get a record both of the funds sent out and occasional photos of the rebuild. There is, of course, a certain amount of risk but we need to keep things simple and to move relatively quickly.
Carolyn and I recently came back from a holiday in Laos, which involved a boat trip up the Mekong from Luang Prabang to the Thai border at Huay Xai, a 2-day trip. On 6th February we stopped at a remote village on the banks of the Mekong, where we witnessed a very sad and upsetting scene where one of the village houses caught fire and was burnt to destruction within a few minutes. There was little water available (the river being too far away) and there was nothing the villagers could do to save the house, though they stopped the fire spreading to other buildings. There were immediate rumours about what had caused the fire, ranging from amateur electrical installation to a cooking mishap. The parents/owners were out working and we witnessed their daughter returning home (from school, we think) to see the charred remains of the family home. She was inconsolable. The family had lost everything – their house and all their possessions.
A number of tourists in our group made donations locally with the help of our guide, Keelee. Keelee explained that villagers would help the family with food and accommodation short-term but that, obviously with no insurance and with minimal income, it was a huge personal tragedy for the family. So we decided that we would intervene and raise the funds needed for rebuilding the house and replacing essential possessions that were lost.
Of course, we realise that this village is somewhat privileged by being a tourist stop-over, and that there is plenty of need elsewhere in Laos, but this was an opportunity for us to do something practical that would have immediate benefits and would also help our feelings of sadness as wealthy tourists witnessing a terrible incident with very poor people relative to us.
So we told the daughter and the village chief, through Keelee, that we would provide the money necessary to rebuild the house and to help with replacing lost possessions. Since then, the following developments have taken place:
· The money raised on the day amounted to US$542. Of this, about $500 will go towards rebuilding and the rest towards replacing essential personal possessions.
· Through our travel agent, Audley Travel, we have been introduced to their local agents in Laos, Exo Travel. Exo has a charitable entity, the Exo Foundation, and we will channel the money through them for onward distribution to the village.
· Exo have had experience of rebuilding this type of village house following typhoons, and they say that the full cost would be $4 – 5,000, but it could be about $3,000 with a diligent amount of local sourcing and support by the villagers. So we have determined to raise $3,000, of which $500 is already in place. Carolyn and I will initially put in £250 ($325) and the same amount has been pledged by a group of four French passengers on our boat, who will donate €300. So we are trying to raise an additional $1,850.
· Work has already started on rebuilding, on a slightly different site because the villagers feel that the “spirits” would be rather negative if the house was rebuilt on the old site.
Keelee works for the cruise company, Luang Say Cruises, so he passes by the village at least once a week. The proposal is for Exo to channel funds through Keelee in line with progress reports on the rebuild. It won’t be possible to get Western-style audits so there has to be some trust, but we will ensure the house is built and anyone donating who wants it will get a record both of the funds sent out and occasional photos of the rebuild. There is, of course, a certain amount of risk but we need to keep things simple and to move relatively quickly.
Organizer
Robert MacKenzie
Organizer