Helping Burmese families living in Thailand with no access to food

This campaign is to help Burmese families living on the island of Koh Phangan in Thailand.

I am focusing mainly on one section of the island that has been hit the hardest which is an area called Haad Rin. This area is on the tip of the island and the economy of this area is largely supported by the "full moon party" and "half moon party" where an influx of thousands of mostly young backpackers come to this island specifically for these events. This party has obviously been suspended and will more than likely remain suspended for a long time (over a year) since it is a gathering by the thousands. Approximately 90% of the revenue made by the businesses in this area are from these 2 events. Because of this almost all the people are out of a job in this area and a bit far from the main residential areas on the island so they are a bit isolated.

On other parts of this island where most people live, many of the restaurants and shops remain open for take away and essential services so at least some workers can keep their jobs (not all but some) but in the area of Haad Rin almost everything is shut down because all businesses rely completely on these full moon/half moon parties for most of their revenue. The Burmese have no government assistance, most do not have extended family here for support and most Burmese make much less than the average Thai worker. They also live in very basic shelters with the bare minimum of essentials. So we feel this area is most in need as there is no way to get work in the area of Haad Rin until the full moon party resumes again which will be a long time from now. The Burmese workers were usually cooks, cleaners, bar backs and construction workers in this area.

So far I have served 70 families in need of food and there are 135 more families to go. The Burmese 'village head' is helping keep track of which family has already received so that we make sure it is not the same people coming back each time for provisions. Each family gets 10 kilograms of rice, 15 eggs, a bottle of cooking oil, 5 cans of fish, 6 onions, 5 garlic cloves, a bag of dried chili, 4 noodle packs and a bar of soap as well as baby formula for those who need. Depending on the size of the family this could last anywhere from 2-3 weeks....maybe more if they stretch their provisions.

I am the one who goes shopping along with 2 Burmese friends to help shop and transport everything. If you donate your money it goes directly to food and nothing else. Please make sure to leave your name on your donation so that I can Facebook tag you and as we make each donation and you can see the happy faces of those you are helping. :-)

If you do not have me on Facebook please join the Globe Drifters Travel Forum here which is where I will post most of the updates:

I am promoting this mainly to Globe Drifters community and if you don't know me, my name is Jodie and I own Globe Drifters which is a small American tour operating business and I live here in Thailand. I have lived in different parts of Asia for 7 years and I am originally from Jupiter, FL with a small stint in San Francisco. I go on almost all the trips so many of you might know me personally if you have been on a trip with me. Since international travel will not be something that we will be able to do for some time (yes, I know it is hard to hear) and I support some other personal projects in neighboring countries as well, I am tapped out on what I can give so I have decided to reach out for the first time.

Thanks for any support that can be given. We as Americans might be going through terrible hardships now (and I don't want to take away from that) but imagine not having any access to food (you must forage through the jungles), not even trash scraps, not having any government support and no family who can help you financially or with housing (no fall back) and how scary that must feel. They were already very poor before the virus and now they need our help more than ever.

Thanks again!

Also, I have Venmo and Paypal and you can send direct there at [email protected]

Jodie

Globe Drifters