Center helps tsunami survivors get a 'step ahead'
POSTED: Aug. 3, 2007
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Manoon, pictured on left, lost his wife and daughter in the 2004 Asian tsunami.
With the help of Operation Blessing's Step Ahead Center, Manoon is learning English and becoming equipped for a better career.
"I have really enjoyed learning English and feel it has improved," Manoon said. "Everyone there is lovely and learning is lots of fun."
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By John Patrick
KHAO LAK, Thailand - On the morning of December 26, 2004, Manoon said goodbye to his wife and daughter for what would be the last time.
Manoon left for work in nearby Bang Lood, while his wife and daughter headed for their beachside jobs at the Jasmine Resort in Bang Niang.
Just after 10 a.m., as Manoon walked to work, a tsunami crashed into the region.
"Everyone was screaming and running for their lives, including me," he said. "Fortunately, I managed to escape."
Many were not so lucky. The 2004 Asian tsunami, the deadliest in recorded history, claimed nearly 230,000 lives and displaced more than one million people. The resulting economic impact was catastrophic.
After returning home and finding his son unharmed, Manoon left in search of his family.
"People were saying the wave had been really big and strong," he said. "Tears started flowing from my eyes…I was so worried about my wife and my children."
When Manoon reached Bang Niang, he saw rubble from buildings, uprooted trees blocking the way and dead bodies.
"I couldn't find them and my hopes began to fade," he said.
Days passed as Manoon scoured local hospitals and shelters for his family. Hoping to at least find his wife and daughter's bodies, Manoon took DNA samples to the facilities where corpses were being tested.
Finally, several months later, someone from the morgue called Manoon to confirm the deaths of his wife and daughter.
"I can't describe the loss that I felt," Manoon said. "My spirit felt tortured by the pain in my heart. I couldn't see any way out and I thought about ending my own life many times.
"But I still had my neighbors, my son and other relatives…I knew I had to live for them," Manoon added.
Today, life is improving for Manoon, thanks in part to the help he's received from Operation Blessing's Step Ahead Training Center in Khao Lak.
Offering courses in English, German, computers, hospitality and tourism, the center teaches survivors like Manoon practical skills to help further their careers and boost the economic growth of the community.
"I heard about Step Ahead from a leaflet I was given advertising a new English course," Manoon said. "I have really enjoyed learning English and feel it has improved. Everyone there is lovely and learning is lots of fun."
"If I could give everything I own in order to have my wife and daughter back with me I would," he said. "But they will always live in my heart."
Since the 2004 tsunami, OBI's relief and recovery efforts have helped supply devastated areas with more than $27 million in medicine; purchased fogging machines for mosquito control and malaria prevention; provided medical treatment to more than 180,000 tsunami victims; helped build hundreds of new homes throughout Aceh's west coast provinces; created microenterprise opportunities such as brick factories and boat building projects; and constructed new medical clinics.
To date, relief and recovery efforts have benefited more than 850,000 survivors.
How You Can Help
Two years after the 2004 tsunami, many survivors are still in desperate need of medical care, homes and jobs to help rebuild their lives. You can help OBI continue to bring relief to those in need by making a financial donation today toward OBI's tsunami relief programs throughout Southeast Asia.
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