The Boxing Day 2004 Tsunami was a tragedy that shattered the lives throughout South East Asia. Early in 2005 the Annika Linden Foundation made a commitment to support long-term projects aiding survivors and their families.  Following are some now-closed projects that helped those affected by this tragedy.

Thai Together
ALF founder Mark Weingard and Moo Baulch set up Thai Together to be a forum for charity groups and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) working in the post-tsunami recovery effort.

The Thai Together website became a useful tool for inter-group coordination and as a means to avoid duplicity of effort. After a year of successful operation that was gratefully recognized by local authorities, Thai Together was closed, having fulfilled its objectives.

Project Trang
This project involved a small Phuket-based team of volunteers working with the fisher-folk people on Koh Mook Island in their Tsunami recovery efforts. Kho Mook is a small island off the coast of southern Thailand near Trang, about a 4-hour drive south of Phuket. The Project Trang Team, headed by Pat James and Ben Bester, were all unpaid volunteers who, looking to help Tsunami recovery efforts in some way, discovered this community that was too far from the crisis center of Phuket to be getting the help it needed.

The Project Trang team rose to the occasion with the stated goal to “operate with total transparency and to finish quietly without leaving footprints”. All donations, less minimal operating expenses, went straight through to the projects which included repairing and replacing damaged fishing boats, restoration of drinking water supplies, and school improvement.

ALF’s contribution to Project Trang involved teaming up with World Vision to co-fund a state-of-the-art computer training classroom for the only school on the island. Project Trang has now closed itself, having achieved most of what it set out to do for the people of Kho Mook.

North Andaman Tsunami Relief
The North Andaman Tsunami Relief (NATR) provided assistance to tsunami-impacted coastal  communities on and near Koh Phratong - about 3 hours north of Phuket.  Their fine work began immediately after the Boxing Day Tsunami, spanning many areas and focused on developing long-term sustainable post-tsunami livelihoods for these seaside communities.

Since the Tsunami through 2011, ALF has funded scholarships for the education of 32 children from Ban Talae Nok and Laem Naew villages through Grade 12. These seaside villages took a direct hit from the tsunami and all of these childrren lost friends and family.  The funds will cover school fees, books and transportation for as long as the kids stay in school. This is a long term commitment that ALF will fund through 2011.

In June 2007, its relief work completed, NATR closed several of its projects and focused on long term needs; community based tourism, environmental education, handicrafts, scholarships, and a community center that would all be managed by a new entity: Andaman Discoveries.  ALF scholarships are now administered by Andaman Discoveries.

More information on Andaman Discoveries is available at: www.andamandiscoveries.com/

Photo Albums
North Andaman Tsunami Relief	Project Trang