The Phuket Project is no longer active but you can still donate to other tsunami relief causes.

MISSION
The goal of the Phuket Project was to support the recovery efforts of everyday people affected by December 2004 tsunami in southern Thailand. With a specific emphasis on helping children and families, the Project worked alongside local communities to help rebuild homes, schools, businesses, temples and community centers. We endeavored to find projects that lived beneath the traditional media spotlight and upheld our commitment to making sure our phyiscal and financial efforts reach those truly in need. Read letters from the field by Phuket Project volunteersand an article in National Geographic Adventure Magazine that mentions us .

FAST FACTS

• 152 volunteers have traveled to Thailand since February 2005
• 383 volunteers have signed up to be a part of the Project since January 2005
• More than 85,000 hours have been donated by volunteers to the Thai people
• More than 350,000 hours have been spent in Phang Nga, Khao Lak and Phuket
• An average of more than 12,000 pounds of concrete was laid daily on site
• More than 760,000 THB was spent in local communities specifically related to project activities (approximately 20,000 USD)
• More the 60,000 USD was raised through creative fundraising – art shows, music nights, selling stationery, soup dinners, curling contests, simple telephone calls, emails to friends and pure, hardcore generosity
• Two housing projects in Phuket and Khao Lak were designed to build homes for more than 75 local Thais
• Three initiatives on Kalim and Kamala beach and the village of Khao Lak hosted art projects for local schoolchildren, including the rebuilding and repainting of a wall destroyed by the tsunami
• Multiple single-day art projects were held with students from the local community
• One boat-building project was completed at Baan Nam Khem in Phang Nga province

Please email Maya Gorton (mayagorton@gmail.com) for more information & check out the photos.

Photo: Phuket Project volunteers working at the site in Mai Khao, near Phuket - February-March 2005

"...Your efforts, and those of us who are now, and eventually, included as part of the Phuket Project, are exemplary -- an indication that the "global community" can also be a powerful force, assisting people who have experienced mind-numbing tragedy to regain as much a sense of normalcy as possible, and in very pragmatic ways: by rebuilding some of that which was destroyed."
-- Sharon Parker, Santa Cruz

"On December 26th my friend and I experienced the tsunami disaster first-hand.  We were on Patong Beach in Phuket trying to 'save' ourselves.  We came out of the disaster unharmed, but witnessed much devastation.  We may have lost material items such as our luggage, clothes, electronics, and money, but we came back to a home, jobs, family and friends.  After coming back to Manhattan, I had an eager desire to help the people of Phuket who lost their homes, belongings, jobs/businesses, schools, and even families.  
The Phuket Project is exactly what I want to align myself with.  It is organized to help the Thai people at a much local and concentrated level.  This is very important to me and getting involved with this organization is a way of 'healing' for me on a very personal level."
-- Usheen Davar, New York City

WATCH A VIDEO OF VOLUNTEERS IN ACTION (thanks Ernesto!)