Daily Reports from Attapeu

Phase 1: Assessment and Emergency Assistance (2018)

Day 1: Thursday, July 26 | Arrival to Vientiane; plan of action

Half of Jai Laos Relief Effort Team from USA (California and Boston) arrived safely in Vientiane and the other three from (Atlanta, Chicago and California) will arrive on three separate days. We had a meeting with a team of volunteers at midnight to update our plan of action. We have a local business owner who have donated a semi truck with driver to haul all the supplies the 10 plus hours to Pakse Saturday morning. The semi is also carrying 30 coffins to the flood site. In Pakse we will buy more supplies there and should be in the evacuation are to distribute by Sunday or Monday. But before we do that we want to work out your logistics with officials and get a head count on how many families, etc.

Day 2-3: friday & saturday, July 27-28 | obtained supplies

Today we shopped for supplies for the relief effort. From what we are told, there are plenty of food, water and clothes from people throughout Laos and Thailand. Some things that are being requested are: undergarments, feminine hygiene, dental, toiletry, blankets, pillows, and Jai Lao also got tents for their temporary shelter. With partnership from Panyathip School in Vientiane, Jai Lao made 600 bags of essentials listed above for men, women and children. Panyathip School parents and Nong Buddy’s team members also donated clothes and helped packed the supplies. The team members from the USA flew to Pakse that evening and the rest are driving with the big truck early Saturday morning.

From our understanding, it is still considered SEARCH & RESCUE zone and time right now where rescue teams from Laos, Thailand and China are working together to bring people to dry land. All donations are to be dropped off at one of the four evacuation site set up, the biggest one in Paksong, a warehouse where hundreds of people found refugee. All the families have been sent back to their villages from this site. 11 villages were affected by the flood, of which 6 got hit the hardest. The other three sites are in Attapeu Province and this morning we are driving the 3 hours there to initially access the situation ourselves before we can move forward.

Day 4: sunday, july 29 | warehouses filled to capacity; roads inaccessible

The provincial administration office is the donation drop off center where generous people and businesses from all over Laos and Thailand came to drop off truck fulls of donations. The warehouses were all filled past capacity and they used hotels and gas stations for extra storage.

The villagers who still had a tok tok vehicle left drove their families in it to go get donations at the refugee camp. We tried to go further to the villages that was more affected by the flood even greater. However we couldn’t cause the road’s higher mud level made it impassible. A couple of celebrities from Thailand visited the refugee center to donate which inspired a trove of Thai citizens to come visit and donate.

We are scheduled to go to the Province office to declare our donations tomorrow and ask for approval to personally hand deliver the donations ourselves. We will see if we are taking boats or off road vehicles to go distribute bagged supplies. Thanks to our partners Panyathip School and Moo Panh who both have been vital in helping Jai Lao with our relief efforts.

After much observation of the situation at hand it’s clear to us that the aftermath aid for the flood victims is paramount. The convoys of donations and volunteers will soon start to recede like the water and it’s then that the villages will need the most help. Jai Lao is brainstorming various ways how we can help the families rebuild their lives when everyone else leaves. We may not be able to provide as much relief this moment as we’d hope to but we are glad we got to be here to see and experience everything first hand so we can come up with a solid solution to help the villages recover in the months to follow.

day 4: sunday, july 29 | arrival to sanamxai; distribute essentials

Sanamxai, Attapeu is a town about 10 miles from one of the villages that got hit by the flood. It’s only accessible by a four wheel drive. It is set us as a base camp for the relief effort. Five refugee sites, rescue centers, cooking area, etc. have been set up with hundreds of volunteers working round the clock. Close to 5,000 people still live in these camps and some have returned back home (if there is a home still standing) when the water receded. They are taken care of quite good and are eating three warm meals a day, more than what we would get in our villages many villagers expressed. For those that aren’t at camp, a team of volunteers drive in off road vehicles to deliver the meals as well as other essentials they need. The main donation center in Attapeu city sends supplies by boat or truck to Sansamxai relief effort sites.

It was a long and difficult day for Jai Lao to as we worked feverishly to ensure that we get to deliver the donations to the families that have returned to their villages. After a very long duck and goose chase we were not able to go to the villages due to not having the right access of vehicles. But we are still delighted they we can personally had deliver our bags of essential things ourselves.

We have out four truck loads of donations to seven villages that were living at the refugee center. We had them gather one family member each where the chiefs had a list and numbers of families in his village. Every family member received things (rent, blanket, toiletries, dental kits, hygiene kits, flip flops, clothes, and shoes) that they would need to be comfortable at the camp in the next few weeks at least. The villagers were so happy and grateful and they shared how they really like the way we did the distribution as it was very fair and good.

Today we return back to try to get into the villages with the help of the Thai rescue team who’ll drive us in with their off road trucks. Jai Lao is so glad and grateful we are here in the initial stage of relief efforts for Attapeu. We can see and hear things with our own eyes and access the situation more accurately and come up with a sustainable solutions to help the families. All of this is made possible because of your compassionately caring and generous heart!! We are so delighted to partner with Panyathip International School and Moo Panh Team to make this relief effort come together so nicely.

Day 5-6: Sunday-monday, july 31- august 1 | ban boak refugee center

This morning started at 5 am. We went to our big truck to unload the supplies into three more trucks to drive the 2 hours to get to Sanamxai district where a three refugee camps have been set up. We arrive at the Thai Rescue Foundation Center who’s got the off-road vehicles to take us to Ban Boak, another refugee camp that’s ome and a half hours drive away but only 10 miles. We helped them pack 600 boxes of food before we head out.

We arrive here with three trucks of donations and saw that the Chinese have set up a medical aid center to treat the families. A few villages have gathered at this camp site which is the furthest camp site. Some families of various villages are at different camps depending on where they may have been rescued and some have returned to their homes once the water level have gone down. The village chiefs wanted us to “go ahead and leave the donations here and we will make sure that everyone gets it”. Right! Even though it’s so much harder to distribute the donations ourselves we do it to ensure everyone gets the donations equally.

It is wet and raining and yet the people are outside waiting for their lunch from the Thai rescue team and are happy to get a visit from us. It’s not a sight for the faint of heart to see the kind of living conditions they are in. Their basic needs especially food and water are being more than met. A few elders shared, “we can’t complain about being here cause we get to eat better than if we are at our village homes. We just miss our home but also like the fun and friendship at camp too”. They stand in need of basic human necessities which is what Jai Lao provides. This is only the beginning of long term rebuilding effort that Jai Lao will focus on. Thank you ever so kindly for the thousands of you who’ve donated to help with the relief effort in Attapeu, Laos. 

Day 5-6: Sunday-monday, july 31-august 1 | ban boak reflection

Home is where the heart is but what if there is no home? Where does the heart go to then?

This is one of eleven villages that was affected by the collapsed dam in Sanamxai district Attapeu Province, Laos. Four villages got hit the hardest and this one pictured was not even hit from direct impact. Imagine the toll on the others that had the flood come crashing down on them. One village only has three homes still left standing.

DAY 6: MONDAY, aUGUST 1 | XAI DON KHONE VILLAGE, sanamxai district, attapeu

We loaded two more trucks and drove the four hours to Xai Don Khone village which was affected by the dam collapse. The damage were in rice fields, water buffaloes, cows, and livestock. This village is further than the other ones we visited so not too many visit to provide aid. We were scheduled to also visit the refugee camp that’s further down the road but we were behind schedule by over two hours due to someone’s truck being stuck in the mud. The helpful military men helped transfer our donations into their truck and drove our things to the village where 181 Taliang ethnic families excitedly awaited our arrival.

We had to leave the village before nightfall so we decided to do the camp tomorrow. We assured the villagers that this was the beginning of more aid to come from Jai Lao and the Lao brothers and sisters overseas. They’re extremely grateful for whatever help we can give them especially because they’ve been overlooked due to their location. When Jai Lao visits again to provide a more in depth aid we will help all 13 villages that the flood affected and it’ll be based on the needs of each of the villages.

DAY 7: TUESDAY, aUGUST 2 | HIN LAT VILLAGE

More flood victim survivors rescued and brought over to Tam Ma Yok village which is the fifth refugee camp in Sanamxai district. The families here are from Hin Lad, a village that got hit first and the hardest from the dam flood. All 138 homes including the temple have all been washed away. Will share photos of that village with you later. Two more bodies were uncovered from deep in the mud today by the Attapeu army team.

Seeing these refugees reminded us of our own refugee days. People are living in tight spaces cause they’ve used the school as a place of refuge until the Lao PDR can figure at how to house the displaced families who’ve lost everything. We were there when the President and General of the Lao Army paid a visit to Ban Hin Lad.

Right now it’s still search and rescue time as lost family members are being searched for. The press is allowed to come in as long as they officially check in with the government and get a badge. The military was very helpful in our inquiries about the flood and lives lost. The best way to find out the story is to be at the source and talk to the villagers directly and we talked to many from this village. The stories we’ve heard really shows how strong and resilient human beings are in the face of a horrific catastrophe.

Our day started at 5 am this morning. Jai Lao team members loaded two more trucks with donations from USA supporters and local Lao people from our partner Moo Panh team then we drove almost five hours to finally get to our destination thanks the last half of our long drive to the Lao Army, Champasak unit. THANK YOU! We wouldn’t have made it there without their help because of the really muddy road conditions. These hard working and very kind soldiers was so amazing at helping us on our mission to deliver donations to the villagers personally. They even helped others who got stuck in the mud many times.

Our teamwork was a beautiful thing to see materialize as we got to know them beyond their uniforms. We saw that they’re regular nice guys and their job is very difficult with very little pay. From what we observed after spending the day with them is that they truly care about the villagers and what happened to them. They’d ask them for their stories and always offer positive words of comfort. We were very touched to see the compassion these guys have and how excited they were to be a part of our team to give to the families personally.

167 families live in a refugee camp in Tam Ma Yok. Families who’ve found refugee here are from Hinh Lad which was the village that got hit first and the hardest from the collapsed dam flood. All the homes, including the temple, was wiped out completely. Villagers were fortunate to escape death with just the clothes on their backs and some even lost that. This campsite is the farthest out and so not receive as much aid as the others. There is no common kitchen where volunteers are there to provide food and other aid. A few families live in one school room and some in any space with a roof. It’s very heartbreaking to see their conditions and how different it is in terms of having lacking a more organized relief effort for them. Each family is left to fend for themselves but that can be challenging when there are no cooking ware to prepare meals. All of our donations have been delivered in four days time but we feel we need to get kitchen ware brought to the families today.

DAY 8: WEDNESDAY, aUGUST 3 | HIN LAT VILLAGE

(FIRST AND HARDEST HIT VILLAGE FROM DAM COLLAPSE)

After five days of distributing donations from Jai Lao and our local Lao partners, Moo Panh and we had to buy more supplies to donate to the Hin Lad. We went there to donate clothes and other hygiene essentials and after taking with many villagers we decided we had to come back to give them the things they asked for that will help improve their quality of life at camp.

With the help of the Champasak Province army unit Jai Lao handed out kitchen and cooking essentials, household goods, dental, toiletry, and dental, etc. that are needed to feel self sufficient. The villagers were so happy to receive these wonderful and much needed gifts from USA and Canada and all over the world. Several ladies came up to Soutkita Laod to personally say thank you and gave her kisses on her cheeks. It truly warms our hearts to see the villagers smile and have some hope in the days ahead. They’re so beautiful and resilient and grateful that they have their lives.

Reflection…

A complete village of homes is wiped out and a beautiful adorned temple stands still and tall as a beacon of hope. It’s filled with sand and debris but it’s also filled with a renewed sense of gratitude and dreams for a brighter tomorrow. The magnitude of damage to Hin Lat from the collapsed dam flood is far greater than meets the eyes and what these photos capture. What you don’t see is the smell that permeates in the air. It’s the smell of death, fear, sadness, helplessness.

What’s left to rebuild of one’s life when even the foundation is washed out? The foundation of something is supposed to be the anchor and strength that keeps everything together. The people of Laos are resilient and strong people. They’ve gone through some of the worst natural and man afflicted tragedies and every time they’ve prevailed. An amazing side of humanity emerges during the deepest and darkest of hours. Our helping hands reach forth to pull one another out from the wreckage and together we shall build a stronger foundation and home of even stronger love and hope.

Thank you to everyone from throughout the world who’ve supported the families affected by this catastrophe. Your every thoughts, prayers, support, and donations is felt in the hearts of the villagers in Laos. Hoping those who can never thank or repay us is one of life’s truest form of blessings.