I've raised £2000 to rebuild a families boat on Phi Phi Island in Thailand, as it was struck by lightening, which has currently destroyed a families livelihood
Organised by Chris & Gabs World Cycling Tour
Story
2 years ago we set off from England on our World Cycling Tour, over the last 2 years we have cycled all the way to Thailand, which is our 27th country.
We arrived on Phi Phi Island in March, just as the borders closed due to Covid-19, and have been locked down on this small island ever since.
NOTE: This is our general ongoing fundraiser on Phi Phi Island, our new latest fundraiser is towards the bottom of this page, which is to help rebuild a families longtail boat after it was recently struck by lightening.
Supplying food parcels, clothing, medical supplies and money.
Thailands main source of income is through tourism, so due to the current situation around the world, the people of Thailand are suffering very much, as they are not able to earn any money to feed their families, sadly there have been many people taking their own lives due to the increasing poverty, the people of Thailand have no support from the government, therefore we believe that we should all help these struggling families in such times of need.
Over the past few weeks we have been arranging for boats to bring food and clothes over from the mainland to the Island, as we are donating food and clothing parcels to the families here, we are also helping some families with small amounts of money for those personal items, such as medicine.
If you can help support us by making a donation, you will be helping to make a persons life easier, we are not asking for much, in the parcel we include basic essentials such as rice, fish oil, noodles, tinned fish, drinks and a selection of clothing, we have also been giving some families 1000 baht.
Since starting the above fundraiser we have supplied meals, clothing, medical supplies and money to 65 families, which is just over 300 people, you can see some of the photos by CLICKING HERE FOR PHOTOS you can also watch 2 short films we made of the last fundraisers we organised, see below.
NEW FUNDRAISER BELOW:
DISASTER STRIKES FAMILY ON PHI PHI ISLAND - PLEASE HELP
We need help to rebuild a families boat which has been hit by lightening! CLICK HERE to read the full story and learn more about the family and the Longtail Boats of Thailand and how important they are.
It’s now the monsoon season in Thailand, and here on the Island we experience storms on a daily basis, which brings heavy rain and winds followed by thunder and lightning.
A few nights ago during one of the worst storms we’ve ever experienced here on the Island, Somdech’s longtail boat was struck by lightening, luckily he was not in the boat at the time, but its sadly destroyed half of his boat, as you can see from some of the photos below, half of the boat has been burnt to cinders.
Somdech’s longtail boat is his livelihood, and without it he cannot go fishing for his family and the people in the village, this is horrific.
We were supposed to be leaving Phi Phi Island in a few days as our time here in Thailand is sadly coming to an end, as the countries emergency Visa amnesty finishes in a few weeks, but due to this happening to Somdech’s boat, we have decided that we will somehow stay and help him rebuild his boat, and also help the families here on the Island, we really hope we are able to do this.
This will not be any easy task, as to rebuild the boat we need permission by the local police to go into the jungle and cut down some trees, so that we can produce timber planks to rebuild the boat.
Durning the fire, the boats engine and longtail was also destroyed.
So our work schedule is:
1. Remove all damaged timber from the boat and strip varnish from existing timber and sand.
2. Cut trees down in the jungle.
3. Split felled logs in jungle into planks of various widths.
4. Shape planks and main structure ribs.
5. Replace all the burnt wood on the boat, and prepare for finishing.
6. The boat will then need to be finished with many coats of marine grade varnish.
7. Install new engine.
All the above work is done by hand, and comes at a cost!
So one again we will soon be asking for peoples help, by means of another fundraising campaign.
We are going to film the whole process of the boat rebuild, from cutting trees in the jungle to watching the locals hand cut the logs and produce planks, and then you’ll see the skills that these local Island people have as they cut and shape the planks by hand as they rebuild the boat.
Maybe in return for such rare and interesting footage you would like to make a donation?
The complete film will only be made available to those who help by donating, we will write again soon with further details.
So if you can please help by making a donation, please provide some details so that we can send you the film once complete, you can send a private message through our website if you wish.
We anticipate that the cost to rebuild the longtail boat will be approximately 40,000 baht (£1000 GBP) so here is the cheeky bit, we kindly ask that people donate at least 800 baht (£20 GBP) if possible in order to receive the film once its complete, its the only way we can try and achieve our target, but obviously we also appreciate any amount you can spare no matter how small, every penny counts, we hope you understand, and thank you.
Photo's below: Somdech's burnt out boat.
Above: We have stated to cut the logs in the jungle
Above: The boat rebuild is coming along nicely
Above: The boat is almost complete!
Somdech’s boat is almost complete! new canopy installed, now fitting the refurbished longtail engine, thank you to everyone that has helped with this project, and to the Windmill Youth Group in Blackpool (UK) who did a fundraiser last weekend which has paid for the engine! 🙏 just a few more bits to finish off, then Somdech will soon be back on the water fishing for his family and all the villagers on Phi Phi.
If you’d like to know more about this project please visit the fundraising page where you can read the full story, any surplus funds will be used to supply addition food parcels and repair fishing baskets, we will post a film once complete 😊🙏
A recent fundraiser help by the Blackpool Windmill Youth Group in England. They ran 10km whilst carrying a canoe, collecting donations along the way. The day was very successful, and they raised enough funds to buy a new engine for Somdech's longtail boat.
Great News!
Somdech is back on the water fishing for his family! and this has all been made possible by all the people that have kindly donated! yes, you know who you are! so a big thank you! this has been such an amazing project, and between you all, you’ve made a family very happy 😊🙏 We will post a video update very soon, with Somdech and his family from Phi Phi Island. We raised more than expected, so the additional funds will be used for more food parcels and fishing baskets for the families in the village on Phi Phi Island.
NOTE: It's not too late to donate, as we are continuing to fundraise for the families in the village.
Above: The completed Longtail
CLICK HERE to see the photos in the jungle
CLICK HERE to see the boat being rebuilt
Please visit our website below to read more about us.
