Family head out to help tsunami-hit island

A New Zealand family of four is flying to a tsunami-ravaged Thai island to help rebuild its shattered community.

The Buchan family from the Bay of Plenty is heading to Phi Phi, a popular backpacker destination that lost 1500 people from its 10,000 population.

Kim and Mary and their sons Nathan, 14, and Jacob, 13, will spend two weeks among a group of 20 Bay of Plenty residents, which has been organised by a Papamoa couple.

Mr Buchan said the trip would provide valuable life experience for his sons. "The impact on them will be huge," he said.

The trip is just the beginning for the Buchans, who plan to visit the island once a year for the next five years.

"Realistically, the island will take five to 10 years to rebuild. The Government doesn't have the funds to put back into the islands," Mr Buchan said.

Although he worked in the IT industry, he was a plumber by trade and hoped to put those skills to good use.

Organisers Tony and Sheryl Brown will be in Phi Phi for three months.

Others would stay to help for two to three weeks. People involved ranged in age from 13 to 64 and included builders, plumbers, divers and some medical staff.

The Browns first travelled to Koh Phi Phi in February.

"We found that they had received no aid out there - they had not seen any major aid agencies," Mrs Brown said.

The only thing the Government had been able to do at the time was contract a barge and bulldozer company to clear debris.

Also helping tsunami-affected areas is the Bay of Plenty branch of Habitat for Humanity. Volunteer Ann Dowman is organising a group to travel in early July to Kanyakumari, on the southern tip of India.

Twelve volunteers were needed to join a Habitat team building 600 new homes.

"They need to have some building skills. It would be good to have a counsellor and maybe a nurse," she said.

- NZPA