Tsunami Recovery: Making a Difference One Year Later

In the wake of the December 2004 tsunami, the lives and businesses of tens of thousands in southern Thailand were devastated. Over 5,000 people were killed, nearly 3,000 missing, almost 9,000 were injured and thousands of houses were destroyed. In total, approximately 200,000 people were affected.

One year later, The Tsunami Recovery Action Initiative (TRAI), a partnership of the business school’s Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise (KIPE) and its sister organization in Bangkok, the Kenan Institute Asia (KIAsia), has begun implementing a three-year program to generate long-term recovery and eventual prosperity of the area.

Recovery site named

After a three-month assessment period and three site selection team visits, TRAI chose Thailand’s Lam Kaen and Kuk Khak communities in Phang-nga province (one hour from the Phuket airport) for the program.

The Lam Kaen sub-district received both direct and indirect damage from the tsunami. Houses were destroyed, villagers' lives lost, and the central pier and market area washed away. The community’s economy, largely based on tourism and fishing, was badly affected.

The center of tourism is located in Kuk-Khak, which is adjacent to Lam Kaen. Lam Kaen hotel workers and tourism-supported businesses, such as tour operators, depend on Kuk Khak tourism. The inter-relatedness of the two communities’ economies makes it useful to work with both of them.

The project focus is on building local capacity to achieve high-end sustainable tourism. Activities will cover three areas:

• Education for tourism
• Small business development
• Entrepreneurship and community development

“Our integrated, geographically-focused effort is intended to restore livelihoods damaged by the disaster, but also to help those communities plan and carry out development in a way that benefits local people while protecting the wonderful natural environment,” said Paul Wedel, director of KIAsia.

Student opportunities

TRAI is offering the opportunity for MBA student internships involved with the recovery efforts:

• Students will have the opportunity to intern with the tsunami real estate project to build a fisherman’s association repair facility and fresh fish market.
• Under a grant from the Kenan Charitable Trust, funding is available for internships for two to four MBAs. Students with expertise and experience in entrepreneurship, environmentally sound community planning and sustainable tourism development will assist with planning and training material development.