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U.S. Secretary of State Praises NGO, Volunteer Efforts in Tsunami Recovery
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Team: A team of U.S. volunteers lends a hand to build houses for a Thai family affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami.
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KHAO LAK, Thailand÷On Mon., July 11, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice visited the tsunami-ravaged coast of Thailand to inspect recovery efforts. At a school under reconstruction in Ban Sak, Phang Nga province, she told government officials, NGO representatives and the press: ãA true expression of friendship is that you are there for your friends when they are in need. The United States and Thailand have long been friends and Iâm glad we can build on that friendship to provide for recovery from the tsunami.ä
On invitation from the U.S. Embassy, the event was attended by representatives of Habitat for Humanity; Mercy Foundation, a Thai non-governmental organization that is receiving technical assistance from the Habitat tsunami-recovery project team, and the International School in Bangkok, a donor to the school rebuilding fund.
ãToday we celebrate the enormous spirit of the survivors,ä Rice said. ãWe celebrate the work of the U.S. government, but more than that we celebrate the millions of Americans who gave of their resources, as well as the thousands who came here to work in the recovery effort.ä
ãToday we celebrate the enormous spirit of the survivors,ä Rice said. ãWe celebrate the work of the U.S. government, but more than that we celebrate the millions of Americans who gave of their resources, as well as the thousands who came here to work in the recovery effort.ä
Mary Crawford, a volunteer from San Mateo, Calif., said she and her husband joined the team to ãrepresent the volunteerism and the good things about America. On her previous two Habitat building trips to Thailand, Crawford said the homeowners they worked with were ãincredulousä that people would come so far to help them.
This time, she said, locals were less surprised that volunteers came, but just as appreciative of their efforts.
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Rice: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice sings with a group of schoolchildren in their temporary classroom in the tsunami-affected area of southern Thailand.
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