Jeff Deveau, another sales associate from Sutton Group – West Coast Realty, White Rock is presently aiding the villagers outside of Phuket, Thailand. Sharon Deveau, Jeff’s mother, and Jason, Jeff’s brother are both also very successful associates at Sutton Group – West Coast Realty, White Rock and are enlisting assistance for the cause.

Prior to joining Sutton, Jeff resided and taught in Thailand for approx. three years. When he heard of the effects of the Tsunami, Jeff left immediately for Thailand on Dec. 26, 2004 to aid a family he was close to in a village in Phuket. In the meantime, he had heard of other villages in desperate need of supplies so he endeavoured to help those in surrounding areas.

“Please send A BIG THANKS to everyone for all the donations,” Jeff reports via email [LH1] from Phuket. I hope you let everyone know that Dang from Le Meridien got the money and she wanted to send a BIG THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!! It’s just her, her husband and their daughter that’s left now and that money will come in VERY handy for her.

“I rented a van (and hired a driver) last Monday (Jan. 24th) and made a trip out to a small Thai Village that’s about three hours off the Island of Phuket. I heard of this village from a local Thai person in Phuket who said these people were not getting enough supplies and help.

“The village I went to was unbelievable. Not a house left standing for about 2 kilometres inland and huge fishing boats were being found in the jungle. All the trees (that are still standing) have started to turn brown and will probably be completely dead within a few months.

“Before I left Phuket for this village, I stopped off at a store called “SuperCheap” which would be the equivalent of Costco there. I spent about $500 Canadian on blankets, soap, water, food, medicine, etc.

“There were three levels of living at the camp we visited and none of them seemed liveable. The best places people had were tents that were beaten up and barely big enough for 1 person but they’d squeeze 4 or 5 in. Next were huge tarps strung up between trees and about 40 people would squish under them to sleep. Then there were people who were just sleeping on the ground with no shelter. With all the bugs, animals and reptiles here-it’s not like camping under the stars back in B.C.

“The remainder of the money (about 30,000 Baht or $1,000 CAN) I split it up into 500 Baht bills and handed them out to the families that seemed the most in need. Five hundred Baht to them would be like getting $1,000 dollar bills to us. They were VERY grateful and it put a lot of smiles on their faces. It was like they won the lottery.

“I did take a few pictures but didn’t want to take too many as the people were shy enough being around a “white person” and I didn’t want them to feel any more awkward. The smell and heat there were incredible and these pictures don’t even come close to expressing the gloom there but I thought they might give you an idea. I scanned them and attached them for you. Again, thank everyone there for all their help as it’s GREATLY Appreciated!!!

“I left Phuket this morning and came to Koh Samui so I can get away from the gloom back there.”