Tsunami survivor advises on charities
Linda Regnier's drive to spend her retirement years helping others put her in the path of the world's greatest natural disaster.
On Dec. 26, the Lakeside resident was on vacation after teaching English to tribal children in Thailand's Chiang Mai Province. She was with her daughter and son-in-law at a resort on the island of Ko Lanta.
At 11 a.m., she saw water suck back into the Andaman Sea, leaving a fishing boat stuck in the sand. Then she saw a huge crest then wave rush toward shore.
She ran with her daughter and son-in-law up a hill behind the resort with about 150 to 250 people. At the time, no one knew whether the giant tsunami had wiped out the services needed to maintain life on the island.
"The thing that went through my mind up on the hill was we've got to get water," Regnier said.
She had managed to bring about seven liters of water in the frenzy to get off the beach.
"I thought, what if we are the only people with water?" she recalled. "I knew I'd give it to the children."
Concern for disadvantaged children had inspired Regnier to apply for the Rotary International Humanitarian Grant that brought her to Thailand last summer. She applied as a member of the Rotary Club in Bigfork.
A former special education and Head Start teacher, Regnier was touched when she discovered the work of Children of the Golden Triangle. The nonprofit group helps Akha tribal communities in a region near Burma.
"I thought, 'Oh, this would be wonderful,'" Regnier said.
Many of the children were orphaned by AIDS or because their mothers became enslaved in Thailand's sex industry. The nonprofit group works to save their children from a similar fate.
"I've been very interested in slavery in our world," Regnier said. "There are 26 million slaves and many of them are women and children. The sex industry is huge."
She ended up first raising money in this country for the Children of the Golden Triangle before going to Thailand with her Rotary grant.
Regnier's main job was teaching English to high school and elementary students in a village south of Chiang Mai. On weekends, she would visit the Golden Triangle children.
"I ended up going there a lot," she said. "I had Wednesday free so I spent that day at a program with HIV orphans."
Regnier put her educator skills to good use, teaching fine and gross motor skills to the children. She said the language barrier posed no problem.
"Little kids don't care. They think it's a riot," she said with a laugh. "We did English songs."
Regnier was funded for only two months of work but she managed to squeeze in five months by living frugally. She was concluding her stay at Ko Lanta where her daughter and new son-in-law were on their honeymoon.
The three never imagined their holiday ending on that hilltop watching the sea devour their resort. The next morning, they walked for several hours to reach the leeward side of the island.
When they found a small cafe, Regnier used her calling card to contact her husband, retired Montana Supreme Court Justice Jim Regnier. He heard her message an hour later, before he even knew of the mass destruction from the tsunami.
Although the resort was severely damaged, Ko Lanta was shielded from the brute force of the tsunami by outer islands like Ko Phi Phi where more than 700 people perished. Only two people lost their lives on Ko Lanta.
Across South Asia, more than 170,000 people were killed by the tsunami.
Her daughter and husband narrowly missed the tragedy on Ko Phi Phi. Regnier said that they were scheduled to go there the next day.
"I'll be eternally grateful that we're fine," Regnier said. "I learned a lot of things about myself."
When she returned to Thailand with her husband in January, the trauma of the tidal wave had not receded.
"The sadness of the whole thing permeated everything … the land, the air, the people," she said. "You would walk by them and everyone was just staring."
Regnier has devoted her energy since the tragedy to raising money for the Children of the Golden Triangle as well as a for a group working to control Thailand's population of homeless dogs.
These animals, known as temple dogs because monks and nuns feed them scraps, carry disease and lead miserable lives.
Regnier encourages others who wish to help to contact at her at 857-2045 or by e-mail at lregnier@centurytel.net.
She provided names of reputable organizations for others who wish to contribute to tsunami victims. Regnier got these from an article in the Bangkok Post which addressed how to best help the people.
. Office for the Coalition Network for Andaman Coastal Community Support (a fund which helps fishermen purchase boats and equipment): bank account No. 372-0-01396-0, Krung Thai Bank, Talad Muang Trang Branch, Trang, Thailand, swift code KRTHTHBK.
. The Population and Community Development Association (a nongovernmental group providing help to villagers): bank account No. 204-1-15200-6, Bank of Ayudhya, Sukhumvit 23 Branch, swift code AYUDTHBK.
. Tsunami Action Group (a coalition which helps migrant workers from Burma who can't seek government help for fear of deportation): bank account No. 471-2-19749-3, Kasikorn Bank, Suthep Road Branch, Chiang Mai, Thailand, swift code KASITHBK.
Regnier also recommends visiting the Web site of the Soi Dog Foundation, www.soidogfoundation, for information about how to support this organization devoted to helping Thailand's stray dogs.
Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.