This week, we did a good 1,200+ meals to the needy. Thank you to our volunteers and tireless Sunee, Poo, Aland for cooking and doing this work all week. Also note, on 24 Dec Christmas Eve, Aland and Sunee will be packing 550 Grace Bags, containing rice, oil and other cooking staples to distribute to the needy. It has been months long work to identify the needy families, getting them registered to receive these bags of food and staples, on top of running the kitchen!
Also, we will be distributing pre-loved children's clothes, toys and books, all kind donations from good folks in Phuket. We hope this Christmas to bring some needed cheer, given the Omnicron climate has dented some of the hope around full economic revival.
Menu/ Meals Served:
13 Dec - Panang curry chicken with vegetables and rice (220)
14 Dec - Fried noodles; seaweed chicken soup; chicken porridge (254)
15 Dec - Noodle soup with chicken (270)
16 Dec - Spicy bamboo shoot with eggs and chicken stir fry with vegetables (249)
17 Dec - Spicy basil mince chicken; macroni, chicken porridge (300)
Total meals = 1,232
As always, we appeal for donations as the threat of Omnicron has arrived in Phuket. Borders are shutting again and quarantine reinstituted. For Phuket, the sandbox program is still allowed (ie. tourists will need to stay in a SHA+ hotel for 7 days). This would certainly mean less tourists wanting to take the risk to apply and come here, for fear that the government will change travel rules overnight. With the sandbox model, small, indpendent hotels, hostels and private apartments will not benefit as all tourists will only stay in the big chain hotels. How this will impact the local economy is no surprise. We will have to see how long the small guys can keep their shops, small hotels open at this rate. In the meantime, we still see long queues for our food boxes. We continue to deliver meals to the Burmese camps as well.