New Life Outreach

With effect from 1 Sep 2009, Mr Bruce Kou Thao will be joining RADION International as our Director Of Operations (USA). He will be pioneering the awareness and assisting with the charity setup in the states to support our outreach efforts in Thailand.

Mr Bruce Thao is no stranger to RADION, in fact he has served a summer term with RADION right in Khek Noi Thailand as part of his PhD program internship. Bruce has teared with us, labored alongside us into late nights and now he is jumping on-board to be our ambassador among the Hmong Americans back in the states.

Bruce Kou Thao is the first generation of Hmong who were born and raised and America. Both his parents fled persecution during the Vietnam War in Laos and lived in Thai refugee camps in 1975 before being repatriated to the United States. Bruce is now pursuing his 2nd Masters and a PhD in Social Work at the University of Chicago.

If you're in the states and would wish to contact Bruce to speak at your organisation/church/school, you can reach him at bruce.thao@radion-international.org

BANGKOK: -- Thai authorities upcountry and in the capital are braced for a major blow from tropical storm Ketsana, which has intensified to typhoon status, and is moving towards Thailand's Northeast and North, Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul said Tuesday.

Having ordered the authorities in the northern and northeastern regions to be on alert for possible flash floods, Mr Chavarat said the Interior Ministry had allocated Bt50 million from its emergency budget to each province to help flood victims.

Meanwhile, Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will keep Bangkokians updated on the weather condition in Bangkok.

The updates include the amount of rainfall and flood-proned areas, he said, adding that announcements will be made via radio, television and traffic signs so that residents will avoid entering flooded areas, move their valuables to higher grounds and prepare themselves in better manners.

In a bid to protect Bangkokians affected by heavy rains, the BMA has set up mobile emergency units to visit flood-impacted various areas and provide drainage pumps, temporary accommodation, medical teams and other facilities.

Mr. Sukhumbhand also said that the BMA would help repair and clean damaged homes after the floodwaters recede.

He instructed the heads of flood-prone districts, in particular the eastern metropolitan area and Thon Buri, to urge community leaders to brace for possible flooding.

The governor himself will be at the emergency relief centre to inspect the authorities response to flooding.

The BMA has launched its Hotline 1555 to receive complaints from flood-hit residents.

Meanwhile, in the southern province of Songkhla, fishermen in the Gulf of Thailand started sailing for shore after a warning was issued by the Meteorological Department.

The department earlier announced that strong winds and waves would likely be higher than two metres due to tropical storm Ketsana which was moving across the South China Sea and expected to enter Thailand's northeastern provinces of Mukdaharn and Ubon Ratchathani via neighbouring Laos.

Meanwhile, customs officers in the northeastern province of Nong Khai warned ferry boat and motor raft operators plying between Bung Kan District and Laos against overloading with cargo and passengers to avoid possible accidents during the heavy rain and strong winds.

-- TNA 2009-09-29

The last few weeks have kept me really busy, hunting for jobs, filling up painful applications that never seem to end and going for job interviews.

The scary thing about it all is how quickly I get so terribly comfortable and absorbed in the Singaporean lifestyle. How quickly I find myself chasing material comfort and momentarily forgetting Khek Noi, the kids, the people.... those who really need our help.

There were moments were I was starting to revive the drive for recognition in the corporate world, nothing wrong about that. But when that pursuit of material comfort slowly eats away my passion of touching lives, i'll be back in square one.

We can always come up with reasons and excuses to justify our every decision. But may I never forget the real reason why I'm doing what I'm doing.

It was a nostalgic day as I boarded my plane back to Singapore. The sights, the sounds, the all so familiar surroundings... all in exchange for a more urbanized lifestyle.

Arriving Singapore felt strange, it had a sense of familiarity but it strangely felt foreign, almost as though as I'm away from home right here in my homeland. Thoughts of the streetkids flooded through my mind as well as the faces of the elderly folks that we reach out to regularly, their wrinkled smiles that fills my heart with warmth.

Right now I'm blogging in my bedroom and looking towards a new phase in my life, hopefully this phase will be short (or maybe a miracle happens) so I can rush back to rejoin radion full time :)

p/s : Thank you for your encouraging mails and messages.