If you’ve been to Koh Phangan, it is the people who have brought food to your table, cleaned your room, cracked open your coconuts and massaged you with care who are now struggling. In fact, an increasing proportion of our local community is waking up each day unsure of where their next meal is coming from. They can no longer afford to buy essential items and as a result, their nutrition, health and survival is in danger. So is the healthy growth and development of their children.

COVID-19 has been especially hard on places like Koh Phangan where most people live hand to mouth and are dependent on the tourism industry. Many of our local businesses have been forced to shut down indefinitely and thousands of people have lost their income.

Since COVID-19 has swept over the globe, crisis response initiatives have been made possible by an outpouring of kindness, compassion and community spirit. This has shown us the incredible things we can achieve together, even in the most difficult circumstances.

We now invite you to join in this effort by supporting Island Aid. Together, we can ensure the people of Koh Phangan overcome this crisis, with no one left behind.

Why hygiene?

While there are several food distribution initiatives already set up locally, there is a gap in support for the basic products that keep households and people safe. Island Aid is stepping up to fill this gap in support of:

Disease prevention

Good hygiene is essential for preventing the spread of life-threatening infectious diseases, including the Coronavirus.

Dignity and well being

Clean homes and personal hygiene help to preserve these cornerstones of mental health.

Financial flexibility

Providing basic hygiene supplies allows budget substitution for families to cover other important costs, such as medical care and rent.

Healthy growth and development

Food alone is not enough! 50% of malnutrition in children under five years old globally is linked to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and insufficient hygiene.

Saving newborn lives
Almost half of deaths for children under five occur in the first month of life. Many of these deaths are infection-related and preventable through improved water, sanitation, hygiene and good breastfeeding practices.

Who are we targeting?

We work with local community leaders to identify people from the following groups who could use a helping hand.

Pregnant women and young families

So that donations go where they will have the greatest impact, our main focus is on pregnant women and families with babies and toddlers. From pregnancy to the child’s second birthday (the first 1,000 days) is a critical time. It is a period of both vulnerability and opportunity during which a child’s body and brain develop rapidly and the foundations for lifelong heath are laid. The degree of nourishment and care for mothers and children during this time has a profound impact on the child’s ability to grow, learn and thrive.

By the time a child reaches their second birthday, the damage done is often irreversible. It also increases the chance that the child and their family never manage to rise out of poverty.

The elderly and people with disabilities

We also offer our support to the elderly and people with disabilities who do not have family members who can care for them.

So, what's in our kits?

While the content of our kits will evolve based on community feedback, the diagram below gives an overview of what we will initially be providing.

Our Thai and Myanmar community volunteers use these hygiene kits as a starting point for a conversation to understand what people’s most urgent needs are and how we can help. Following on from this, we offer more tailored support options including access to: a nutritious diet for a healthy pregnancy, infant feeding support and the provision of basic baby supplies.

How can you help?

Donate!

It costs about 150 baht (4 euros) to provide a family with one of our kits, the contents of which will keep their homes safe for about a month. This means that even a small donation will go a long way!

Spread the word

To reach our fundraising goal, we need to work together. Even if you can’t donate much yourself, sharing this page with your friends, family and social media networks will have a huge impact.

A bit about us

We are a small but committed team of women who are long-term Koh Phangan residents and friends. We share a love for the island we call home and for the people who make it so special. Between us, we:

- Know the island like the back of our hand

- Offer eight years' experience in public health designing, setting up and strengthening humanitarian responses

- Have fifteen years of communications, management, finance and business administration experience.

As Island Aid, we are committed to: