RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps is making an appeal to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to India and Indonesia?

Peace Corps issues appeal to Thailand RPCVs Peace Corps is currently assessing the situation in Thailand, anticipates a need for volunteers and is making an appeal to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps. Also read this message and this message from RPCVs in Thailand. All PCVs serving in Thailand are safe. Latest: Sri Lanka RPCVs, click here for info.

Delayed passport may have saved Bolivia RPCV Chad Myers from tsunamis in Phuket



Delayed passport may have saved Bolivia RPCV Chad Myers from tsunamis in Phuket

A Turn of Fate: Delayed passport may have saved Bethel couple's son, girlfriend from tsunamis in Phuket

Caption: General view of Ton Sai Bay in Thailand's Phi Phi island, December 28, 2004 after a tsunami hit the area. Nations bordering the Indian Ocean from Indonesia to Sri Lanka clawed through the wreckage of a quake-triggered tsunami for bodies to bury on Tuesday as fears grew the toll would exceed the 50,000 now reported killed. REUTERS/Luis Enrique Ascui

By Sherry Youngquist
JOURNAL REPORTER

Barbara Myers said yesterday that her son "dodged a bullet" after his weekend plans to be in Phuket, Thailand - one of the hardest-hit areas after tsunamis struck Sunday, killing tens of thousands in Asia - fell through at the last minute.

"I think it was the hand of God. It truly was," Myers said. "I pray many times a day that God will bless and protect my children, and I felt like it was an answered prayer."

Her oldest son, Chad Myers, 29, teaches at the Singapore satellite campus of INSEAD, a French university. She and her husband, Dwayne Myers, operate a dairy farm in the Bethel community near the Surry-Wilkes county line.

Chad Myers completed an intensive one-year MBA program at INSEAD's campus in Singapore in June and had recently begun teaching there. For Christmas, he and his girlfriend had planned to spend a few days in Phuket. But her passport did not come through in time.

"He was very depressed about that. They were stuck in Singapore for the holiday. But what a blessing that they were," Myers said. There was no damage in Singapore.

The date of the disaster also haunts Myers. A year ago to the day, she and her husband were on vacation in Phuket after having gone to see her son in Singapore.

"And our daughter was in Phuket in May. We loved it so much that we recommended it to her. She went there for her honeymoon. It's a beautiful tropical spot with unbelievably clear blue water - just a paradise," she said.

Myers said that she caught a glimpse of her hotel on the evening news this week. The clip showed waves ravaging the resort.

The physical destruction is mind-boggling, she said, but the loss of life is heartbreaking.

"It's frightening. We just forget the power of Mother Nature and how we are at her mercy," she said.

Myers said she is accustomed to her son living abroad, but that as a parent she always worries. Previously, Chad Myers had spent three years in the Peace Corps in South America, and as an undergraduate he had studied for a time in England.

"He decided he needed an Asian experience," Barbara Myers said. "I said one of my goals for my children was developing independence, but I say I did too good of a job on Chad."

Other families with loved ones in tsunami-affected parts of Asia had to wait days before hearing any news.

Worry turned to joy for a Greensboro business owner who feared that his stepson and the stepson's family might have been hurt or killed.

Joe Thoopsamoot, who owns the Dim Sum/Taste of Thai restaurant in Greensboro, had not heard from his stepson, Kumpol Thoopsamoot, after the tsunamis.

But his stepson called him Tuesday evening to tell him that he, his wife and their daughter were OK. Kumpol Thoopsamoot lives in Phuket, but he had moved to a new house since they last talked.

"He called me to let me know he's OK," Joe Thoopsamoot said. "We were very happy, because he had moved to another place, and I have no phone number so I could not call him."

• Sherry Youngquist can be reached in Mount Airy at (336) 789-9338 or at syoungquist@wsjournal.com

When this story was posted in December 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005.

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December 25, 2004: This Week's Top Stories Soldiers of Peace 23 Dec Nepal RPCV discovers new species of catfish 23 Dec Tom Murphy will not seek 4th term as Pittsburgh mayor 22 Dec Richard Celeste is spicing things up 22 Dec Gov. Jim Doyle streamlines state government 22 Dec Namibia Volunteers sworn in 21 Dec RPCV serves as Ukraine election observer 21 Dec Christmas Gifts for Peace Corps Volunteers 21 Dec Estonia RPCV John Isles wins NEA poetry award 21 Dec Director Vasquez decries racism and discrimination 20 Dec RPCV criticizes "harrassment by Russian government" 20 Dec War's horrors turn RPCV's son into pacifist 19 Dec more top stories...

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The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn.

Vote "Yes" on NPCA's bylaw changes Take our new poll. NPCA members begin voting this week on bylaw changes to streamline NPCA's Board of Directors. NPCA Chair Ken Hill, the President's Forum and other RPCVs endorse the changes. Mail in your ballot or vote online (after Dec 1), then see on how RPCVs are voting.

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Your vote makes a difference Make a difference on November 2 - Vote. Then take our RPCV exit poll. See how RPCV's are voting and take a look at the RPCV voter demographic. Finally leave a message on why you voted for John Kerry or for George Bush. Previous poll results here.

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