20 years after a devastating tsunami, a survivor celebrates what the disaster has given him

His uncle died in the tsunami, and his aunt remarried a man who wanted Sittirachot to quit school and start working, which he did not want to do. A teacher found him a place at the Baan Than Namchai Foundation so he could continue his studies.

The orphanage was established with help from Australian and British volunteers for more than 30 children who lost parents to the tsunami.

“It is a place that has given me everything,” said Sittirachot, whose nickname is Game.

For the first two years after the tsunami, the children lived in a tent. The founding director, Rotjana Phraesrithong, later raised money at home and overseas for a proper building.

Sittirachot, who would have had few job prospects if he had quit school, thrived at the orphanage.

With Phraesrithong’s encouragement, he earned a bachelor’s degree in law, followed by an MBA during the pandemic. He is currently pursuing a degree in digital marketing.

Though the tsunami took so much away from him, “it gave me good things in life too,” Sittirachot said.

Sittirachot became director of the orphanage after Phraesrithong  died from cancer in 2017.