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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday January 6, 2007 - 5 Ricotti expects she'll make another trip Continued from page 4 belonged to a victim of the tsunami. This entire place was eerily quiet, yet peaceful. It was completely abandoned. I felt nauseous," she said. The group stayed in Khao Lak, where that famous video was shot of the tsunami rushing in and sweeping away a man on the beach. "At night, as I lay in bed, I would hear the waves crashing. I wondered what it was like for the people who were in their rooms when the big wave hit. I imagined the water smashing the floor-toceiling windows and the water rising to the ceiling in a split second. Nowhere to escape. I couldn't get those thoughts out of mind for the rest of the trip," said Ricotti. The visiting AAI group also toured a Burmese School. Many Burmese people have moved to Thailand in search for a better life. Many live by the sea and many are in Thailand illegally. Many of the unidentified bodies lost in the tsunami are believed to be Burmese people whose relatives are afraid to notify officials for fear of being deported or jailed. Yet it was the visit to Thailand's Ban Pru Teaw Orphanage that left its mark on Ricotti. It houses 18 orphans who lost their families when the tsunami "I knew from that moment, that I would eventually be back to that orphanage," said Ricotti. Upon visiting Ban Nok Na School on Kho Khoa Island where school kits were distributed, Ricotti said she saw more fish than she'd ever seen. She also saw the occasional huge boat right in the middle of nowhere -- right in the middle of the village. "The ocean was nowhere to be seen, yet this boat is there. Many boats were thrown inland by the tsunami -- we were around 1 km away from the ocean," she said. At the Duang Prateep Foundation Ricotti's group met with Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, the founder of the foundation. Its founder is one of the most well known and respected humanitarians in Thailand. "It was an honour to spend time with her," said Ricotti. -- Angela Blackburn can be reached at angela@oakvillebeaver.com. PHOTO COURTESY SONIA RICOTTI DOCKED: A photo of a boat that now sits inland after the tsunami. hit. Originally the children were housed in a huge tent for 21 months. Last September, they moved into a new building built with funds donated from Japan. AAI donated money to build closets. One of the children was a teenaged girl, a girl who lost 21 family members in the tsunami. A week before, they had finally identified her mother's body - almost two years after the tsunami hit. "This was obviously a difficult and emotional time for her. I didn't know what to do. I decided to walk up to her and just gave her a big hug and held her in my arms. Neither of us were able to speak the other's language, yet we were able to communicate without speaking a word," said Ricotti. "As we said our goodbyes to everyone, I specifically went to look for Som to say goodbye. When I found her, she gave me another big hug. We hugged each other for a long time. She then whispered in my ear (in English), `I love you.' I replied, `I love you too.' Thank You to the Oakville community for helping Great Glasses Oakville collect non-perishable food items for the Fare Share Food Bank. Great Glasses is a 3-for-1 so we have matched each food item collected 3-for-1. Rose, a volunteer from Fare Share, came to the store on Dec. 23rd to pick up your donation just in time for Christmas. 220 North Service Road at Dorval www.greatglasses.ca 905-849-1522 SALE women's pants REG. $180 now $10 DOWNTOWN OAKVILLE 905-337-3155