UK pub asks customers to help Thai tsunami orphans

Five years after the Boxing Day tsunami that devastated South East Asia and claimed the lives of more than 300,000 people, The White Hart Hotel, in London Road, Hook, has launched Project Re-Gift.

The pub is asking for drinkers to drop off unwanted but new presents to the pub between now and February 12, 2010.

Half of the presents will go to the Baan Tharn Namchai Orphanage in Khao Lak, south Thailand, which is a home for children who lost everything in the tsunami.

The rest of the presents will go to KidsOut, a UK charity which provides toys for children fleeing domestic violence.

Pub manager Kevin Powell said The Orchid Group, a restaurant company that owns the pub, started the campaign as it has a number of Thai restaurants and staff.

Mr Powell added: “There’s no better time than Christmas for bringing home to us all just how fortunate we are.