A woman has been back to her native Thailand in an effort to help families caught up in the tsunami disaster.

Caring - Lek Button has just returned from Phuket where she has been offering her help wherever it is needed, including to the Chao family in the photograph. Picture: TERRY WEEDEN (40459-1)

Lek Button, 64, of Spinnaker Close, Clacton, packed her bags and flew out to the scene of devastation, where she spent ten days in and around Phuket, offering help to whoever needed it.

The retired translator was on hand to interpret for police, the Red Cross and other official bodies, as well as using her counselling training to assist those suffering from trauma.

Now she is setting up a fund to help a small village on the island.

"What I encountered was far worse than anything I had seen on the television back in Clacton," she said.

"I hardly got more than a couple of hours sleep a night and the smell of dead bodies was terrible. I came back with a stomach upset and am only just getting back to normal."

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Published Wednesday, January 19, 2005

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