The movement was started some 30 years ago by a small number of rural
monks in the Northeast and some other poverty-striken regions. Drought, water scarcity,
salty soil, low level of health and lack of communication have aggravated underdevelopment
of the Northeast. Almost every year, peasants await in vain the arrival of the
monsoon to start the agricultural season. Policy makers are expressing the need for action
now before time runs out for effective remedial measures if the future of the region is not
to be lost beyond recovery. This year, it is estimated that about 1.6 million rai of farmland
are already damaged and some 49,958 families in 3,557 villages are in distress. In spite of
the government’s recent decision to allocate a sum of 139 million baht as Disaster Relief
Fund to assist the victims in nearly 40 of the country’s 73 provinces and the Army’s plan
to under-take the Royal Compassion Project, there is skepticism among the region’s population about realizing the set and declared goals. Some even feared that there may be
more of rhetoric and political sale-talk than substance to the declarations. Within this
atmosphere of doubt more people are turning to the monks at the wat in their villages for
assistance as they did in the past.