Pattaya’s first ever major gay fundraising has been a
success. A remarkable total of over 3.2 million baht was collected for the
Heartt 2000 AIDS/HIV Project and the Naklua Drug Rehabilitation Center.
Gay businesses and others in the area got together to organize a series of
fun events which continued most of last year. Activities included parties,
shows, dinners and numerous sports competitions including football,
bowling, golf and volleyball.
Jai
of Alcazar (2nd from left) with his table at the Bruno’s Charity Dinner.
Committee chairman Michael Burchall said, “We are
absolutely delighted by the final figure raised for the charities. Both
Heartt 2000, controlled through Chonburi Hospital, and the Naklua Drug
Rehabilitation Center are extremely worthy causes and in urgent need of
funds. Literally hundreds of people will be helped. Sexual orientation is
not the point. We are talking about saving lives.”
The Heartt 2000 project is run by Dr Philippe Seure and
treats HIV infected people on a daily basis. The Naklua Drug
Rehabilitation Center, run by Pol. Col. Jirat Pichitpai, is the main
agency assisting people in the area addicted to drugs. Both were chosen
because the international price of retro-viral drugs is beyond the means
of most sufferers’ ability to pay and the interrelation between drug use
and HIV/AIDS is a well known problem.
The Pattaya Gay Festival attracted some hostility last
summer. Some critics felt that fund raising under a gay banner would give
Pattaya a bad name. Others felt that gay sponsors should have got together
with non gay businesses to support the charities. Still others put forward
the view that the result would be anti-gay prejudice.
P.R. committee chairman Richard Burk disagrees, “The
reality is that many non gays have been involved from the start. Equally,
Pattaya attracts thousands of gay tourists every year, not to mention the
ex-pat gay community here. Rather than just talking about fundraising, we
decided to put some real effort into it. Everyone is delighted at the
moral and financial support we have received.”
Plans are already afoot to organize a second gay
festival in 2002. An exciting program of events will be announced soon.
Individuals, organizations and businesses wishing to participate can see
full details of this year’s Pattaya Gay Festival on the Festival web
site at www.pattayagayfestival.com and send an email through the web site.
The
beautiful women at the home gave a performance for the ages.
Cliff
Richard (left) and Richard Ragnvald performed a spur of the moment duet,
then signed the guitar that will be auctioned for charity to benefit the
Pattaya Orphanage. Both famous singers expressed an interest in visiting
the orphanage.