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Did you believe in Santa?
By Dr. Iain Corness
Of course you believed in Santa! We all did, and it was good for us. Every
year we looked forward to the visit from the jolly fat man with his sack of
presents, writing our ‘wish list’ letter and hoping that Santa would read
it. But for some children this is not something they can look forward to
each year. These are children with terminal illnesses, who, if they are
lucky, will have just one more chance of writing that letter.
Con Murphy
There is one charity organization that makes this final trip to visit Santa
possible, called the Children to Lapland, “Where the real Santa lives,” said
Con Murphy, the Irishman behind this humanitarian group. He arranges for
these terminally ill children to be able to write to Santa, and then takes
them to Lapland to visit the man in the red and white suit. And at the end
of this year, this will be the 14th trip to Lapland.
These are not just a handful of children at Xmas time, but between 350-400
children every year! Last year they chartered two planes to take the
children and their medical carers to the snowy North, making a Xmas party,
that unfortunately is the ‘party to end all parties’. The chilling statistic
given to me by Con Murphy is that by March of the following year, 26 percent
of his children have died.
However, these small children show a bravery and compassion that is
unbelievable. Con recalling one child who wrote, “Dear Santa, When I die
please look after my Mum and Dad.” He was seven years old. He was dead two
months later. Just telling it brought a tear to Con’s eye, (and to mine
too).
As a doctor, I am prepared to accept terminal cancer in the older
population. Nobody wants their aging relatives to die, but at least they had
the opportunity to experience life in all its facets. This is something that
has been denied children with terminal diseases. Can you help these children
at least experience the joy of Xmas and Santa, one more time? That
experience costs 700 euros (around B. 35,000), and allows one child to die
with the knowledge that in their short lifetime they got to meet Santa, who
loved them.
If you would like to know more you can contact Con Murphy at +353 868141622,
or email rommel@united travel.ie. He and others will be here in late
September to do four walks for charity, as fundraisers to take the next
plane full of children to Lapland for their final visit to Santa. You can
make a child’s world come true, even if only fleetingly. Please consider it.
PILC holiday bazaar- a tradition worth looking forward to
The PILC holiday bazaar raises
funds for charity work on the Eastern Seaboard. (File Photo 2005)
Helle Rantsén
PILC welfare chairperson
For years PILC have been organising a holiday bazaar. It is always in October
this year on Saturday the 7th. It is the only yearly bazaar in Pattaya and
located at Royal Cliff Beach Resort. With 70 very different vendors from all
over Thailand coming together to display their items for sale. With at least 700
guests visiting always being a successful event and a lot of fun. The holiday
bazaar gives you a chance to find out what is “the hot item” to buy for
Christmas or for a friend.
The main purpose of the PILC holiday bazaar it to raise funds for PILC charity
work in the Eastern Seaboard and a lot of charity work gets done though out the
year. Recently PILC secured a dental/health care program for the 55 children at
the Ban Jing Jai. A similar dental and counselling program have been established
for 2 years at the Street kid’s home. PILC has renovated schools, have 50
scholarship children and provided school uniforms/shoes for 763 Thai school
children and will help start a kindergarten for small children in one of the
worst slum areas in Pattaya.
PILC has been a continues support of the Rayong Traning Centre and has an
ongoing close relationship to the handicapped school Kao Bai Sci. PILC do not
only support children, but also women who wants to find alternatives to
prostitution and PILC members visit on a regular basis 170 disable ladies at
Garonjawet – home for disable woman.
All of this important charity work is made possible because of the support from
our sponsors. For years Volclay Siam and Transpo have been sponsoring our PILC
holiday bazaar and PILC are very grateful. We would like to request other
companies to be sponsors as well. Your donation will guarantee the continuation
of support to all the very needy in the Eastern Seaboard. Why not make a
difference and become a sponsor?
PILC is a women’s club creating a very important social network for women in
Pattaya and have helped thousands of women though out the years to feel at home
in Pattaya when they arrive in town. Being a women’s club does not mean that
PILC cannot work together with other groups/clubs in Pattaya. PILC have for the
last couple of years worked closely together with Jesters Care for kids, Pattaya
Sports Club, Rayong Ladies Circle and the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya. It is
very important that the different clubs/groups can work together to make bigger
projects possible and PILC have had a very active part in ensuring this.
Visit the website www. 123hjemmeside.dk/charitywork-thailand to receive more
information about PILC´s welfare projects.
You are most welcome to contact Special Event Chairperson Roseanne Diamente:
[email protected] – mobile: 01 86 50 714 or welfare Chairperson Helle
Rantsén: helle_rantsen @access.inet.co.th to find out how you can help.
Marines donate sports equipment to the children of Ban Khao Baisri
Rear Admiral Sakchai
Uboldetpracharak presents sports equipment to Ketsara Puaknang the school
director.
Patcharapol Panrak
The Royal Thai Marine Corps has donated sports equipment to the children of
Ban Khao Baisri School, as part of the activities arranged to honor the 60th
anniversary of His Majesty the King’s accession to the throne.
Rear Admiral Sakchai Uboldetpracharak, commander-in-chief of the Marine Corps in
Sattahip, said that Ban Khao Baisri is the only school in Sattahip that is
teaching disabled and other disadvantaged children alongside normal children.
School director Mrs Ketsara Puakngam welcomed Rear Admiral Sakchai and the other
navy officers who came to make the presentation.
 A
soldier uses welding equipment to repair the fence.
During their visit the navy delegation provided lunch for the children and
officers and enlisted men spruced up the school premises by tidying the grounds,
painting the fence, and cutting down tree branches.
There are about 40 disadvantaged children at Ban Khao Baisri. The teachers carry
a great responsibility for taking care of them alongside the children with
normal learning abilities, and the Royal Thai Marine Corps has long played an
active role in supporting the school.
Ban Khao Baisri School helps parents who have abnormal children, physically,
mentally or with learning disabilities. If the school did not exist the
youngsters would spend much of their time at home, and not receive the education
necessary to allow them the chance to make their own way in society.
New homes at Mu Baan Eire near completion
Helle Rantsén
RLC-PILC welfare chairperson
The 10 houses for low income families in Ban Chang built by RLC and PILC are
moving along. It has been fascinating being a witness to the progress of the
houses, which are being built by a local constructor.
 Mu
Baan Eire takes shape.
The idea to fundraise and built the houses for very low income families and
elderly people in Ban Chang was created by RLC-PILC welfare chairperson Helle
Rantsén. Dolores Wickes, who hails from Ireland thought it was a wonderful idea
and it is she who has made the building of the 10 houses possible. This is the
reason the new village is called Mu Baan Eire: it is Dolores’s family and
friends back in Ireland who have supported the project right from the beginning
by donating funds.
The land on which the houses are being built was donated to the project by the
local government in Ban Chang, who could see the good idea of providing homes
for low-income families from the underprivileged part of the area.
In just a few weeks the houses will be ready for people to move into. Before
that can happen the committee behind the building project, which includes
Dolores, Helle, Father Giovanni from the Camillian Center and the local homecare
nurse Khun Mat, have to decide which families can move in, and this will be done
by working together with the local government.
It will be a very special day for all involved when we can say to each other “we
did it” and move on to the next project.
Judges inspect organizations that offer support in rehabilitating young offenders
At the end of their visit the
associate judges from the Chonburi Juvenile and Family Court presented necessary
amenities to the center.
Piyavadee Suvannahong
Judges and associate judges from the Juvenile and Family Court in Chonburi
province visited the Vocational Training Center, the Redemptorist Street Kids
Home, the Pre-Vocational Training Center, the Department of Youth Observation
and Protection in Rayong province, and Chantaburi Provincial Court early this
month.
The purpose of this visit was to study locations that worked in support of young
offenders during and after legal cases. The group also donated sweets, school
materials, medicine and scholarships to many different schools.
Chief Judge Arunee Prayongyaem and head of the associate judges Sopin Thappajug
led the group.
Sopin said this educational visit was to study an appropriate location to send
the children during the legal process. The Vocational Training Center trains
young people in many occupations such as electrician, mechanic and hotel
employee, which is a positive way of keeping the youngsters away from crime,
while the Redemptorist Street Kids Home supports orphaned children and the
homeless.
There is, said Sopin, an appropriate location to support all of the youth who
pass through the Juvenile and Family Court in Chonburi.
Rotary clubs provide wheelchairs to two disabled people in Sattahip
Saroch and Pornmanee are now
mobile once again, thanks to Rotarians.
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Rotary Club of Plutaluang in cooperation with Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya on
July 9 presented wheelchairs to two disabled people in Sattahip.
Members of the two clubs delivered one of the wheelchairs to the single-story
wooden house in Bangsrae belonging to Mrs Pornmaree Chuanpood, 63, who was
disabled from the waist down after a fall a year ago.
She told reporters that she was pleased society provided opportunities to the
disabled. Pornmaree said she had experienced great hardship over the past year.
She felt lucky her children were looking after her even though they are not
always present.
The second person to receive a wheelchair was Saroch Jiamprasert, 25, who lives
in the same area as Pornmaree and has a similar disability after suffering an
accident in a garage 10 years ago. In the past he has had to rely totally on his
family. He cannot work due to his disability and he could not afford to by a
wheelchair.
Captain Pallop Supakorn Ph.D., president of Rotary Club of Plutaluang said the
cost of the two wheelchairs totaled 14,000 baht.
Charin Vasikarat, village headman at Bangsrae, said that he had known the two
recipients for many years. He said when he sees people suffering in this way he
wants to help and has tried previously through government organizations but
there are delays, so he contacted the Rotary Club, which is renowned for helping
society.
Camillian “Living Center” prepares for grand opening
Father Giovanni, together with
some of the children who hope to make use of the new “Living Center” facilities,
help to supervise during the early construction phase of the building.
The Camillian Social Center-Rayong, part of the St. Camillus
Foundation of Thailand will be celebrating the grand opening of its newly
completed “Independent Living Center” on August 7.
This is a new project and is considered to be one of the first of its type in
Asia: The mission being to provide assistance and education to young orphans,
aged 13 and above who have been diagnosed as HIV positive from birth.
This new Center is considered to be “The Bridge of Hope”, linking the youths
with their future integration into society, helping them overcome their
difficulties and at the same time acting as a model for other children in a
similar situation.
The Center has been built on 3 Rai of land in the Map Ta Phut district,
generously donated by the Chantaburi diocese under the benevolent eye of Bishop
Lorenzo Thienchai.
Upon opening its doors, the “Independent Living Center” hopes to accommodate up
to 30 youths and anticipates being able to start rehabilitating some of the
older ones back into society within 2 years.
The grand opening will take place at 3:30pm on the 7th and will be attended by
amongst others; the Governor of Rayong, The Bishop of Chantaburi, members of the
Pattaya Orphanage Trust and officials from the Health Care Authority. Everyone
is cordially invited to attend and share in this auspicious occasion.
Award winning comedy
play comes to Bangkok
Bangkok Community Theatre hosts a hilarious night out with ‘Bouncers’ - a comedy play by John Godber and directed by Severin Herbert.
It’s Friday night; it’s club night - time for bouncers to
come alive! In this hilarious parody of the contemporary nightclub scene, four
bouncers - Lucky Eric, Judd, Les and Ralph - portraying over 20 different
characters invite us for a night out on the town!
 The
‘Bouncers’: Ralph, Judd, Lucky Eric, and Les
As relevant today as it was when first published in the early eighties,
‘Bouncers’ is set in a northern nightclub where the bouncers show and tell the
audience how some of the clientele behave before, during, and after their visit
to Mr Cinders. We meet giggly girls, lads on the make, D4 Poseurs, lager louts,
and smooth talking DJ’s all set against the glitzy glamour, flashing lights and
pulsating beat of the dance floor.
On average, ‘Bouncers’, a two-act play, is performed at least 8 times a year by
small to mid-scale repertory venues, and is toured at least twice a year by
various companies. Anywhere you go in the UK, whichever theatre you visit - you
can bet they’ve produced the play at some time in their recent history.
‘Bouncers’ was recently voted one of the greatest plays of the 20th century by
the National Theatre. It was nominated for Comedy of the Year in 1985 and won
seven Los Angeles Critics Circles Awards and five awards in Chicago in 1987.
‘Bouncers’ has an enduring national and international appeal. It has been
translated into many different languages including Flemish, Swedish, French,
German, and Italian. It has been staged in Belgium, France, New Zealand,
Australia, Norway, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Russia, Canada, America, Ireland,
Germany and the Isle of Crete.
‘Bouncers’ will be staged at MIFA International Music
School (across from L’Opera), Sukhumvit Soi 39 on Thursday September 21st,
Friday September 22nd, & Saturday September 23rd 8pm.
Tickets at Bt 400 are on sale at MIFA on September 1st, 8th, & 15th from 10am to
3pm.
Student Preview performance is on Wednesday September 20th at5pm. Tickets are
Bt200 with student ID.
For more information, call Don Harrelson at 05-807-0683 or [email protected]
Visit BCT website at www.bct-th.org for a map to the theatre.
Open to the General Public.
Aust Cham thailand: Donations sought
for hospital on the ESB
As part of AustCham’s ongoing contribution to the wider
community in Thailand, and as a special project in honour of the 60th
anniversary of His Majesty the King’s accession to the throne, the Community
Services sub-committee has examined the needs of several hospitals in Chonburi
Province. It has been decided that the hospital where a modest contribution
would have the most benefit is Panthong Hospital. This hospital caters mainly to
workers from factories in the Panthong area, Chonburi province.
The maternity ward of this hospital serves on average 120 outpatients per day. A
critical piece of equipment used in their facility is a Foetal Heart Monitoring
machine. This hospital has only one of these machines and it is over ten years
old and unreliable.
AustCham Thailand plans to donate a machine to this hospital with the assistance
of donations from our members and friends of the Chamber. The cost of a new
machine is Bht 400,000 and we are seeking donations to cover at least Bht
200,000 from members and friends. So long as at least Bht 200,000 is raised from
donations, AustCham will contribute the remainder from our Community Services
fund. Donor companies/individual members will be recognized in Advance magazine
and will be recognized on a plaque placed on the machine.
This is a very worthwhile cause and will benefit many Thai people in a
particularly underprivileged area of the country. Interested donors are asked to
contact AustCham in the first instance and make a formal pledge of funds. Martin
Kyle, Executive Director, AustCham Thailand, Tel: +66 (0) 2210-0216-8, E-mail:
execdirector@ austchamthailand.com - Visit our web site regularly:
www.austchamthailand.com
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