|
PILC and Jesters at Fountain of Life Christmas party
Elaine Poole, PILC
On December 12th, the Fountain of Life, off Third Road, Pattaya,
was buzzing. The marquees were up, the music was playing and children
were everywhere.
The day started with Sister Joan and Sister Kanyanee welcoming everyone
to the very special Christmas celebration party. On stage, children
performed dances and played games, and the band from Baan Jing Jai
played music.
The children were very excited when some Jesters arrived with some
friends on their Harley Davidson motorbikes.
Nang, teacher at the Fountain of Life, then announced it was time for
food, and all the children and parents enjoyed a Thai buffet.
The children waited patiently, and at last Father Christmas arrived on
stage. Helped by the Jesters and PILC, he gave out gifts of food parcels
to parents and backpacks and clothes and toys to the children. The
children were so well behaved and loved their presents.
The PILC provided 180 food parcels and will be donating a new sign to
help people find the Fountain of Life. And a surprise; there was a sneak
preview of the new pick up truck that the Jesters Care for Kids will be
providing for transporting the kids back and forth from the Center in
the New Year.
It was a great day, and the smiles on the kids’ faces said it all!
BPH fair raises funds for local charities
Dr. Iain Corness interviews
shop owners for Pattaya Mail TV.
12 charity organizations
participated in the event to raise funds to assist society.
(From left) Dr. Surapant
Taweewikayakarn, assistant director of Bangkok Hospital Pattaya; Mrs.
Chaloew Wittayakorn; Dr. Pongsak Wittayakorn, advisor to the committee at
Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Public Company Limited;
and Dr. Iain Corness with his daughter Marisa.
The children enjoy receiving
deserts from Santa Claus.
Thai dance performed by
students from the International Garden School.
The Rotary Club of the Eastern
Seaboard sold their products as well.
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Bangkok Pattaya Hospital held a charity fair on December 15, with the
objective of raising funds for a number of charities in Pattaya.
Neera Sirisampan, the hospital’s director of international affairs opened
the event, saying that the fair was being held to mark Christmas, the season
for giving and goodwill.
Twelve organizations took part, including the Rotary Club of the Eastern
Seaboard, the Pattaya Filipinas Club, the Pattaya International Ladies’
Club, the Mercy Foundation, the International Garden School, the Amari
Resort, the Marriott Resort and Spa, and the Pattaya Expats Club. Income
raised from selling products at the stalls during the fair will go to these
organizations for their individual activities.
The Amari Resort ordered more than 100 yellow-shirted teddy bears to sell at
the event for a price of 690 baht each. They will create a fund from selling
these teddy bears to hold an activity for children on National Children’s
Day, which the hotel celebrates with a special event each year.
Santa Clause presented gifts to the children who attended the fair, and on
December 22 he returned to present gifts to the children in the hospital.
Pattaya Orphanage, where God’s children will never be orphaned again
Father Ray’s generosity, kindness and love shines for all eternity
Premprecha Dibbayawan
You
may have heard that the management of the Pattaya Orphanage will go from the
Father Ray Foundation of the Redemptorist Fathers to the Chantaburi Diocese
on 1 January 2008. The purpose of this article is to give correct
information so that the public will understand the issue correctly.
When Father Ray Brennan first came to Pattaya it was as a parish priest and
his work was to establish a local church. He did so, until one day a baby
was abandoned in the church’s compound and there was no choice for Fr. Ray
but to accept the child. He asked the church warden to look after the child.
Soon after that, more children were left at the church and helping them was
clearly beyond his task as a parish priest.
Father Raymond Brennan
7 December 1932 - 16 August 2003
Legendary priest, was beloved father to thousands
of children, caring brother and friend to all
Fr. Ray then consulted with the Bishop of the Diocese of Chantaburi to find
a solution. The Diocese decided to give Fr. Ray the land where the Pattaya
Orphanage now stands to build an orphanage. There were difficulties at the
start because Fr. Ray could not involve the Redemptorists at this point but
he tried very hard anyway and used all his skills and resources until the
Orphanage could get on its feet.
The Children’s Home Foundation Pattaya was formed on 9 January 1981
and headed by the Bishop of the Chantaburi Diocese. The purpose of this
foundation is to take care of the Pattaya Orphanage, managed by the
Redemptorist Fathers. At one of the committee meetings on 18 February 2000,
the minutes stated: “The Bishop expressed his thanks to the Redemptorist
Fathers, especially to Father Ray and each person working for the Chantaburi
Diocese. The work of the Foundation is like the window of our Lord’s
Kingdom. While Pattaya has good as well as bad sides, the Chairman hopes
that everyone will help to improve the work in Social Services.”
On 19 December 2002 the Father Ray Foundation was established by the
Redemptorist Fathers. One of the objectives of this Foundation is “to
support the activities of the Redemptorists in Social Welfare”. Early in
2003, prior to the death of Father Ray Brennan on 16 August 2003, the
Father Ray Foundation reached an agreement with the Children’s Home
Foundation Pattaya that this foundation (of the Diocese) agreed that the
Father Ray Foundation (of the Redemptorist Fathers) would manage the
Pattaya Orphanage for a period of 5 years, ending 1 January 2008.
After the death of Father Ray, the Father Ray Foundation came under a new
management team, which according to the Diocese, was more concerned with the
financial side of the operations rather than the customary practices of
local religious affairs. As a result of these concerns, the Diocese decided
to take over the running of the Orphanage, also considering that it is a
normal practice for Catholic clergy to change positions after a period of
time. Unfortunately, through some misinformation and misunderstanding the
Pattaya Orphanage Trust, which is the main sponsor of the Pattaya Orphanage,
based in England, has now threatened to cease supporting the orphanage if
the management changes hands.
The Diocese has confirmed that there will be no change at all in the
structure of the Orphanage but only a change of management. The Diocese has
given the assurance that: ‘What we will do at the Pattaya Orphanage is fully
in line with the spirit of Fr. Ray who had full trust in God and never
worried about resources.” He added that all contributions are always welcome
and assures the public that they will be spent solely for the welfare of the
orphans. “The orphans are loved and cared for by us, as our very own. They
are definitely not orphaned again as claimed by some deluded people.”
To confirm the inspiration of the Diocese toward Father Ray Brennan, one
only has to read Bishop Thienchai’s message in the booklet published in
memory of Fr. Ray’s after his demise in August 2003 as follows:
“I am grateful to Fr. Ray for having initiated the Foundation for Children’s
Welfare. Fr. Ray was a man of generosity, full of love and kindness to all
mankind: orphans, deaf and blind children, the street children, the disabled
and the stateless old people. He was truly following in the footsteps of our
Holy Lord, and the Chantaburi Diocese is indebted to Fr. Ray. He was a
shining jewel of the Redemptorists, Christianity and to society, and,
although we regret his departure, we are proud of him and his work, as he is
matched by no other. We are confident and we trust that out heavenly Father
would be not only so kind and gentle to his soul, but also bestow upon him
great rewards for his hard work and endless sacrifices.”
Father Brennan’s last newsletter
August Mid-Year Report 2003
Martial arts are very popular in Thailand, and the kids
at the Orphanage love to watch all the kung-fu movies and then try to
emulate all the movie stars. Every Sunday about 40 of our Orphans are taught
Tae-kwondo. Most of them have now moved up from beginners white belt to the
next level - a yellow belt. Recently, one of our younger teenagers, my
little ‘Holy Terror’, was chosen by the instructor as the one student who
showed some extraordinary talent. After several weeks of intense training,
Keng was entered into his first ever competition, where after beating six
other fighters he returned home with a gold medal. He has also been entered
into an International competition, which will be held in Bangkok on August
29, and will include fighters from Taiwan and the UK. When it was mentioned
to Keng that thirteen year olds from the UK are bigger than most thirteen
year old Thais, he said “No problem, I will beat them”. And I am sure he
will. But whether or not he wins his next fight, I’m personally very proud
of him.
There are many birthdays at the Orphanage and it is impossible to celebrate
everyone’s birthday on the actual day. We recently had a first birthday
party in the baby room, and the smaller children feasted on BBQ, fresh
fruit, cookies and chips, and one of our volunteers made three chocolate
cakes to go with the sponge cake that our cooks made. As you can imagine
there was more chocolate on their faces, hands and legs than what was
actually eaten. Even the walls were covered in chocolate, but the children
enjoyed it so much.
One of our older boys will soon be leaving the Orphanage to start a new life
in the real world. This young man recently graduated from University with a
degree in English, and is now working as a teacher at a very good school
just north of Pattaya, in Sri-Racha. He arrived at the Orphanage when he was
just nine days old, and now 25 years later we have fed him, clothed him,
educated him and made him ready to be able to take care of himself. He will
always know that this is his home, and that he is always welcome to return.
Like any parent I feel a bit sad when the day comes when it is time for my
kids to leave home.
Every year the handicapped students from the vocational school volunteer to
take part in the ‘Clean Pattaya Campaign’. This year the students went to
the local beach and spent a whole morning cleaning all the rubbish, and
generally making the beach a cleaner place. It does not matter what
disability our students have, they all do their best to do whatever they
can. This year one of our female students got her wheelchair stuck in the
sand, she was a little embarrassed, but made no complaints when two of her
handsome male colleagues picked her up and carried her to safety.
This year’s annual Pattaya marathon took place in July, and our projects
were well represented. One of our teachers from the vocational school took
part in the full marathon, and seven students and teachers took part in the
wheelchair marathon. One of our ex students came third and one of our
electronics teachers came in fifth. In the children’s race we had several
orphans and street kids taking part, as well as four students from the blind
school who were led round the course by a teacher.
August 12 is a very special day in Thailand. It is the birthday of HRH Queen
Sirikit, and it is also Mothers Day. Although our children are not with
their birth mothers, there are many here who play the role of ‘Mother’. For
them, they will be honoured by our children just the same as children honour
their mothers all over the world.
There is a tradition in Thailand that to pay respects to the Queen, people
clean their houses and wear new clothes. All our children will wear new
clothes and make sure that their rooms are clean, the classrooms will be
cleaned, and last year the older boys painted the wall that surrounds the
Orphanage.
Our Street Kids home for girls has been open just over one year now, and we
have almost doubled the amount of residents, Progress on the new boys home
is going well, and I hope nothing holds up the building work and every week
we are welcoming more and more kids into our home.
In early July, a sad, but typical, street kids case came our way. We were
approached by a nice young Thai couple who had shepherded in two young
children, a boy of 10 and his sister, aged 7. The young couple had come from
Bangkok to spend the weekend in Pattaya on the beach in order to paint some
of the scenery. They were approached by the two kids who were begging.
Taking a look at the condition they were in, they took pity on them and
escorted them to the nearby police box for help. The police recommended they
take them to a local government-run Home for Boys. When they arrived, they
found out that they would accept only the young boy, but there was no
question of them being separated. Remembering having seen our sign on the
road they brought them to us. All they had in their possession was the
clothes they were, wearing and a small blanket with a smaller pillow. They
couldn’t even identify themselves other than by their nicknames.
The story came out that they had run away from their home about fifty
kilometres from Pattaya because of abusive parents who had forced them into
begging and never sent them to school. Not having much success begging in
their hometown, they came to Pattaya in the hope of being able to fare
better among foreign tourists on the beaches here. Their luck was not better
until the young couple met them and brought them to us.
After several months of living at our Street Kids home, another ten year old
boy decided he wanted to leave and return to the streets where he had lived
for four years. Knowing the dangers he could face being back on the streets,
our outreach workers went to Bangkok to try and find him. After searching
for many hours the young boy was eventually found with a gang of homeless
kids. All the kids were high from sniffing glue, and the young boy was
shocked to see the workers from his former home. After another several hours
of trying to persuade the boy to return to the home Pattaya, he agreed to
travel with the workers. Another five young boys came along at the same
time. Once back at the home they are given help with their addictions,
counselling and will hopefully be able to return to having a normal
childhood again.
Without your continuing help we cannot give these kids the start in life
that they deserve.
Thank you, and our prayers are for you every day.
Fr. Ray Brennan (Still semi retired)
Irish-Thai CC holds party for expats
(l-r) Paul Ryan, managing director of Ultra
Lounge Co., Ltd.; Barney Connolly, director of Tara Court; Stu Sutton,
managing director of Jomtien Property; Jitre Wongjuan, director of Insurance
Brokers Co., Ltd.; and John Berns.
(l-r) Bob Tolliday, Craig Willians and Jeffrey
Burrows, senior partner
of Watermark Capital Management Ltd.
(l-r) Liam Ayudhkij, group chairman of Property
Care Services (Thailand) Ltd., and Paul Potter managing director of Kerry
Ingredients (Thailand) Ltd.
(l-r) Colm Monks, John Campbell, project
engineering manager
at Foster Wheeler, and Matt O’Sullivan.
(l-r) Malcolm Scorer, CEO of Watermark Capital
Management Ltd.,
Toom Boesain Hand and Moya Hand.
(l-r) Peter Fox, managing director of B-B-Club;
Michael O’Brien proprietor of Googies Restaurant Bar; Paul Potter, managing
director of Kerry Ingredients (Thailand) Ltd.; John Mckillop, director of
Tara Court, and Brian Downey of Quick Tag.
(l-r) John W. Wyss, branch manager - Pattaya of
Property Care Services (Thailand) Ltd.; Robert K. Brooks, FPD special
advisor of Marine Safety; Paul Wilkinson, general manager, Eastern Seaboard
of AGS Four Winds International Moving Limited; Jitre Wongjuan, director of
Insurance Brokers Co., Ltd.; and Paul Ryan, managing director of Ultra
Lounge Co., Ltd.
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
The Irish-Thai Chamber of Commerce held a party for Irish expatriates at
O’Gara’s Bar & Grill on Pratamnak Road, Pattaya on December 12.
Liam Ayudhkij, chairman of Property Care Services (Thailand) Ltd and founder
of the chamber hosted the event, along with Paul Potter, who is managing
director of Kerry Ingredients (Thailand) Ltd and chamber president.
Liam said that the objective of the party was to bring together the many
Irish businessmen in Pattaya City, who otherwise would seldom have the
opportunity to meet. The chamber holds this event four times a year.
The Irish-Thai Chamber of Commerce was founded to promote relations between
Thailand and Ireland, to promote business between the two countries, and to
give Thai students the opportunity to study in Ireland.
Following the founding of the chamber, several business groups from Thailand
have traveled to Ireland. The chamber has 16 members, most of them being
Irish people who have businesses associated with Ireland.
Hard Rock employees of the year named
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya announced the annual awards for its top
employees at a party held on December 12 to thank all employees for their
hard work throughout the year.
Prizes were also handed out for the annual sports competition and the band
members’ annual festival, with prizes including a 21-inch color TV, gold, a
mobile phone, and two roundtrip tickets and a room at the Dusit Resort in
Chiang Rai.
 Andrew
Khoo presents Sripai Nakhowong (left) with hiss Leader of the Year award.
Andrew Khoo, general manager of the Hard Rock Hotel, and Pratheep Malhotra,
managing director of Pattaya Mail Publishing Co Ltd presented the prizes to
the winners.
There was also a distribution of prizes to the best employees of the year.
The Hard Rock Manager of the Year award went to Treetip Panyasarakhun, and
Sripai Nakhowong received two awards, namely the Hard Rock Trainer of the
Year, and the Hard Rock Leader of the Year. There were two employees who
received the Hard Rocker of the Year award, Suvasant Kantaanantaporn and
Chaiyaporn Mekawong.
All stage performances during the party were performed by staff members,
much to the delight and appreciation of everyone.
Pratheep Malhotra presents one
of two raffle prizes sponsored
by Pattaya Mail to the lucky winner.
Everyone enjoys the fun
atmosphere at the party.
|
