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Pattaya Orphanage celebrates 36 years of love and caring
Lufthansa staff donates 1 million baht
The holy
patriarchs (l-r) Rev. Francis Xavier Kritsada Sukkaphat, pastor of St.
Niklaus Church, Chantaburi Diocese Bishop Emeritus Lawrence Thienchai
Samanchit, Ubon Ratchathani Diocese Bishop Philip Banchong Chaiyara and
Father Michael Weera Phangrak bless the celebrations.
Elfi Seitz
Roman Catholic clerics and German air hostesses were just
part of the diverse crowd that helped the Pattaya Orphanage celebrate its
36th birthday.
The Sept. 11 event began early, with children running the
field and playing games at 7 a.m. Official ceremonies started three hours
later with Pattaya Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay joining Chantaburi Diocese
Bishop Emeritus Lawrence Thienchai Samanchit, President of The Executive
Board.
(l-r)
Rev. John Somphong Teowtrakul, vice provincial superior of the Vice Province
of Bangkok, Chantaburi Bishop Emeritus Lawrence Thienchai Samanchit, and
Ubon Ratchathani Bishop Philip Banchong Chaiyara celebrate mass.
Other church leaders attending the Pattaya orphanage’s
celebration were Ubon Ratchathani Bishop Philip Banchong Chaiyara and Rev.
John Somphong Teowtrakul, vice provincial superior of the Vice Province of
Bangkok.
Rev. Francis Xavier Kritsada Sukkaphat, pastor of St.
Niklaus Church, opened the ceremony with a speech in Thai and English,
thanking all of the orphanage’s sponsors over the years. He retold the story
of how founder Rev. Raymond Brennan found a baby at his door and started the
organization.
“In 1972, Rev. Fr. Raymond Allyn Brennan, a Redemptorist
priest, was requested to go to help work at St. Nikolaus Church, Pattaya,
temporarily, and one morning when he opened the church door he saw a newborn
child left at the stairway front. Not knowing what to do, he took care of
the child, asking his friends about “how to give milk and how to change the
diaper”. News about the fostering of the child spread, resulting in more
children being brought to give to him, most of whom were fruits of the
presence of the U.S. military base at Sattahip.”
“During the Vietnam War, Pattaya became a favorite place
of the American servicemen who came for recreations, so there were a large
number of abandoned children. A military officer and Father Ray consulted
each other on how to find ways and means of aid. Eventually, both of them
went to see Bishop Thienchai Samanchit, the Bishop of the Chanthaburi
Diocese at the Bishop’s House, Sriracha, informing him that the American
veterans intended to build a home for orphans at Pattaya and present it to
the Diocese, of which Father Ray Brennan volunteered to be the manager,
since it was found that many orphans were born of American servicemen in the
days of their presence at U-Tapao U.S. base during the Vietnam War.
Bishop Thienchai answered the American military officer,
saying, “It is not difficult for you to build a home for orphans and then
wash your hand and go home, while it is not known where the Diocese will get
money from to feed those orphans”.
Other guests praised the hard work of the late “Father
Ray” in their speeches and predicted the orphanage will continue far into
the future helping orphans and poor children. “Without the orphanage and the
loving help there, the children wouldn’t have had the chance to have a much
better and brighter future,” Verawat said.
But it was a group of flight attendants, not politicians
and religious leaders, that capped off the event. A group of smartly dressed
employees from Lufthansa German Airlines, led by Ewald Dietrich, founder and
president of the Human Help Network Germany, an orphanage supporter for more
than 20 years, presented a check for 1 million baht to Bishop Lawrence
Thienchai Samanchit.
Rita Dion, president of Lufthansa’s Help Alliance, said
the money came from the paychecks of airline workers who donate a part of
their weekly salary to charity. The same group also sponsored a house at the
Child Protection & Development Center.
Speeches done, the clerics celebrated mass and everyone
sat down to a festive meal.
Bishop
Lawrence Thienchai Samanchit receives
offerings from members of the community.
Bishop
Thienchai, Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay and Bishop Philip Banchong Chaiyara
prepare to sound the gongs as a sign for the celebrations to begin.
The
loving stalwarts of all children (l-r)Ewald Dietrich, president of the Human
Help Network, Sopin Thappajug, CEO Diana Group, Radchada Chomjinda,
Intercountry Adoption Representative, Pattaya Orphanage and Supagon Noja,
director of the Child Protection and Development Center (CPDC).
Representatives of Deutsche Lufthansa AG (German Airlines) present a check
for one million baht to orphanage chairman Bishop Lawrence Thienchai
Samanchit.
Khun Toy
(left) poses with members of the Pattaya International Ladies Club.
The
benevolent German visitors took time to play with the orphaned infants.
Seafood and Chardonnay - what a combination!
Dr. Iain Corness
The Mantra restaurant continues daring to be different,
and the Seafood and Chardonnay Wine Dinner held at the Mantra was certainly
‘daring’ and ‘different’.
 Alain
Deurwaerder, Managing Director of Katoen Natie Thailand Ltd. and Adrian
Spencer, NCI Packaging (Thailand) Ltd.
Events such as this wine dinner begin in the Mantra’s
‘over the top’ cocktail bar area, complete with cushions, curtains and
drapes - and I love it! A sparkler sets the tone and loosens the tongues and
we were certainly ready for executive chef Jens Heier’s appetizer which was
a salmon and scallop tatare served with the Argentine Terrazas Chardonnay
2007.
The dinner was unhurried, which gave the guests the
opportunity to discuss and compare tasting notes before the next course.
This second offering was the course of the evening, as far as I was
concerned - a lobster cappuccino with lobster dumplings and the foam topped
with gold leaf and a cheddar swirl swizzle stick on the saucer. This was
washed down with the Australian Domaine Chandon chardonnay 2008 from the
Yarra Valley, with these two items really complementing each other.
David
Cumming, General Manager of Amari Orchid Pattaya and Dr. Iain Corness.
The next course showed the inventive and humorous side of
the executive chef, calling it a cordon bleu but instead of the usual veal
with cheese this was a Tasmanian salmon, pocketed with turbot and served on
a bed of red wine spinach. Being a strongly flavored dish, this was teamed
with the New Zealand Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2007, a wine that everyone
enjoys.
The fourth course was a sole cutlet with morel mushroom
ragout, green asparagus and XO fried rice, accompanied by the Terrazas
Reserve Chardonny 2008, an Argentine wine, very similar to that of the first
course, but somewhat longer in the finish.
Max
Sieracki, Resident Manager, Amari Orchid Pattaya and Elfi Seitz.
The dessert of Mascarpone mousse with fresh berries,
almond crisp and chocolate ginger ice cream would have been enough on its
own, but when served with the Australian Chandon Brut NV sparkling wine, it
was superb.
It was an excellent wine dinner, and we, the Dining Out
team and friends, look forward to the next one. Many thanks, Amari Orchid GM
David Cumming, RM Max Seriacki and executive chef Jens Heier.
Dr. Iain
Corness and Jens Heier, Executive Chef, Amari Orchid Pattaya.
Ann
Carlsson, Hakan Carlsson and Supparatch Piyawatcharapun,
Social Director, Mantra Restaurant & Bar.
David
Cumming, General Manager of Amari Orchid Pattaya; Herman G. Rowland, JR,
Managing Director of Jelly Belly Candy Company (Thailand) Ltd. and Gavin
Charlesworth, Managing Director of Euro Auto Breakers & Engineering Co.,
Ltd.
Helmet
Esken; Jens Heier, executive chef,
Amari Orchid Pattaya and Peter Windgassc.
Dr. Iain
Corness; Elfi Seitz; Som Corness; and Jens Heier.
David
Cumming, General Manager of Amari Orchid Pattaya; Kevin Fisher; Jack and
Roger W Yee, Aust Chief Resident Engineer, Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick
(Thailand) Ltd.
Yaowaluck Bumrungthum, Restaurant Manager, Mantra Restaurant & Bar; Jens
Heier, Executive Chef, Amari Orchid Pattaya; Sirigunya Yukphaen, Brand
Manager-Moet Hennessy, Champagnes and Wines, Diageo Moet Hennessy; Max
Sieracki, Resident Manager, Amari Orchid Pattaya; Pornseak Pharksuwan,
Prestige and Modern Trade Manager, Diageo Moet Hennessy and Supparatch
Piyawatcharapun, Social Director, Mantra Restaurant & Bar.
Royal British Legion Thailand to hold annual Service of Remembrance
 Bert
Elson
We are fast approaching the time of year we in the Legion
call Remembrancetide, the time when we place poppy boxes around the Pattaya
area and the time we hold our Annual Service of Remembrance. Over the last
few years many people have asked me, “Do the Royal British Legion have a
service in Pattaya” the answer I’m afraid has been “No”.
That changes on Thursday November 11th this year when we
will be holding our first Service of Remembrance at 10.50 p.m. in St Niklaus
Church on Sukhumvit Road. The service will be open to all nationalities and
all faiths and will be as it should be, both short and simple. Wreaths will
be laid by a number of groups inside the church, outside the church will be
a garden of remembrance where if you wish you may place a small wooden cross
with the name of a loved one you have lost.
Whilst you can of course just turn up, it really would
help us if we had an idea of numbers, especially if you intend to bring a
group of people (we could then reserve your seats).
We have come a long way since 2007 when 15 of us formed
the Thailand Branch, as we now have close to 200 members and cover welfare
cases all over Thailand. We have 9 widows under our wing whom we ensure
receive all they are entitled to as regards pensions and benefits. Last year
we spent over 190,000 baht on such things as medical care, rent, household
goods, funerals, visits and a number of other things, and all these were
paid for from the local Poppy Appeal and, when needed, funds sent from UK.
We also simply call in to say “hello” to any elderly ex members of the UK
Armed Forces who may have retired here in Thailand and are alone.
Whilst our primary role is the care and welfare of those
who have served/are serving in the UK Armed Forces and or their dependants
we also have a very active social life, we meet every Sunday from 2pm at
Tropical Bert’s, 2nd Road and have trips to such things as Remembrance
Sunday at the British Embassy, ANZAC Day at the River Kwai, Malaysia every
June and whatever else our Social Secretary lays on for us (a day at the
races in Bangkok went down very well, you can even bet!).
You do not have to have served in the Armed Forces to
join the Legion, simply contact me or come along any Sunday and please
contact me if you intend to attend the Service of Remembrance in Pattaya
(seated by 10.40 a.m.) at [email protected]
Finally I would like to thank all those who donated for a
poppy last year, I’m sure you wore it with pride and hope you do the same
this year. It is perhaps a sad sign of the times that due to present day
conflicts the majority of the Legion’s funds and care is directed at those
under 35 years of age.
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