The children living at the Father Ray Children’s Village gave up their free time recently to make one of their regular visits to a large complex just outside Pattaya which houses many elderly people.
For the elderly residents this is their home, some have no family to care for them, others have a family but they are just too busy to care for an aged relative.
It is a nice complex, clean, friendly, safe and secure and the food is good, but there is something missing, the sound of children. Not just the normal every day sound of children, but laughter. Can there be a better sound than that of a child laughing?
Every couple of months the children visit the elderly, perform a few song and dance numbers, hold hands as they go for a walk, push a wheelchair, play games and the children present every resident with a small gift.
What they also do is pay respect. As the visit took place a few days before Loy Krathong, the children knelt down, bowed and gave respect to the elderly residents, showing them that they are still worthwhile and still deserving of respect.
Some people today say that children are only interested in their phones, or how much money they have, but there are many who know the value of the wisdom that reaching an elderly age brings, and for some children they have a new grandparent.
