Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive 2014
Bang Chang Community Hospital conducts an outreach programme that identifies individuals and families in need of care who are unable to attend the hospital for treatment. Mat, a registered home care nurse and local volunteer social worker, and Porn, formerly from Dek Dee Center, travel the area regularly tending to these cases.
For quite some time now Pattaya International Ladies Club has funded food parcels each month for the neediest of these families, which certainly helps; however, there are cases where this is not enough. Helle Rantsen, president of PILC, contacted Jesters Care for Kids last year and explained that quite often these circumstances lead to the children being denied care. Jester’s response was to have Woody and Bernie accompany the group each month and assist financially in cases where children were at risk.
It was agreed that Mat be supplied with a small fund for use in these special cases and keep detailed accounts of her expenditure whereas the fund would be replenished on an as needed basis. Over the past year, quite a few families have benefited from this plan. A recent example occurred on the last visit when the group attended the home of Thongpoon and his wife, both of who are quite old and unable to work, and they and had been caring for their 9-month old granddaughter, Thunhom, as the mother was in custody and the father absent.
As we arrived the elderly couple was being issued with eviction orders as they did not have the resources to care for the baby and keep up with the rent. The situation was resolved when the Jesters agreed to purchase a supply of formula for the baby and PILC agreed to guarantee future rent payments until the situation is resolved. This means that this small child will have a safe environment for some time to come.
(L to R) Bernie, Mat (nurse), Helle, Thunhom (baby), Thongpoon (grandfather) and Woody gather in front of the elderly couple’s room in Ban Chang.
The outcome was another example of the benefit gained by local charities combining resources for the common good. Jesters Care for Kids welcome opportunities to support the welfare of children at risk and enjoy working with other like-minded groups.
Future Events: Children’s Fair is Sunday, September 7th at Regents (RISP) and GPN is Saturday, September 20th at Amari Orchid Pattaya.
