Margaret (Margie) Grainger was welcomed back to the Pattaya City Expats Club (PCEC) meeting on Wednesday, May 25. Margie previously spoke to the Club in October 2017 about how she came to Thailand to teach in an international school and working with some local charities. She then recounted why she decided to quit teaching and form her own charity, the Hand to Hand Foundation and describing the Foundation’s many activities to help the poor and underprivileged.
She was visiting the USA when the Covid pandemic broke out and thus prevented her from returning to Thailand and having instead to return to her native Australia. Once there, she had to remain because Australia was not allowing her and many other citizens to leave the country. While there, living with her parents, she continued to direct the Foundation’s activities until she was finally able to return in January of this year.
She mentioned that the Covid-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the Foundation’s activities with many being curtailed, others being forced to change how they were done, and creation of new activities to fit the circumstances. Margie then presented several pictures comparing the old, modified, and new as she described the many activities in light of the “Covid-19 Fall Out”.
Margie described how Covid 19 caused problems for individuals, families, and businesses in Pattaya. The poor were severely affected by the close of tourism as they had no financial savings or resources to fall back on. Middle class earning families suddenly found themselves homeless without the skills and knowledge of how to live on the streets. Consequently, the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the Foundation’s activities in both negative and positive ways.
In her previous presentation to the PCEC, Margie noted how the Foundation helped to feed, clothe, house and provide medical assistance and education to children so that they could remain with their families. Further, the Foundation also cared for abandoned, abused or hospitalized children, and gave continuing care to the poor within the slums and to mothers who find themselves in the local jail system.
With Covid-19 pandemic, several activities could not continue such as the Kid’s Club (providing a place for children to learn, make things, and receive a meal), care for mothers in the prison system, visiting hospitals and assisting them to care babies born there then left there by their mothers, football team mother for children, and child protection training. Other activities continued, but had to be modified in their approach such as the Pre School, Slum visits, and a Scholarship program.
New activities including providing cooking skills to the newly homeless which would aid them in finding employment as restaurants begin to open and in need of skilled help; obtaining donations of computers and tablets so that children could continue their education online; growing food for their own use as well as to sell to others including the Foundation.
Margie’s complete presentation can be viewed on the PCEC’s You Tube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPLJpm9wNHM. The Pattaya Mail summary of her previous talk to the PCEC can be read at: https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/pattayas-miracle-worker-191507.
In conclusion, Margie mentioned that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of their previous sources are no longer providing much needed funding to support their activities and said that any donations of money, foodstuffs, clothing, etc. would be most welcome. For more information on how to donate, visit their website at https://www.handtohandpattaya.com/.
Upon conclusion of her talk, MC Ren Lexander brought everyone up to date on the latest events. This was followed by George Wilson conducting the Open Forum where attendees can make comments or ask questions about Expat living in Thailand, especially Pattaya. For more information about the PCEC, visit their website at https://pcec.club.
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