When you wake up tomorrow morning, leave your comfortable bed, have a warm, refreshing shower, some breakfast and prepare yourself for your day’s activities, perhaps a round of golf, spare a thought for the hundreds of families in Thailand that sleep on the floor, throw some cold water over their heads which replaces a shower, hunt around for some breakfast for themselves and their children, for some of these families live on your doorstep.
One such family lives near the Pattaya Stadium. Family is not an accurate description for Noy and her 10 year old daughter, Ice, who has Down syndrome. They live alone in what I would describe as a garage with a window. She has no regular employment for she must be there for her daughter and life is one long struggle from one day to another.
Their plight was brought to the attention of the Billabong Golf Bar and when Capt. Bob and some regular members of the bar visited, the first thing we noticed was the virtual river that was running through their home, for the floor level was well below that of the surrounding area. Water always finds the lowest level, and this happened to be Noy’s home. On further inspection we noticed that the walls were crumbling, the toilet was almost derelict and there was no ceiling.
But everything was about to change for the better under the supervision of the Billabong. The floor was raised some 25/30 centimetres, the walls were plastered, the floor and toilet walls were tiled, a door was installed on the toilet to provide a little privacy and a ceiling was now in place.
Wow, what a huge difference. Noy, with a big smile on her face, now has room to make various items which she can sell and Ice has a little more room to play.
The room is still not a home as most farangs expect but everything is so much more comfortable. If you feel that you would like to donate funds to help families as described above please ring Capt. Bob on 0822043411 or William on 0861522754.
