Pattaya Sports Club members are well known for their support of the handicapped and underprivileged of Pattaya, as are many PSC outlets (golf bars) mainly arranging charity golf days to raise funds to help those less fortunate than ourselves.
But the Growling Swan have taken a different approach. Dufar The Dog is responsible for extracting a few baht from everyone, and who would dare refuse, for even minor indiscretions, arriving late, forgetting some equipment, losing a ball in the water, spilling your beer or someone else’s – a cardinal sin in anyone’s eyes – and many others.
Members of the Growling Swan presenting the costumes.
It soon mounts up and an opportunity occurred recently for the Growling Swan to provide children at the Fr. Ray Foundation with swimming costumes, goggles and swim hats. We have all read in the newspaper of young children being unable to swim, being drowned in even shallow water. Those at the Fr. Ray Foundation take this situation seriously and all their children are encouraged to being confident in water and learning to swim. Unfortunately they did not have sufficient costumes to go around, everyone sharing the few that they did have, which restricted the numbers that were able to enjoy this activity. That is no longer the case and many more children will be able to learn to swim thanks to the members of the Growling Swan.
Derek Franklin begins his guided tour.
A guided tour of the children’s activities was given by Derek Franklin and everyone was astonished to see handicapped children, even those missing an arm or a hand, repairing everything electrical, learning computer skills, and naturally, the basic skill of reading and writing in Thai and English. A huge effort goes into preparing students for life after they leave Fr. Ray but, not stopping there, they follow up later to ensure they are receiving fair treatment from the employer.
If you feel you would like to help those at the foundation by donating clothes or money, please contact them direct or the Pattaya Sports Club on 038361167.
The students have to learn the theory.
The workshop.
A visit by the students from the Assumption College.
