Fountain of Life says “Thank You” 1,000 Times

by Sister Joan

This morning when our vans arrived at the Fountain of Life Center I was waiting for the children. The first one to jump out was a little girl. She ran, took my hand and gave me such a big happy smile that I could see the joy in her eyes. I knew she was happy to be at our Center.

A wonderful reunion at the Fountain of Life Center. Photo by Howard Greene

After a while I saw a group of children sitting together on the floor having their breakfast. It was obvious they were enjoying themselves. One little boy started the short prayer that usually precedes the main meal of the day in which the children thank for food and remember those who do not have enough to eat.

As the other vans arrive, more and more children stream in. So the day at the Fountain of Life begins. It soon becomes a hive of laughter and noise. We continue with fun, joy and learning. There are also doctor’s visits, trips to the dentist, health care, meals and many visitors and faithful volunteers who come to help in one way or another. The day is busy and we believe our dedicated, hard-working staff accomplishes a lot of good. The needy children from the slum areas of Pattaya are our target group and get all the love, care and attention that we can give them. We also try to give them as best an education as possible. Sometimes children need special attention. They could be sick, have trouble at home or just not be thriving. This is taken care of in its appropriate way.

On 19th October, 124 children who were former students of the Fountain of Life came back for a re-union. They are in different schools in Nongkhai, Chiengrai, Ayuthaya, Bangkok, Chonburi and all government schools in Pattaya. Many are helped financially through the Fountain of Life and all are encouraged to continue with their schooling.

The sisters, staff and volunteers are happy to do all this. It is our privileged job; however, there is no way we could do it without the support we get from the Jesters and the big band of collaborators it has both in Thailand and overseas.

A thousand thanks goes to all who organized and ran the Jesters Care for Kids 2001. We are aware of the sustained hard work that went into making it the wonderful success that it was. To achieve yet another record year in such financially hard times was just amazing. You all rejoice in that I am sure as much as we do.

When I see the children that come to the Center getting used to its system, starting to learn and then going on to government schools I am very happy. We know this would not happen for many of them without the Fountain of Life. The Fountain of Life knows very well that it could not give this service without the wonderful moral and financial support we get.

We will show our gratitude by doing our service to the children to the best of our ability. For all our friends, our benefactors, Jesters and their wonderful band of collaborators you will be remembered every morning when we gather for prayer before we start our day.