The 130 children of the Street Kid’s Home in Pattaya,
all between 5 and 18 years old, enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and New
Year’s party on December 27 in the company of around 40 members and guests
of the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya. This isn’t the first time the club
has organised this event, and contacts between the home and the club really
took off when the club sponsored a $20,000 project for the home in
2001-2002.
Children
join hands to entertain the partygoers with their songs.
The evening started with a spectacular performance by of
one of Thailand’s best magicians, Pattaya’s very own “Mr. Tuxedo”
and his team. Famous for his card tricks, white doves also magically
appeared from nowhere, and his repertoire of mesmerizing acts fascinated
young and old. This was just the beginning of an enjoyable night with
several magnificent and endearing shows staged by the children, and a fine
performance given by the youth group of ‘the family’.
Members
of the ‘Family’ perform beautiful renditions of Christmas Carols.
Father Banchong Chaiyara, director of the Pattaya
Orphanage and its 6 institutions - of which the Street Kid’s Home is one
of the largest - bestowed the children with a Christmas and New Year’s
blessing. After the completion next year of a new building in Ban Maptato,
the capacity of this home will increase to be able to accommodate 400
children.
So
what do I get for Christmas?
In his welcome speech, Peter Malhotra, president of the
Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya, paid tribute to the great staff of the home,
capably managed by Khun Chah, for providing a safe haven and education with
lots of love and care to so many children with a sad and often disturbing
past.
These
girls trained real hard to perform the intricate traditional Thai dances to
wish everyone love and happiness.
He also thanked Martin Brands and the club’s director
of community service, Henny Vermey, for facilitating and organizing the
event. But most of all he thanked past district governor, Premprecha
Dibbayawan and his assistant Rin who had awakened at the crack of dawn to go
to the market to buy the necessary food stuffs and then to laboriously
prepare the food and drinks. Not only did Prem prepare food for almost 150
children and 100 adults, but he also arranged for sufficient amounts of
refreshments for the adults. Members of St. Nikolaus Church donated the soft
drinks.
Two
girls all dressed up to look like little angels.
A special mention was also made of the main sponsors of
the event, in particular of Hans-Guenther Mueller and Jan & Renee de
Vaan. Bruno Keller received a well-deserved accolade for his never- ending
fundraising efforts, which helped enable the event to take place.
President
Peter gives this huge Doraemon doll to the lucky winner as the next winner
awaits his prize.
The money available for the evening was increased by
23,000 baht as a result of spontaneous donations received that night, and
all funds amounting to over 50,000 baht were mainly spent on gifts for the
kids. Each received a ‘Gameboy’ and several other presents, and all
participated in a lottery with prizes ranging from binoculars, compasses and
big teddy bears, to backpacks. The remainder of the funds will be used for
additional activities for the Pattaya Orphanage and its institutions.
VP
Alvi Sinthuvanik gives out presents to the residents of the home.
Early in the evening, the video “Looking for Nook”
told the heartbreaking story of an 11-year-old boy with a long history of
abandonment and abuse, typical of several of the home’s pupils. With a
coarse voice as a result of years of sniffing glue, he tells the very moving
story of his young, unhappy life, ending with his wish to become a
policeman.
These
girls are thrilled as they receive gifts from PP Erika Keller and
Hans-Guenther Mueller
Sadly, just a few days later, Nook ran away from the
home, and the video shows Chah and his staff’s relentless pursuits to find
him, and to persuade him to come back. As the video reveals the search for
Nook, viewers also see the extremely tough life of many other abandoned and
impoverished kids living on the streets of Pattaya. This harsh ‘real
life’ story is something we should all see. We have these kids around us
every day, but we often do not realise the steady and often exploited
erosion of their innocence and the resulting suffering and pain these
youngsters endure. There is a great need for institutions like the Street
Kid’s Home, which depends only on funds received from sponsors.
To raise more funds for the home, we request that you please purchase a
copy of this unforgettable video/VCD for 500 baht at the office of the Pattaya
Mail, 370/7-8 Second Road, next to Grand Sole Hotel (opposite Montien
Hotel), and at SwissSiam Company, 143/47-48 Thepprasit Road (corner of Soi
10), or send an email to Dennis Stark, secretary of the Rotary Club of
Jomtien-Pattaya: [email protected]
