Lewis Underwood
Having just completed our first 12-year cycle of charity drives
benefiting underprivileged kids, the organizing committee is now focused on
getting the campaign started for Year #13 in earnest. As we still have
monthly commitments to some of our projects, such as Ban Jing Jai and their
65 orphans, we would like to thank those who have already responded by
submitting their donations this New Year. If you have not received our
latest letter yet, please see our website at
www.care4kids.info.
Christmas
Party at Camillian Home in Lat Krabang for kids living with disabilities.
In the meantime, we continue to distribute funds from the 7.1 million baht
raised last year, which we will detail in our new brochure coming out
shortly. Our latest project being funded by your 2009 donations is the
construction of a new home for disabled boys in Khao Baisri near Sattahip.
We have helped this school in the past and once again are pleased to allow
Principal Boonchu to continue her selfless work with these special children
more effectively.
This project, which is expected to be finished at the end of February, is a
joint venture with the Herrod Foundation, Mike Koerner, Club Nevada and
Lolita’s Pattaya.
Otherwise, we would like to share how we spent our holiday season with the
very children you are helping through our charity drive.
Christmas
Day carol-singing at School for the Blind.
Besides the gala Christmas affairs held at the Fountain of Life Center and
Kate’s Project, which have already been wrote up here, there were also
another two events that though more low-keyed, were just as significant.
The first was on Christmas Eve when we caravanned along with Father Giovanni
to the Camillian Home in Lat Krabang for children living with disabilities.
Here the kids, both residents and daytime visitors, entertained us with
seasonal song and play.
Father Giovanni, under the guise of Father Christmas, presided over the
delightful celebration and gift-giving. Besides the wonderful interaction we
had with the kids, the function was highlighted with the presentation to two
children and budding musicians, a boy, Rad, and a girl, Pleng, with an
electric guitar and keyboards, respectively.
By the way, both of these kids are also blind, which is believed to have
been brought on by a virus associated with HIV. Presently, they are learning
Braille at the center and by demonstration showed us that they were quite
adept already.
Bernie
with kids who will eventually benefit from construction of Khao Baisri Home
for Disabled Boys.
Additionally, we, along with the Canadian Jackalope Open, are again
sponsoring two kids, Fay and Tavid, who have recently been transferred from
the Rayong center to Lat Krabang. We will feature them in a future write up.
The other event was on Christmas Day at the School for the Blind, where we
simply sat with Aurora and enjoyed listening to the kids sing Christmas
carols. We also took advantage of this opportunity to present them with
18,000 baht to purchase footballs made in Germany for blind athletes. These
specially constructed balls have beads inside them so that they can be
detected and located by sound.
Historically, the Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive came into existence to
assist underprivileged kids through providing safe environment and
educational opportunities. However, since 2002, when we first got involved
with the School for the Blind, we also started helping needy kids living
with disabilities. And we now help many of these special kids by providing
them with the requisite educational techniques and care.
This past year we have particularly noticed a trend of getting more involved
with these special kids. The following is a list of some of the projects we
are currently concerned with in this category.
* Pattaya School for the Blind in Naklua
* Sunganseuksa Phiset 12 in Ban Bueng for disabled kids
* Camillian Social Center for Kids living with HIV/AIDS and disabilities
* Khao Baisri Center for Disabled Boys
* Chonburi Handicap Project catering to disabled kids with more
user-friendly living conditions; in conjunction with Women on a Mission
* Nong Urn living with incurable liver condition
If you too would like to get involved in helping both the disadvantaged and
disabled kids, please visit our website. Our aim is to help these kids have
a happy New Year too!
