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Royal Thai Navy and US Navy donate time to CPDC
A recent storm blew the
center’s water tank into their pond, which was impossible for them to get
out.
Lena Schupp
On Saturday the 28th of July the Royal Thai Navy came
together with the US Navy to the Child Protection and Development Center
(CPDC) to volunteer for one day. The hard working men and women helped us
tidying up the compound and adjusting land. Then again, certainly they did
not miss the chance to get in contact with the children.
After their arrival early in the morning the 30 Navy
members of the two countries were divided into two groups. While one group
was adjusting the land inside our vegetable garden, the rest were helping us
with a very remarkable task. Some weeks ago a heavy storm raged over Pattaya
and did hard damage. At our center the storm blew one of our water tanks
into the fish pond. No matter how hard our staff tried to get the tank back
on shore, it was impossible as the tank was filled with water and very
heavy. The fearless members of the Navy got into the water, twisted a rope
around the tank, scooped the water out of it and pulled the tank out.
After a refreshing shower, the diligent workers had fun
playing running games with the children.
Then it was lunchtime and the US Navy, the Royal Thai
Navy and our children were able to enjoy their meal together. Moreover, the
Navies surprised the children with home made cookies. It was a great
pleasure for everybody and we are already looking forward to the next
meeting.
We would like to thank both teams for joining us this day
and volunteering at our center, especially Peter Thorand, president of the
Navy League Siam Council Thailand.
Thanks to the Thai and US
navies, they were able to drain the tank and remove it from the pond.
One group of sailors worked
hard to till the center’s garden.
After the hard work was done,
it was playtime for sailors and children.
Chai yo! Everyone is happy!
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Pattaya Sports Club always happy to help
As it was.
It was 1972 that Father Ray Brennan came to Pattaya but
nobody realised the impact that he was to have on, what was then, a sleepy
fishing village. It was not long after his arrival that a Thai lady asked
him to take care of her baby for her personal circumstances made it
impossible for her to do so. He accepted the baby, an event that was to
herald a remarkable story for the handicapped and underprivileged children
of Pattaya. A story that is well known and has travelled beyond the shores
of Thailand.
But from this simple act of generosity, the Pattaya
Orphanage was born, a building erected and the Orphanage was granted an
establishment license by the then Governor of Chonburi in 1978. It has since
gone from strength to strength. 185 children are resident at the moment and
cared for by Toy and her remarkable team, with ages ranging from 1 year and
staying until they leave school/college/university and can support
themselves financially.
As you can imagine, they need to be able to use all the
space they have. Toy showed representatives of Pattaya Sport Club a room
that had not been used for many years and asked for our help to renovate the
room to be used by the pre-school children (under 6 years old). It was an
easy decision by the PSC Committee to agree to fund the project.
The toilets/showers could not be used and the whole room
had fallen into a bad state of repair. As you can see from the photographs a
big change has taken place with good natural lighting, clean, bright tiling
on the floor and bright colours on the walls. The room will be used as a
recreation room and will provide the children with space to be able to
paint, play instruments and games and, generally enjoy themselves. The
renovations were extended to include the exterior of the building.
With a separate act of generosity, Ken Berneck and his
wife Wendy, members of Pattaya Sports Club, gave the children a DVR Music
System which will provide the older children with the opportunity to play
their favourite music and have fun with the karaoke. Everyone was delighted
with the gift and Toy assured us that it will be put to good use.
Big room but needs some work.
A big improvement.
Everywhere the colours are
bright.
A big, bright happy room.
Thank you PSC.
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Free health checks for all
Derek Franklin
The Father Ray Children’s Home was the location for the
first of several special events to celebrate ‘Father Ray Month’.
Guests are entertained by the
dance troupe from the Children’s Home.
More than four hundred youngsters arrived from the Father
Ray Children’s Village, Drop-In Center, Baan Jing Jai, Wat Suthiwas School
and they joined the residents of the Children’s Home for a day of fun.
The official opening ceremony was presided over by Father
Peter, President of the Father Ray Foundation, and all the children gathered
together to watch a performance from the traditional Thai dance troupe from
the Home and lay flowers on the statue of Father Ray.
Father Peter then presented ten underprivileged children
with their yearly scholarships, allowing them to continue to receive an
education.
This was all followed by the children assembling in the
main dining room where a team of opticians, dentists, doctors and nurses
were waiting for them. The children received a free medical check-up
courtesy of the visiting medical team from Mitmaidree Group Laboratory.
Opticians from Mongkon Wen Da, located on Soi Siam Country Club Road and the
dental team from the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya gave everyone an eye and
dental check and free advice.
Nothing wrong with his eyes.
While the children were excited about having their eyes
tested, being weighed and having their skin checked for infections they were
not so eager to visit the dental team. But everyone must visit and the
wonderful dentists soon calmed the most frightened children.
While the children were having their health checked the
cooks were preparing the latest batch of mushrooms which had been harvested
that morning direct from the mushroom houses. Dipped in creamy batter, deep
fried and drizzled with a sweet, but hot chili sauce they disappeared as
quickly as the cooks could fry them.
No event would be complete without a soccer competition,
and the first game was a repeat of a recent match which saw the teams from
the Children’s Home and Children’s Village play each other. Once again the
team from the Children’s Home beat the Village.
But whether the children won or lost everyone agreed that
the day was a great success. Those in need of treatment will soon be
receiving new spectacles, paying a visit to the dentist to have cavities
filled or starting on a course of medication.
More information be found at www.fr-ray.org or email
[email protected]
The dental department of the
Bangkok Hospital Pattaya give their time for free.
Regents School teacher and
volunteer English coach Keith Howkes receives a certificate of appreciation.
No event would be complete
without a soccer competition.
Ten local children received
scholarships.
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New Classroom for Anti-Trafficking and Child Abuse Centre
Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive 2012, Sponsored by Glencore International and Canadian Jackalope Open
Classroom under construction.
Bernie Tuppin
The Jesters Care for Kids and Pattaya Sports Club have
combined resources to build a classroom at the Anti-Human Trafficking and
Child Abuse Centre. The centre, located in Nongprue, opened recently under
the guidance of Supagon Noja [Ja], who has a long history of caring for
children at risk.
In keeping with the main thrust of this “Youth for Self
Reliance Project” most of the construction was carried out by the children
themselves, as has been the case with most of the other buildings at the
facility. Currently there are 18 children resident at the centre but this
number will surely increase as it grows.
Jesters Care for Kids has been a long time supporter of
Ja’s efforts and are confident of the value to the community of this
project. We are also happy to have shared this endeavour with the Pattaya
Sports Club, a like-minded group, who make valuable contributions to local
charity institutions.
If you would like to learn more about these kinds of
projects, please visit us at www.care4kids.info or www.
facebook.com/jesterscare. forkids.
Please remember that the Jesters’ main events in Pattaya
are coming up fast: The Children’s Fair, Sunday, September 9th and Gala
Party Night Saturday, September 22nd.
The finished classroom is
ready for students.
Bernie and kids pose in front
of the classroom.
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