I remember Boxing Day 2004 like it was yesterday. I was standing in the kitchen with my mum banging on about my brandy and cinnamon panacotta (as I am prone to do) and debating whether I’d drive into town for the Boxing Day sales. And then I remember glancing over at the TV and finding out about the tsunami that hit Thailand. I will never forget the news footage. Entire Thai villages being swept away like sandcastles at high tide. People clinging to telegraph poles. And roof tops. And the children. All those children that suddenly became orphans. Thats what I remember most of all. Everybody talking about the thousands of Thai children who had suddenly become orphaned. In real life losing your parents is less Harry-Potter-exciting and more unspeakable tragedy.
Six years on, those children still need our help. So for this month’s First Wednesday Club I’ve chosen an Australian charity that is doing just that – continuing to help all those orphaned kids in Thailand.
Peter Baines was working in Forensics with the NSW police force when the Tsunami hit and was part of the team despatched to Thailand to help identify bodies. Once there, Peter was confronted with the shocking reality that vast numbers of Thai children had not only lost both their parents but also their extended families. With their homes and villages also completely destroyed countless small children were living in tents, left to fend for themselves. So Peter, together with UK policewoman Gil Williams, set up a charity – Hands Across The Water (Hands).
To date, Hands has built two orphanages and a community sports field in the badly damaged Baan Nam Khem region of Phuket. They’ve purchased trucks, cars and motorbikes so the kids can get to school, are running sponsorship and scholarship programs to fund the kids’ education and fund a full time nurse who works at the orphanages.
Top Comments
I’m writing to thank you for this inspiring information. It’s so important that Peter has opened orphanages for the 2004 tsunami orphans and for the young sex trafficking victims of Thailand. I also write in solidarity with “Molly” below who requests that you post an article about international adoption. “Molly” is correct in her assumption that international adoption is complicated and expensive. This is especially true in a country like Thailand where adoption agencies have to be extra careful when evaluating the character of applicants in order to avoid giving parental rights to pedophiles or others with ulterior motives for adopting a child. However, there are Thailand lawyers who help well-meaning and loving foreigners through the grueling international adoption process. I encourage “Molly” to search the Internet for a Thailand lawyer specializing in international adoption and look forward to seeing an article with further information on this blog.
I feel so sorry for those beautiful children but an education is one thing that will give those children some choice and hope for the future. I really like to be able to do something even if it is a small contribution. Thank you for sharing this with us.
I just have to say it brings tears to my eyes re children being rescued from the sex industry and children who have been abused- it's heartbreaking and really hard to comprehend how big this issue is. There is a group called Ride2Rescue (they are on FB) who are cycling from London to Melbourne to raise awareness of child trafficking. I'm really proud of their hard work and effort to create awareness of a problem that seems so far away from our day to day lives but one that we would all like to be able to put an end to. It's good to know what we can do to help even if it's something small.