Orphanage christmas party

[barrys]

And more donations have come in:

I got a call today from Joyce of the Chicky Net group.
They organised an Xmas fair and money was raised from 2nd hand books. They are going to use this to buy presents for the Pala 'U kids and bring them to the party on Sunday.

Thanks a lot girls, great idea!

I've also received a pledge for a financial donation from Georgy, despite him being in a Bangkok hospital at the moment recovering from spinal surgery.

Thanks for still thinking about the kids in your situation.
Get better soon and we hope to see you next week somehow.

So the money donated/pledged so far totals 53,500 baht plus donations of food and presents.

That's a fantastic response in just a week

So, just 6 days to go if anyone else wants to help or contribute.
Thanks a million once again to all you very generous people out there

[richard]

The annual event of Carol singing at Condo Chain will take place at 6.30pm on the 24th by the children of Mercy House

All are welcome

[Farang]

Sorry I forgot to mention:

Barry, I am holding an envelope from a nameless Finnish gentleman. I'll deliver to you at the Caroling Event this envelope containing 20 000 THB.

[Farang]

Barry's Kid are caroling on the evening of the 24th at 20.00 hrs on the corner of Sa Song and Amnuasin. Many businesses as well as their customers
have pledged donate to Barry's Kids in the caroling event. Businesses such as Mr. Dan Guesthouse, Erikssons Värdshus, Sabai-Sabai Hua Hin,
and the venerable Johnnie Walker do their donations in honor of Barry and the good people working with him for the benefit of the orphans,
the little ones who have nothing, not even a family.

We celebrate Christmas with our friends and families in opulence while the orphans have no family and are destitute. Let us now even out the balance,
let us all donate generously in the caroling event. Let us really live the spirit of Christmas giving.

Everyone is welcome to the caroling event at:




Proverb: "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. "

[barrys]

Many thanks to Farang and Mr. Dan for responding to our appeal. The carol singing tomorrow is a great idea and the kids are really looking forward to it.
I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow evening, along with anyone else who would like to attend.

And special thanks also to the "nameless Finnish gentleman" for his very generous contribution.


In the meantime, I'm delighted to report that we have also received contributions from:

Chas & Pat, who are baking their own cookies for us and coming to help on Sunday,

Brasserie de Paris Restaurant, who will be preparing spaghetti bolognese, chocolate mousse and other goodies and delivering them to the party,

Pino from Peppino Restaurant, who has given us presents for the kids and a big bag of rice,

plus financial donations from:

Gert from the Thailiving ferry company between Hua Hin & Pattaya,

Nick from Enjoy Cards & Newspaper Direct,

Anders from Prime Steakhouse, and

Manfred, one of our boat customers.

Many thanks also to Ken from Enjoy Cards who has helped find sponsors for this worthy cause and has also agreed to be Santa on the day

The kitty now stands at a staggering 80,000 baht and, with a bit of luck, we'll top the 6-figure mark by the time of the party

You are all really fantastic people and will give these great kids a day they will never forget.

Thanks a million to all of you

[E-Dork]

Hi Barry.

This is not about the xmas party but as it's the most current thread regarding the orphanage I thought I'd post here.

I have a friend who has been teaching in Thailand for many years and on hearing about this orphanage was eager to be able to teach these children English. He has a 1 month break over March and would quite like the opportunity to teach on a daily basis throughout that month. I understand that the Thai laws don't actually technically allow this but it is overlooked on 99.9% of occasions. If there's any chance of this happening please let me know so he can make his arrangements for a month stay in Hua Hin (He teaches in a Bangkok University)

You are doing wonderful work there and I'm sure the kids appreciate every minute of your time. I currently help a temple in Bangkok that has 300 parentless children in it's care being taken care of by the monks. They certainly are a far cry from your spoilt rich kids and from the sounds of it your kids are the same. When I come back into Hua Hin I will pop in to donate whatever I can if only small (will be around the 5th so will have to be a late new years gift!)

Merry Christmas Eve

[crazy88]

Thanks for the thread as a reminder. I finally managed to drop off the computer I promised months ago. Hope the kids have a great time.

Crazy 88

[barrys]

E-Dork wrote: "I have a friend who has been teaching in Thailand for many years and on hearing about this orphanage was eager to be able to teach these children English. He has a 1 month break over March and would quite like the opportunity to teach on a daily basis throughout that month."

That sounds like a great idea, I will run it by the organisers tomorrow at the party or, better again, you can call by and discuss it yourself and meet these great kids at the same time ......

Edit: "When I come back into Hua Hin I will pop in to donate whatever I can if only small (will be around the 5th so will have to be a late new years gift!)"

Sorry, you obviously can't come tomorrow - so I will discuss it with the organisers and let you know what they say - I'm sure they'll be delighted

[barrys]

crazy88 wrote: "Thanks for the thread as a reminder. I finally managed to drop off the computer I promised months ago. Hope the kids have a great time."

That's fantastic, they really do need the computers and anything else people can contribute.
Thanks a lot. much appreciated

[barrys]

Thanks to the invitation of Dan from Mr. Dan's Guesthouse and Farang and Erikssons Värdshus, we took 12 of the kids from the orphanage there last night, where they entertained the guests with some Christmas carols sung in Thai, as well as "We wish you a merry Christmas" in both English and Karen.

The applause from all the mostly Finnish and Swedish people there showed how much they were prepared to share their Christmas joy with these underprivileged children.

Between them, they also generously donated a total of 27,000 baht for the children's party tomorrow.
This means that we have topped the 100k mark

This far exceeds all our expectations in a year that has not been financially kind to most of us.
So all the more thanks and gratitude to all of you who have contributed
This money will make a huge contribution to the future of these wonderful kids

Ki itti, tackar så mycket, danke schön, go raibh maith agaibh or thank you very much to everyone involved for making all this possible

And tomorrow is the day!!!
You are all welcome to come and meet these great children from 1 p.m. on at Mermaid Cruises Marina.

On behalf of us all, we also wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and lots of good fortune and success in 2011.

Thanks a million.

[buksida]

Thanks for the thread as a reminder. I finally managed to drop off the computer I promised months ago. Hope the kids have a great time.

Crazy 88

Nice one, will make a collection shortly and get working on the next machine(s) which can go up to Pala-U.

Updates will be posted here: http://www.huahinafterdark.com/forum/vi ... 15&t=11762

[livelyrich]

sorry if i misspell some words - I'm having a hard time reaching the keyboard due to an overstuffed belly tonight! Barry et al did a fantabulous job today at the party; the food was first class, the volunteers brought a treasure trove of presents for the kids, and, as top rated news reports always say, 'a good time was had by all...'

thanks seems small to say, but not sure how else to put it on here! just overwhelmed by the generosity of so many people. if this were the academy awards, they would start the music, indicating that i must get off the stage for commercial break while i am rambling my thanks to everyone! so, in order not to leave someone out and risk offense, i will simply say a HUGE THANKS to everyone who has been part of this great endeavor. it has just been such a blessing to read the thread here on HHAD and see how people have responded. to all of you who gave of your time, talents, or resources, Connect3e says a humble THANK YOU!

most of all, to Barry and Tan and all their staff who have truly worked tirelessly to pull this off with such profound success - you guys are the best, may you have a blessed 2011 for your willingness to be a blessing to others.

BTW - at the end of the party, Barry handed over 100K that will certainly go a LONG way in helping at the Home. like many NGOs, we have been hit hard with the worldwide recession and our donor base has struggled to keep up with our growing budget now that we have two homes and are responsible for 80+ kids, either in grade school, high school, or university. thanks to all of you for giving so that we can pass it on to the kids (100% goes straight to them - we take 0% admin cut as we are all volunteers who raise our own support to come here and work for C3e).

blessings to you all,

[chaspul]

Just wish to echo Riche's sentiment, the food was fantastic, many of the children returning for 3rds and 4ths.
The look on their faces when greeting Santa brought back memories from when our children were that age, the general excitement at recieving a present was an overwelming sight to see.
This was only topped when the children were about to leave after singing a song and hugging all of the adults by way of thanks, not a dry eye in the house.
Both Pat and I felt privileged to participate and for us it made our Christmas "experience", thank you to every one involved.
Chas

[TKDBB]

Hi all, Santa here

What a fantastic day for the kids from Pala-U orphanage organised by Barry and Tan. This was my first time and it was heart-warming to see the generosity and caring of all involved towards the children. The kids themselves were a joy and to see them smiling, laughing and playing together as if they didn't have a care in the world really made me feel very humble indeed.
Great admiration to all the the people who look after and care for the kids and to Barry and Tan for all their hard work and dedication in organising the day and getting sponsorship.

There was a fantastic end to the day when the kids sang to everyone - not too many dry eyes in the house. Yes gents, you know who you are

Off home to Lappieland now to feed the reindeer.

See you all next time.

[Super Joe]

Well done to Barry and everyone involved, sounds like a total success. Sorry we couldn't make it over but had too much on with family here.



SJ