Annual Report April 2012
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
To start with we would like to say a big `Thank You' to all of you who still continue to support us especially during the financial crisis which many of us are still experiencing. We are all the time getting to hear of families in desperate need of help, and with this in mind the Secretary and myself have decided to 'Adopt' a Family, a young lady with 2 children, to try and help out with the 'basics' each month.
We are delighted to report that the response to the New Year Parties was excellent. Thank you one and all.
This year our visit to Pattaya was a busy one, seeing different children and visiting one of our projects of helping to rebuild a home that was damaged by the floods. We also visited the New MERCY Home, a lovely new building which will we hope help those children living there feel they are secure and can have a happy life.
Seeing more of their way of life has definitely left its mark on me, so the `thinking cap' is once again on for ideas of more fundraising to help these people.
It is still quite unbelievable that their way of life being so very basic yet there is always a `smile' when you meet them and the children appear happy.
Without your help we would not be able to achieve as much as we do. Thank you.
Once again a special thanks to the team in Pattaya for all their help.
Kath Hutt. Chairman ----------------------------------
Treasurer's Report
There is little doubt that this Financial Year has been somewhat challenging from both the fund-raising and how best to spend the money points of view. The continuing financial problems around the world have placed restraints on money people have been able to use for charitable donations and understandably a few sponsors have had to withdraw from the scholarship scheme. However all is not doom and gloom, we have continued to enjoy the support of the Lady Boys of Bangkok touring show here in the UK who have by organising a retiring bucket collection at the end of their shows during 2011 raised £14,720 for us from their audiences. We are delighted that not only was the show's owner Philip Gandey able to make a visit to meet the MERCY team in Pattaya and to visit the new MERCY home during a fleeting two-hour visit to the city but also that the Lady Boys of Bangkok shows will be collecting for us again this year as well as promoting us on their website. Another show-biz connection is in Jomtien, Pattaya where Ray Cornell owner of the Venue hotel and showbar also held a number of fund raising evenings on our behalf and he has personally supported the work of the Hauy Phong Children's Home. Our local Rotary clubs have also been generous in their support so we have been able to maintain the monthly food parcels that many of our students receive.
We have taken more children onto our scholarship scheme throughout the year and there are more applications in the pipeline for the new school year which starts in May. We have been able to find individual sponsors for 95% of the children and are continuing to pay for the school costs for those children as yet not sponsored. We have not had to turn any applications away thanks to the continuing support and the generosity of so many people who have made donations throughout the year.
During my six-week visit to Pattaya during December and January I was, thanks to the amazing organisation of the MERCY team, able to meet almost of all the kids we are helping and visit many of their homes as well as the projects we are supporting. Our Chairman Kath Hutt and Secretary Joy Adams also saw much of the work during their holiday in November. It is always good to see for ourselves what is going on five-thousand miles away from home although the MERCY team do keep us well up to date with everything during the year with weekly reports and photos.
We decided to help the new MERCY Home complete the purchase of bunk-beds for all of the twenty eight children as many were sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Not only was this not particularly comfortable but it also took up a lot of space that could be better used if the kids had bunk-beds. We also helped with finance for tables and items of learning equipment for the kids at the Home.
At the Hauy Phong Children's Home we were able to purchase forty-one metal lockers for the boys' dormitories as well as sports equipment. The New Year Party for the three-hundred and fifty kids at the home and the other parties came in just a few pence over the donations specifically given for those events. Our thanks to everyone who supported the appeal for the Hauy Phong Home party, the students' party and the combined MERCY kids and slum kids' party.
We met the cost of the materials needed for rebuilding the home of one of our students that had been destroyed by the flooding in Pattaya in October and we have helped with the refurbishment and repair costs of others. As in previous years bedding has been on the list of needs for many of the children and where possible we have supplied bunk-beds which not only avoid the kids having to sleep on mats on the often damp floors but this also frees up much needed space in what are in most cases only very small rooms.
Apart from the regular monthly food and water deliveries we have stepped in to assist where children have needed medical attention and continued to support the 'Share Love with a Friend' project that supports badly disabled children from the slums with rice, water, milk, and medical needs. The project is run by Sam a former employee of MERCY Pattaya and someone we have worked with for a few years.
Visiting sponsors have often continued to extend additional support to the kids and this has in turn released our funds to be used for other children. With rising costs it is important that we maximise every last penny and to this end we are grateful to MERCY Pattaya for carrying out the work in the field and bearing the costs of staff and transport costs from their own funds.
We hope that either from the information on our website or from our Blog:
http://pattayakids.blogspot.co.uk/ that you can see that all of the donations are being used to help children who without support would in many cases through lack of food and nutrition suffer illnesses . We have learned that some children when the parents on any particular day do not have money for either the bus fare to school or the school snack simply do not attend. To combat this problem we have allocated funds that will be used specifically to pay for bus fares and school snacks when the need arises. The requests for assistance will be monitored by both MERCY and the schools to make sure every request for assistance is valid.
In conclusion the Trustees wish to thank everybody who has supported the charity with either general donations, sponsorship or goods in kind, all of which have enabled us to continue to help the kids, your help has been invaluable and your generosity quite outstanding considering the current financial climate. We hope that you will see your way clear to continue your support no matter how small, every last penny can make a difference to kids that are so less fortunate than ourselves.
Don Ford. Treasurer
