Father Ray Foundation

[deadwood]

figured i'd pass on a letter i received from father lawrence at the father ray foundation in pattaya. imagine the works we could do if even a small fraction of our membership would donate the price of a beach road short time.

 

 

............your gift means we can carry on the work father ray brennan started nearly 40 years ago, and which the father ray foundation continues in his name. today we care for more than 850 under-privileged children and young adults with disabilities. we give them a full education, a job when they leave us, but most importantly, a safe and loving atmosphere of a home while they are with us. it is only with the help that you, and people like you, around the world, give us that makes this possible, and allows us never to have to turn away a needy child.

 

i would like to tell you about one of the children your gift will help us to look after. in 2008 we developed a better way to care for children who have benn abandoned by their parents. children deprived of their natural home deserve a home. last year we built 4 houses on a piece of land we call the Father Ray Chidren's Village. we are going to build more houses as funds come in. each house is home to 8 children, and each house has a specially trained house mother, and an auntie, to create the family environment the childen have been deprived of.

 

the latest addition to our family, house #4, is a girl named dao. though dao's parents are alive, dao is an orphan. both parents did drugs extensively. her mother is now in a mental health hospital. her father is living in a drug induced fantasy world and begging on the streets.

 

dao is about 5 years old. we don't know for sure because her birth certificate is lost. she has no house registration. she was found living on a very dirty mattress with her father in an unfinished 5 story building. other than the dirty mattress there was absolutely nothing else in the room. no mosquito net, no cooking utensils, no refrigerator, no table or chairs, no bathroom or running water, no clothes, no towels. every meal that dao ate came by begging from the local vendors on the streets. and worst of all dao was at risk of sexual abuse.

 

we brought the plight of the girl to the attention of the authorities and we now have guardianship of dao. by coincidence her new mother is also named dao and has lovingly accepted her into house #4 in the village. and she now has an older "sister" by the name of dao in the same house. she is fitting in very well to this new loving family house with good meals, her medical needs being taken care of. most importantly she is safe and she now has a chance to go to school and grow up with people who love and care for her. within a few days dao already showed the effects of her new family life, smiling and playing with other children. dao is not the first. many of our childen come from a similar miserable background and very quickly adapt to the loving way of life in the fr. ray children's village.

 

perhaps you would like to keep her in mind for the future. some of our supporters go on to sponsor a child, and you might want to consider that at some time. if you look at our website,

 

www.fr-ray.org

 

you can find out more about this and other ways you can help, and lots more about the work we do.

 

for now i can just thank you again.........and if you ever come to pattaya, please come to see us. visitors always leave with a warmth in their hearts after spending time with our childen. may God bless you.

[deadwood]

had i seen quenton's post i would have just posted this there! oh well, can't have too much of this out there.

[Alleycat]

It's all good mate. Thankyou for posting this. I have added a link to the Father Ray website

[quenton79]

had i seen quenton's post i would have just posted this there! oh well, can't have too much of this out there.

 

It's all good Deadwood....you are right...you can't have too much of the right thing!!!