News June 2007
Report of a visit by Brigid O'Connell to meet her sponsored child in Thailand.
"I'm writing to thank you for helping set up a meeting with my sponsored child in Thailand. It was an amazing experience, and quite an adventure finding my way there. I returned from a three week trip to Thailand, where I was based in Chiang Mai for eight days.
It was much trickier to set up a meeting than I'd planned, as administration staff at Nuchanat Anusorn School spoke little English! Finally I was put through to Sister Elizabeth who, in her broken English and Italian, welcomed my visit on the following day.
It was a two hour bus ride from Chiang Mai to Wiang Pa Pao, in the northwestern most corner of Thailand. But, instead of being a sleepy rural town, Wiang Pa Pao turned out to be a very large municipality!
The bus driver dropped us off in the main street and we luckily bumped into a woman who spoke English. She directed us to a local bus station that would drop us off at the corner, seven kilometers the way we'd already come.
It was quite hot by now and tempers were fraying but we were buoyed by a large English sign pointing to the school. Off we headed down the dusty road, past rice fields and routinely jumping out of the way of motorbikes.
After walking for about 20 minutes it was clear we were not going to find the school without help. We managed to act out reading and writing and were pointed back in the same direction by some locals.
One followed on his motorbike and pointed down a silently still street. Once the throbbing of the engine had gone, we finally heard the universal sound of school children playing. At last! We followed the sounds to a three-metre high stone wall and a gaggle of security guards, who were eager to practice their "Good Afternoons'" and "How are yous'"? for a young female!
Sister Elizabeth wasted no time hugging and kissing me and preparing a feast of avocado, oranges and coffee (all grown on the school grounds). I suspect she secretly liked having to put on a show and never once drew breath while we were there.
The poverty there is unbelievable. As she took us around the kinder she pointed out whose father was in jail for drugs, who had no parents and who had escaped near fatal illnesses. To see the gorgeous smiling kids and hear those stories was quite heartbreaking.
Sr Elizabeth had Sumali sent to us from class. She was quite unsure about the whole thing - it must have been quite scary for her to meet us! The sisters told us how the kids leave for their May school holidays with full cheeks, but they always come back hollow after a month in their village".
Remarkable Rosa - October 2006
A wonderful idea came from a dear lady, Rosa, who chose not to receive gifts for her 60th Birthday but rather to give them, by way of her guests donating to the work of St Veronica.
It was a great success and a great way to celebrate her for the generous lady she is. Below is her correspondence to us:
"As part of my commitment to and my support for St Veronica's Welfare, I felt that I would like to do something different for my 60th Birthday. At this age most of us have all that we need so I suggested that my friends might like to make a donation towards a Water Tank for a village in New Guinea whose people are suffering from polluted water. Friends and family raised a total of $1500.00. I feel that this is a living gift. In more ways than one we are offering them living water."
What a gift of life indeed! Rosa then matched the amount dollar for dollar, from the proceeds of a real estate sale, and St Veronica received $3,000 which will provide one water tank. This ensures the health of a whole community. What an impact this will have on the people of New Guinea who are suffering tremendously at present.
The general appeal among our supporters has raised enough for THREE tanks!
Many thanks to Rosa and others for their concern for others and for their generous sacrifices.
If you would like to continue supporting this appeal and see great changes look up the September/October Appeal on our appeals page
Find out what other sponsors are doing
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