It is quite something to be Father to more than 180 children at the age of seventy, but this man, Fr Michael Weera, is happy in that job. He is the Director of the Pattaya Orphanage, and he is having a ball! Like Fr Ray, he loves the children; he cares about their successes and their failures. Like Fr Ray, he is enormously proud of the the group which has made it to university. He has done deals with local private Catholic schools to admit children from the Orphanage at reduced or no cost so that as many as possible get the best possible start in life. The children know that he is there for them, whatever they need, whenever they need it.
To pay school fees, the Orphanage has run a terrifically successful fundraising campaign locally. One event produced a massive 1.6 million baht surplus for the fund. The following day a child fell badly from a see-saw and had to be rushed to the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital. 'There was no time to take him to a public hospital', said Fr Michael 'he would certainly have died.' The boy went to private hospital. He had brain surgery and massses of stitches. Today he is fine. A lot of the 1.6 million had gone, so the Orphanage went out and raised some more. Children's needs come first, which is right, but this gentle man is clearly quietly determined. The children could not have a better champion.
This is the amazing therapeutic play area which has opened since our last visit. The facility is shared between the Orphanage and the School for the Deaf.
This was a great morning, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Thank you, Fr Mike, thank you Pattaya Orphanage.
The indomitable Ajarn Aurora, founder and still Head of the Pattaya School for the Blind kindly gave us two hours of her time in the afternoon. We had a long and interesting discussion about the stunning new building she has constructed across the road from the School. The building - the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn building - will be a Vocational Training Centre when it is finally completed later this year.
It is difficult to estimate what this tiny lady has achieved during her busy life of service to others, or what her work has meant to generations of visually impaired children who have passed through the school she founded. What we do know,for absolute certain, is that she needs our help to fund the salaries of properly trained and qualified teachers of vocational skills like Thai Classical music and handicrafts so that her children can access better jobs more easily. You may hear more about this later in the year, who knows?
The day ended with a jolly and rather large dinner party during which I had the privilege of meeting Fr Cotan, legendary among Thai Redemptorists since he was on the second group of US Redemptorists to arrive in Thailand. He has been in Thailand since 1949, and is now a sprightly 95. But maybe as unforgettable was the picture of the current Vice-Provincial of the Redemptorists in Thailand making cat noises to a toddler at the next table. They were both having fun.
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