It was a Belgian expat who many years ago asked Father Ray Brennan a simple question, what could he do to help Father Ray’s work here in Pattaya, and the reply was also simple, ‘go and get rice for my children.’
This is how the annual SOS Rice Appeal started and each year the people of Pattaya are asked to help feed the children and students at the Father Ray Foundation. Today the Foundation cares for almost 200 children whose own families cannot take care of them, children who are victims of abuse and neglect, orphans and those who were living in poverty.
There is also the school for blind and visually impaired children, a technological college for young adults living with a disability, a day care center as well as a school for children with special needs, bringing the total number of children and students being fed each day to around 850, that’s 850 children who are fed three times a day, every day.
On Thursday 5th December, a day when the Kingdom remembers the birthday of H.M. the late King Bhumibol, and on the weekend of the 7th and 8th December, you can make a donation of rice, or other foodstuffs such as cooking oil, salt, sugar or fish sauce, as well as make a cash donation which will be used to buy food throughout the year.
Participating stores this year include the two branches of Makro, three branches of Foodland, Tesco Lotus North Pattaya, Little Walk, Friendship, Central Festival, Mike’s Shopping Mall, Top’s as well as at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya and all 7-Eleven stores.
The Foundation needs 75,000 kgs of rice a year, can you help them feed the children of Pattaya?