Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Ottawa, a Halifax class frigate, recently arrived in Thailand as part of a six month deployment in the Asia-Pacific waters enforcing United Nations sanctions against North Korea.
While in the port of Laem Chabang many members of the crew paid a visit to Pattaya and spent the day at the Father Ray Foundation.
On arrival their first job of the day was to repair and put together a brand new slide at the Father Ray Day Care Center, which just happened to be in the shape of a yellow submarine.
Being in the Navy meant the repair to the submarine did not take too long, and then it was over to the Technological College to meet the students with disabilities.
After helping the students with their English skills it was time to play sport, basketball. Easy they thought, until they realized they would be playing basketball while sitting in a wheelchair, not so easy.
After lunch they visited the School for Children with Special Needs where they were greeted by many of the one hundred and seventy children who attend the school.
Games of futsal, petanque and basketball were just a warm up for the main event with the special needs children. Musical chairs, a game mostly played at children’s parties, and a game that the Canadians had not played for many years, but a game that is played at the school with as much seriousness as Usain Bolt puts into winning gold at the Olympics.
After all the fun, the Canadians made a very special donation that is much needed in these financial troubling times.