A chance encounter with a homeless boy at a Thai bus stop has sparked a vision for a global network of children’s homes for four University of Queensland alumni.
Caroline Cavanagh and her husband Shaun, together with Alvin Tan and Linda Lua, all UQ graduates, have established a children’s home in north-eastern Thailand and plan to use it as a model for more similar homes around the world.
Ms Cavanagh said the idea for Samuel’s House, which takes in orphaned and abandoned children, began to take shape after visiting Thailand on an organised campus student group in 1998.
“We found a little boy at a bus stop in Khon Kaen who was homeless and we were able to find him somewhere safe to live through our Thai contacts,” Ms Cavanagh said.
“Meeting him had really impacted on me and I knew there were more like him but didn't know what I could do.”
Through keeping in contact with her Thai friends Hannah and Nehamee Pawcome, Ms Cavanagh realised just how many orphaned and abandoned children there were in Thailand.
When Ms Pawcome emailed Ms Cavanagh in 2006 saying she and her husband had begun to take in homeless children to their basic farmers shack, all four of them decided to come together to help.
Lending both financial support and organisational skills, the group raised funds for a solid house, new beds and a new kitchen.
“In June 2007 we officially launched Samuel's House in Australia to a grassroots network of friends, family and colleagues,” Ms Cavanagh said.
“We now have a diverse support base from many nations.”
Thanks to this support base and the child sponsorship/scholarship program, the 12 children who live at the home are well looked after and attend private school, an opportunity Dr Lua said would help Samuel’s House to have far-reaching effects.
“Without the opportunity and second chance given to them, they would otherwise be roaming the streets, not have an education, be in the child slavery trade,” she said.
“These children are the ones, if given an opportunity, that have the potential to contribute immensely to society and make a difference in their country’s future.”
Dr Lua hoped Samuel’s House was the start of a global network of homes for orphaned and abandoned children.
“Our aim is to empower, enrich and equip the locals at Samuel's House to enable them to manage and run the children's home themselves in the near future,” she said.
“We hope to develop our children's home model to a stage where we can set up other children's' homes in Thailand and other countries to meet the enormous needs.”
Ms Cavanagh said Samuel’s House was becoming more self-sufficient through starting small businesses such as selling hand-made greeting cards and farmed pigs.
Donations throughout 2007 and 2008 also bought water tanks, new bedding, helped build a new building to house more children and renovated a functional kitchen.
In addition, work is being expanded in 2009 to improve the villagers’ lives in the immediate community.
“We are delighted with the progress of the children since the project started in 2006. The love and joy that radiates from the kids is abundant and genuine. The kindness and compassion they show one another and visitors, their gratitude and the respect for the house parents, are things we have never witnessed before,” Ms Cavanagh said.
“The progress we have made in such a few short years seems unbelievable. It is without a doubt attributed to the hard work of the team, the on-site workers who have loved these children to wholeness, the generosity of many supporters, and the gentle hand of providence that guides us each step of the way.
“It is truly a privilege and a blessing to be a part of it.”
Samuel’s House will hold a function for all supporters on June 20. For more information about Samuel’s House or to get involved, visit samuelshouse.com or email samuelshouse@gmail.com
Media: Tegan Taylor at UQ Communications (07 3365 2659) or Dr Lua (0421 325 321)
.jpg)
