I am raising money to support the children of Hands Across the Water because I believe that all children deserve to build a future full of possibilities, opportunities and dreams - a life of choice, not chance.

This July, I will be embarking on what will likely be my last 500km charity bike ride through northern Thailand, following the Mae Khong through one of the poorest regions of Thailand.

For this ride, I need to raise a minimum of $5,000 to support the work of the charity, Hands Across The Water, an Australian registered charity originally set up in response to the Tsunami of 2004 that killed over 5,000 Thai nationals.

My first contact with Hands was through my daughter, Eleanor who heard the story of Hands at school from the founder, Peter Baines. Peter was a forensic policeman with the AFP leading the international contingent in identifying and recovering bodies (and body parts) after the Tsunami. It was a life-changing period for Peter and unable to settle down in Australia, Peter returned to Thailand and was overwhelmed by the number of abandoned orphans eking out subsistence living in unimaginable ways. From this experience, HATW was born and today, supports 350 children living in 7 homes and projects across Thailand.

My first ride in 2014 through the same region as this, was gruelling and demanding. Peter led the ride and whenever we flagged, he would say, you can endure this discomfort for just a few days, so that the children you are helping need not have to endure their hardships for life. And so, we did, every person completing the ride.

In 2015, on my second ride, I rode through the temple grounds where 2000 bodies had been laid out for identification and cremation. The horror would have been unimaginable. 

2019 was my third ride. Why do I keep riding for Hands?  The three rides that I have been on have been incredibly emotional, the experience, profound and rewarding.   It is unimaginable to us, living here in Australia that a better option for a parent would be to have your child in prostitution or begging on the streets or failing all else, abandoned. What Hands has done is not only to provide shelter and nourishment, but hope, and a future for these children. Many of the children of the various orphanages are now gainfully employed and 47 are at university. Many come back to support the homes.

At the end of June this year, 45 of us will embark on the 500km bicycle ride, 100km per day in hot humid conditions, each paying our own way and raising a minimum of $5000 that will be donated to the charity.

Help me raise the funds for my last ride. Every donation counts - what little we do will have an unimaginably profound and lasting effect on the children at the orphanages. By supporting these children, so much less fortunate than us and our own, I feel it is a little thank you to the universe for our fortunate lives.

All donations go directly towards the running of the orphanages and are tax deductible.