Hands Across the Water

Hands Across the Water Australia was founded by Peter Baines in October 2005, following his work in Thailand in response to the Boxing Day Tsunami. During his time in Thailand Peter became aware of the needs of a number of  Thai children who lost both parents and were living in a tent. Sadly, many had also lost members of their extended families and their homes and villages were destroyed.

Peter wanted to contribute in a more meaningful way to the lives of the many children who had been orphaned by the Tsunami and it was through this belief that Hands Across the Water was born. Hands’ first project was to fund the construction of a home for the orphaned children of the badly damaged Ban Nam Khem region of Phuket (near the Khao Lak resort area) which was opened in August 2006.

Since the opening of the first orphanage Hands Across the Water has raised over $900,000 AUD and has built a second orphanage. We are also supporting the construction of a community centre and the purchase of a rubber plantation to provide a regular income stream and move the orphanage towards longer-term self sustainability.

It has now been four years since the Tsunami and what Peter has discovered is that the fight for normality in the lives of these children is only just beginning!

A group of cyclists have jumped on bikes and are currently pedalling 760kms from Bangkok to Khao Lak, finishing at the Baan Tharn Namchai orphanage. That’s nearly 760kms in 8 days riding! Each rider has raised money for the orphanage with a target of $A 10,000 and of course spread the word on the great work that Hands is doing.

The real pleasure is knowing every cent donated goes directly to the kids – not one cent is spent on administration. The money raised will be used to fund the continuing running costs of both the orphanages and other projects. Our projects are many and of course all cost money.

You can follow the progress of these riders on their journey and view photos at this blog. Check the updates under “Recent Posts” at the top right of this page.