our story
Father Ray Brennan, a Catholic priest was assigned to the Bangkok dioceses in the early 1970's. He noticed that many orphans had to fend for themselves in the streets of Thai cities. This was at the time of the Vietnam conflict, and there had been a large contingent of American military. Some of the children were there as a result of troops interacting with the local population, some children were abandoned by their parents, some lost their parents, and some were in the streets for prostitution. Father Brennan decided to open an orphanage in Pattaya (a coastal city 120 miles south-east of Bangkok) in 1974, for all children to have a shelter. Read More
areas of service
the pattaya orphanage
In 1974, Father Ray Brennan started an orphanage while serving as a chaplain in the military during the Vietnam conflict. Most of the children there were half-Thai / half-American. They were "Throw away children" - children no one wanted or cared about. They had no place to go and had no one willing to help them. Father Brennan stepped in.
Today, more than 275 children and infants have a safe and happy home. Today, most all caregivers grew up at the Pattaya Orphanage. The school for the blind
In 1987, The School for Blind Children was founded. Father Ray found it difficult to find a local school to teach one of his blind orphans. To correct this, he started The School for the Blind. The school teaches students to become independent. They learn skills that help them obtain jobs. The school is rated as the best school for blind children by both the International Association of the Blind, and the United Nations.
home for street kids
In 1990, the "Home for the Street Kids" was founded. In the late 1980's
Pattaya had become a world center for child prostitution. Initially,
Father Ray Brennan helped the children who wanted to escape this
troubled life by providing them a home at the Orphanage. It became
apparent that this would not work, as the street kids had experienced
troubles and gained knowledge that should not be shared with the
younger orphans.
There is now a drop-in center near the Red Light District, offering refuge for the children. There, they receive needed medical care, get cleaned, and move into the Home for Street Kids, also known as "The Farm". "The Farm" is far from the dangers of the Red Light District. Here the children live on a beautiful countryside farm. Over 225 children currently reside at "The Farm" where they receive a good education, learning skills that will allow them to find good jobs, or even to go to college. 13 graduates from "The Farm" are now attending college |
the school for the deaf
One of the infant orphans from the Pattaya Orphanage was deaf and was rejected by the ill-equipped public schools. To ensure a proper education for all his orphans, Father Ray founded the School for Deaf Children in 1984.
He then invited poor, deaf children - orphaned or not - from nearby villages. The school prepares these children to become main-streamed into the public schools. They learn communication and job skills. At the time of its founding, it was the only school for poor, deaf children in that part of the world. Today, over 100 children attend the school. the redemptorist school for the disabled
In 1984, Father Ray founded the "Redemptorist Vocational School for the Disabled", locally known as "Ma Ha Thai". Students are taught computer science, electronics, video production, and graphic arts. The school's principal and all its instructors are former students of the school.
The United Nations uses the school as a model; they consider it to be the best of its type in the world. All 275+ graduates have good jobs waiting for them! the children's shelter at wat bot
The "Children's Shelter" at Wat Bot was built on a large piece of land donated by Lion John Doogan and his wife Hathaikan (Wi).
In 1999, Wi was on a visit to Wat Bot, Thailand, the village of her birth. Her brother-in-law, a leading educator in the area, told her that "many children were going to school without shoes and suitable clothing to wear. Many had no food to eat for lunch." He continued to explain that the local schools had no computers to teach the students about their use. Lion John and his wife decided to act: First, they donated a piece of land they owned to build a shelter for distributing food, clothing, and a place to teach computer skills. Second, they established a program that guaranteed all children shoes and clothing to wear as well as food to eat at lunch and after school. Next, the Doogans donated the school's first computers. Today, the "Children's Shelter of Wat Bot" serves as a distribution center for food and clothing (Much of the food is grown by the children on the shelter's land), a school to teach Computer science and English, a temporary orphanage, a haven for the abused and a refuge for families in need. |
