PHUKET: The Phuket Life Home Project is among the charities to benefit from a highly successful ladyboy volleyball tournament in a Pattaya swimming pool.
The second annual Pattaya Ladyboy Water Volleyball Competition has come and gone, but we didn't hit our revised goal of raising 700,000 baht for Thai charities.
No, I'm pleased - let's say ecstatic - to say that we smashed that goal and raised one million baht for Thai charity. In fact when the final tally comes in from the charity auction and monies paid that have been pledged, we should be slightly over the million mark.
Last year- and I think I can speak for everyone in this instance - we were happily surprised to raise 285,854 baht for charity. This year our original goal was to double that amount and raise 500,000 baht.
I originally had my doubts, as did others, that we would be able to hit that mark. But thanks to many generous donors and sponsors both private and corporate, the ladyboy community of Pattaya, along with help from its sisters in Bangkok and Phuket, has raised 250,000 baht each for Pattaya Rotary Club's Water4Life program, Pattaya's HEARTT 2000, Bangkok's St. Camillus Foundation and Phuket's Life Home Project.
It Really Is All About the Charities
There are many people and organisations to thank along the way to this magic million, and many numbers to review, but let's save that for later.
One of the things many of us involved in this event sometimes forget sometimes is that this is all about raising money for charity (that and illustrating the positive role ladyboys play in our communities).
Charities depend on donations. That may seem obvious, but many worthy charities operate on a hand-to-mouth, month-to-month basis in terms of budget. This year we have four recipient charities, representing the communities participating in the tournament: Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket.
Once again proceeds are going to Pattaya Rotary Club's Water4Life program; the club's Carl Dyson was on hand the night of the event October 26 to receive a 250,000 check. It's impossible to underestimate the impact of this important program.
That may seem like an exaggeration to some, particularly expats that live cosmopolitan Bangkok or places that cater to huge numbers of Western tourists like Pattaya or Phuket.
But outside of Bangkok and the handful of smaller cities in Thailand, the country is still largely rural and many of these rural communities don't have access to safe drinking water.
After looking at and trying different ways to address this program, Rotary Club settled on low-maintenance filtration systems that can last for about five years before requiring replacement installed in villages at large. To date Rotary Club has installed more than 5000 such systems in villages around Thailand, as well as surrounding countries.
Last year part of the money raised in the Pattaya Ladyboy Water Volleyball Tournament went to fund filtration systems in two different rural Thai villages; this year we're pleased to donate a further 250,000 baht for more water treatment systems.
Another 250,000 baht will go directly to another Pattaya charity: HEARTT 2000. Led by Dr. Philippe Seur, HEARTT 2000 is a group of volunteers that assists those afflicted with HIV-AIDS.
Thanks in large part to the efforts of Dr. Seur, his non-profit organisation and their colleagues, Thai people afflicted with HIV-AIDS now have access to free medical care under a federal program with free anti-retroviral drugs; currently some 250,000 Thai people participate in the program.
But as Dr. Seur noted at the banquet following the tournament last Saturday evening, the The Thai government program doesn't cover all anti-retroviral drugs, nor does it cover all of the necessary screenings or treatments for related diseases that those with HIV-AIDS often suffer. HEARTT 2000 helps make up that critical difference.
Furthermore he noted the daunting social stigma and discrimination that Thai people afflicted with the disease face, even though they are receiving treatment and are not a threat to the community at large.
It was quite moving to hear him acknowledge the important contribution the ladyboy communities of Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket were making to this worthy charity - ladyboys themselves often being the subjects of needless discrimination.
It was also particularly heartwarming for the Thai people at the banquet, including the 50 ladyboys that played in the tournament, to hear Dr. Seur deliver his remarks in English and again in fluent Thai.
But Seur wasn't the only one at the banquet that night that proved that farang can master Thai language and its tones that so often confuse us. Father Giovanni Contarin also delivered his remarks at the banquet in both English and Thai.
Father Giovanni founded the non-profit Camillian Home program in Bangkok; it is managed by Camillus Foundation of Thailand; he serves as its director.
Camillian Home provides children living with disabilities, including many suffering from HIV-AIDS, as normal a family life as possible, as well as creating a barrier-free environment for people with disabilities and their families.
As you can imagine, such a program is expensive. Camillian Home depends almost completely on donations; only 4 percent of its budget comes from the Thai government; the remainder comes from donations - individual, corporate and grants.
In his remarks Father Giovanni also touched on the positive role that ladyboys play in their communities, and how his organisation depended on people from all walks of life and backgrounds - Thai and farang, Christian and Buddhist - to keep a program like Camillian Home operating.
The fourth charity to benefit from this year's ladyboy water volleyball tournament with 250,000 baht is Phuket's Life Home Project.
Life Home's aim is to provide a shelter for mothers who are HIV positive and their children where they can live safely in a supportive community; around 40 children and mothers currently reside at the non-profit program's shelter in Phuket.
But the Life Home does more than provide shelter; it also offers a children's day care center, work training for women afflicted with HIV, HIV-AIDs prevention outreach and a scholarship program to support children's education. The program also does community relations, visiting patients in hospital and at home, participating with other organisations in social work.
While the folks at the Life Home Project couldn't be on hand, Jim Howard Smith of Cocktails and Dreams in Phuket, one of our participating volleyball teams, accepted the 250,000 baht check on behalf of the charity.
Numbers on the Day and Many Thanks
Well, before we talk about the numbers that add up to the magic million, let's remember that at the end of the day none of this would happen without the ladyboys and the bars where they work donating their time and effort, not just in playing but in promoting the event and selling sponsorships and tickets.
Eight bars entered teams this year from around Thailand: Baby Boom, Kings II Bar, La Bamba Bar, Sensations and Stringfellows from here in Pattaya; TJ's Music Bar from Naklua; Cocktails and Dreams from Phuket; and Temptations/Cockatoo from Bangkok.
Sensations won the tournament with solid performances throughout the day, with TJ's Music Bar taking second place. Thanks are due to the bars and their participating staff; they literally make the event.
Some of them take the tournament quite seriously, practicing for months beforehand; others are in it for the fun, knowing that it's all for a good cause.
But then it's the customers and friends of these bars that brought in a lot of the money donated this day; there were 85 people who bought 114 total team sponsorships; sponsorships went for 3000 baht a piece.
That translates into 342,000 baht. Three quarters of those people were also on hand for the event.
There were also 202 tickets sold at 1000 baht a piece; there's another 202,000 baht.
Incidentally, about a 150 of those tickets were actually redeemed at the event; so combined with sponsors in attendance there were well over 200 spectators on hand, not to mention tournament participants, organisers and volunteer support staff - my thanks to them as well.
There were 25 separate donations, including some sizable last-minute contributions that put this year's total at one million baht when combined with the auction held the night of the tournament at the banquet.
But we also couldn't have reached the million baht mark without our corporate sponsor, NB Surveys Thailand Co. Ltd., the Thai branch of NB Surveys Global, which kicked in 150,000 baht.
Based in Scotland, NB Global provides surveying services to the oil and gas industry, onshore and offshore, and has offices in Australia, Brunei, India, Malaysia and United Arab Emirates, in addition to its office in Bangkok.
On behalf of our recipient charities and everyone who helped organize or otherwise participated in the 2013 Pattaya Ladyboy Water Volleyball Tournament, thank you NB Surveys.
We also owe a heartfelt thank you to Pattaya's Tiffany's Show. The world famous Tiffany's Show Pattaya is the original transgender cabaret show here and is currently in its 38th year; having Tiffany's come on board was a real shot in the arm for everyone involved this year.
Tiffany's Show was gracious enough to donate tickets to its Miss International Queen 2013 competition, slated for November 1 here in Pattaya.
This competition draws beautiful transgendered women from all over the world, not just Thailand, to compete in an annual pageant and tickets usually sellout beforehand. Needless to say the tickets didn't last long in the charity auction.
Tiffany's also provided polo shirts for each of the ladyboy water volleyball competitors.
How popular did these prove? In spite of the fact that our team members were dressed to the nines for the evening banquet,
once the shirts were handed out, it wasn't long before Tiffany's polo shirts were adorned throughout the crowd around the pool.
And said pool and venue was once again provided by Areca Lodge on Soi Diana. Last year we struggled to find a hotel but the fine folks at Areca came through for us. They did so
again this year, and we are indebted to them for not only hosting the event but the banquet afterward.
Even though it was bigger in size and scope than last year's event, the tournament and banquet went off without a hitch, and this was due in large part to the Areca Lodge staff. It has been a pleasure to work with them.
What Do I Get Out of It?
I get asked this question a lot. It's a fair question, as I'm the first to admit I spend a lot of time - some of my friends might even say an inordinate amount - talking about the tournament in the months leading up to the big day. And while I'm at it let me just publicly thank everyone that has patiently tolerated my obsessing about the ladyboy water volleyball tournament. But then, I'm retired, and you wouldn't want me to have too much time on my hands, now would you?
But in all seriousness, I do my best to make it as transparent as possible and make sure all of the money is accounted for and that it all goes to charity. I cover all my own out of pocket expenses, and everyone else who contributes to the event's production or promotion does so with no remuneration.
I publish all the numbers on the tournament website, as well as sharing them with every contributor or sponsor (once an accountant, always an accountant, after all) and the bars themselves. That's why I'm happy to say that Pattaya Rotary Club became involved this year in the event's organisation; they are a registered, international non-profit organisation,
after all.
So what do I get out of it? Just this: the night of the tournament at the banquet I was approached by someone who works in one of the participating bars. Someone who in the past has voiced the opinion that she wasn't often sure participating in the event was worth the time and effort involved for her bar and staff.
She came up to me noted all of the ladyboys dressed in their evening finery and the smiles on their faces. Then she mentioned the words that Father Giovanni and Dr Seur had said, and how important the contributions were for the charities and the people they helped.
And this Thai woman concluded that yes, this tournament was a good thing - good for ladyboys and for Pattaya. That it was good that people in the community at large who would see ladyboys doing this for charities here in their communities.
So that's my answer. What she said. See you next year.
The second annual Pattaya Ladyboy Water Volleyball Competition has come and gone, but we didn't hit our revised goal of raising 700,000 baht for Thai charities.
No, I'm pleased - let's say ecstatic - to say that we smashed that goal and raised one million baht for Thai charity. In fact when the final tally comes in from the charity auction and monies paid that have been pledged, we should be slightly over the million mark.
Last year- and I think I can speak for everyone in this instance - we were happily surprised to raise 285,854 baht for charity. This year our original goal was to double that amount and raise 500,000 baht.
I originally had my doubts, as did others, that we would be able to hit that mark. But thanks to many generous donors and sponsors both private and corporate, the ladyboy community of Pattaya, along with help from its sisters in Bangkok and Phuket, has raised 250,000 baht each for Pattaya Rotary Club's Water4Life program, Pattaya's HEARTT 2000, Bangkok's St. Camillus Foundation and Phuket's Life Home Project.
It Really Is All About the Charities
There are many people and organisations to thank along the way to this magic million, and many numbers to review, but let's save that for later.
One of the things many of us involved in this event sometimes forget sometimes is that this is all about raising money for charity (that and illustrating the positive role ladyboys play in our communities).
Charities depend on donations. That may seem obvious, but many worthy charities operate on a hand-to-mouth, month-to-month basis in terms of budget. This year we have four recipient charities, representing the communities participating in the tournament: Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket.
Once again proceeds are going to Pattaya Rotary Club's Water4Life program; the club's Carl Dyson was on hand the night of the event October 26 to receive a 250,000 check. It's impossible to underestimate the impact of this important program.
That may seem like an exaggeration to some, particularly expats that live cosmopolitan Bangkok or places that cater to huge numbers of Western tourists like Pattaya or Phuket.
But outside of Bangkok and the handful of smaller cities in Thailand, the country is still largely rural and many of these rural communities don't have access to safe drinking water.
After looking at and trying different ways to address this program, Rotary Club settled on low-maintenance filtration systems that can last for about five years before requiring replacement installed in villages at large. To date Rotary Club has installed more than 5000 such systems in villages around Thailand, as well as surrounding countries.
Last year part of the money raised in the Pattaya Ladyboy Water Volleyball Tournament went to fund filtration systems in two different rural Thai villages; this year we're pleased to donate a further 250,000 baht for more water treatment systems.
Another 250,000 baht will go directly to another Pattaya charity: HEARTT 2000. Led by Dr. Philippe Seur, HEARTT 2000 is a group of volunteers that assists those afflicted with HIV-AIDS.
Thanks in large part to the efforts of Dr. Seur, his non-profit organisation and their colleagues, Thai people afflicted with HIV-AIDS now have access to free medical care under a federal program with free anti-retroviral drugs; currently some 250,000 Thai people participate in the program.
But as Dr. Seur noted at the banquet following the tournament last Saturday evening, the The Thai government program doesn't cover all anti-retroviral drugs, nor does it cover all of the necessary screenings or treatments for related diseases that those with HIV-AIDS often suffer. HEARTT 2000 helps make up that critical difference.
Furthermore he noted the daunting social stigma and discrimination that Thai people afflicted with the disease face, even though they are receiving treatment and are not a threat to the community at large.
It was quite moving to hear him acknowledge the important contribution the ladyboy communities of Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket were making to this worthy charity - ladyboys themselves often being the subjects of needless discrimination.
It was also particularly heartwarming for the Thai people at the banquet, including the 50 ladyboys that played in the tournament, to hear Dr. Seur deliver his remarks in English and again in fluent Thai.
But Seur wasn't the only one at the banquet that night that proved that farang can master Thai language and its tones that so often confuse us. Father Giovanni Contarin also delivered his remarks at the banquet in both English and Thai.
Father Giovanni founded the non-profit Camillian Home program in Bangkok; it is managed by Camillus Foundation of Thailand; he serves as its director.
Camillian Home provides children living with disabilities, including many suffering from HIV-AIDS, as normal a family life as possible, as well as creating a barrier-free environment for people with disabilities and their families.
As you can imagine, such a program is expensive. Camillian Home depends almost completely on donations; only 4 percent of its budget comes from the Thai government; the remainder comes from donations - individual, corporate and grants.
In his remarks Father Giovanni also touched on the positive role that ladyboys play in their communities, and how his organisation depended on people from all walks of life and backgrounds - Thai and farang, Christian and Buddhist - to keep a program like Camillian Home operating.
The fourth charity to benefit from this year's ladyboy water volleyball tournament with 250,000 baht is Phuket's Life Home Project.
Life Home's aim is to provide a shelter for mothers who are HIV positive and their children where they can live safely in a supportive community; around 40 children and mothers currently reside at the non-profit program's shelter in Phuket.
But the Life Home does more than provide shelter; it also offers a children's day care center, work training for women afflicted with HIV, HIV-AIDs prevention outreach and a scholarship program to support children's education. The program also does community relations, visiting patients in hospital and at home, participating with other organisations in social work.
While the folks at the Life Home Project couldn't be on hand, Jim Howard Smith of Cocktails and Dreams in Phuket, one of our participating volleyball teams, accepted the 250,000 baht check on behalf of the charity.
Numbers on the Day and Many Thanks
Well, before we talk about the numbers that add up to the magic million, let's remember that at the end of the day none of this would happen without the ladyboys and the bars where they work donating their time and effort, not just in playing but in promoting the event and selling sponsorships and tickets.
Eight bars entered teams this year from around Thailand: Baby Boom, Kings II Bar, La Bamba Bar, Sensations and Stringfellows from here in Pattaya; TJ's Music Bar from Naklua; Cocktails and Dreams from Phuket; and Temptations/Cockatoo from Bangkok.
Sensations won the tournament with solid performances throughout the day, with TJ's Music Bar taking second place. Thanks are due to the bars and their participating staff; they literally make the event.
Some of them take the tournament quite seriously, practicing for months beforehand; others are in it for the fun, knowing that it's all for a good cause.
But then it's the customers and friends of these bars that brought in a lot of the money donated this day; there were 85 people who bought 114 total team sponsorships; sponsorships went for 3000 baht a piece.
That translates into 342,000 baht. Three quarters of those people were also on hand for the event.
There were also 202 tickets sold at 1000 baht a piece; there's another 202,000 baht.
Incidentally, about a 150 of those tickets were actually redeemed at the event; so combined with sponsors in attendance there were well over 200 spectators on hand, not to mention tournament participants, organisers and volunteer support staff - my thanks to them as well.
There were 25 separate donations, including some sizable last-minute contributions that put this year's total at one million baht when combined with the auction held the night of the tournament at the banquet.
But we also couldn't have reached the million baht mark without our corporate sponsor, NB Surveys Thailand Co. Ltd., the Thai branch of NB Surveys Global, which kicked in 150,000 baht.
Based in Scotland, NB Global provides surveying services to the oil and gas industry, onshore and offshore, and has offices in Australia, Brunei, India, Malaysia and United Arab Emirates, in addition to its office in Bangkok.
On behalf of our recipient charities and everyone who helped organize or otherwise participated in the 2013 Pattaya Ladyboy Water Volleyball Tournament, thank you NB Surveys.
We also owe a heartfelt thank you to Pattaya's Tiffany's Show. The world famous Tiffany's Show Pattaya is the original transgender cabaret show here and is currently in its 38th year; having Tiffany's come on board was a real shot in the arm for everyone involved this year.
Tiffany's Show was gracious enough to donate tickets to its Miss International Queen 2013 competition, slated for November 1 here in Pattaya.
This competition draws beautiful transgendered women from all over the world, not just Thailand, to compete in an annual pageant and tickets usually sellout beforehand. Needless to say the tickets didn't last long in the charity auction.
Tiffany's also provided polo shirts for each of the ladyboy water volleyball competitors.
How popular did these prove? In spite of the fact that our team members were dressed to the nines for the evening banquet,
once the shirts were handed out, it wasn't long before Tiffany's polo shirts were adorned throughout the crowd around the pool.
And said pool and venue was once again provided by Areca Lodge on Soi Diana. Last year we struggled to find a hotel but the fine folks at Areca came through for us. They did so
again this year, and we are indebted to them for not only hosting the event but the banquet afterward.
Even though it was bigger in size and scope than last year's event, the tournament and banquet went off without a hitch, and this was due in large part to the Areca Lodge staff. It has been a pleasure to work with them.
What Do I Get Out of It?
I get asked this question a lot. It's a fair question, as I'm the first to admit I spend a lot of time - some of my friends might even say an inordinate amount - talking about the tournament in the months leading up to the big day. And while I'm at it let me just publicly thank everyone that has patiently tolerated my obsessing about the ladyboy water volleyball tournament. But then, I'm retired, and you wouldn't want me to have too much time on my hands, now would you?
But in all seriousness, I do my best to make it as transparent as possible and make sure all of the money is accounted for and that it all goes to charity. I cover all my own out of pocket expenses, and everyone else who contributes to the event's production or promotion does so with no remuneration.
I publish all the numbers on the tournament website, as well as sharing them with every contributor or sponsor (once an accountant, always an accountant, after all) and the bars themselves. That's why I'm happy to say that Pattaya Rotary Club became involved this year in the event's organisation; they are a registered, international non-profit organisation,
after all.
So what do I get out of it? Just this: the night of the tournament at the banquet I was approached by someone who works in one of the participating bars. Someone who in the past has voiced the opinion that she wasn't often sure participating in the event was worth the time and effort involved for her bar and staff.
She came up to me noted all of the ladyboys dressed in their evening finery and the smiles on their faces. Then she mentioned the words that Father Giovanni and Dr Seur had said, and how important the contributions were for the charities and the people they helped.
And this Thai woman concluded that yes, this tournament was a good thing - good for ladyboys and for Pattaya. That it was good that people in the community at large who would see ladyboys doing this for charities here in their communities.
So that's my answer. What she said. See you next year.
For all those who knock Ladyboys and the bad press they sometimes get my hat is off to Jim, Ning Nong and the staff of C&D- 250k to Lifehome is far more than others contribute. Pardon the pun but put your money where your mouths are.
Posted by Mister Ree on November 8, 2013 22:43