Bangkok--22 Jan--Total Quality PR A petition by the Pattaya Orphanage Trust in the UK has been organised through their website www.pattayaorphanage.org.uk . The petition urgently calls for a negotiated agreement with the new management of the orphanage so that funds from sponsors in the UK can be resumed to support the children in the Pattaya Orphanage, Pattaya, Thailand. The London-based Trust is appealing to the local diocesan charity in Pattaya, the Pattaya Children Support Foundation (PCSF), which assumed management responsibility for the Pattaya Orphanage and the Deaf School on 1 January 2008, to discuss a written settlement in order to comply with UK registered charity requirements. The Pattaya Orphanage Trust UK provides some 40 per cent of the income to the Pattaya Orphanage in Thailand. It needs, however, to have formal reassurances on child protection and the use of funds, in the same way that it had under the previous 30-year management of Father Ray and - following his death in 2003, the subsequent Father Ray Foundation, managed in his name by the Redemptorists. Support is gathering pace from across the world on the Trust’s website, with a mounting number of messages urging the PCSF to come to the table and discuss a formal agreement. Relatives of Father Ray give impassioned pleas with his sister, Sharron Brennan Purtell, saying, ‘Please do not destroy the good works of the Pattaya Orphanage Trust. The works of my brother, Fr Ray, must go on’, and his niece, Megan Nichols, urging the PCSF to ‘agree to the continued partnership with the Pattaya Orphanage Trust. They have been instrumental in helping so many children in such a unique, unselfish way.’ To date, despite several letters from the Chair of the UK Trustees, no response has been received — the last communiqu? being received by the diocese in November 2007. “This is the ‘Last Chance Saloon’”, says Andrew Scadding, Chief Executive of the Pattaya Orphanage Trust UK. “Either we reach an agreement now or we jeopardise the sponsorship programme for the Pattaya Orphanage which has been running for over 20 years and which has helped hundreds of children. We want to resume our funding but we have to abide by our charitable status. ”We are not sure that the Bishop of the Chantaburi Diocese fully appreciates the serious social and economic consequences of his refusal to discuss our concerns; what it means for the longer-term goodwill of our generous supporters and, more importantly, the lives of the vulnerable young children now in his care. Notes to Editors 1. Spokespeople from the Trust are available for interview. Please contact the numbers above. 2. The other projects within the family of the Pattaya Orphanage Trust UK remain unaffected. These are the Blind School, the Vocational School, the Street Kids Home and Drop-In Centre. 3. The Pattaya Orphanage Trust supports vulnerable and disadvantage children in Thailand. The charity helps orphans, disabled children, children with HIV, tsunami survivors and street children, providing a home, a education and a future for almost 1,000 children, and reaching out to thousands more through health and nutrition projects. Further information: Patricia Orr. T. +44 20 7592 1980 +44 (0) 7889 140139 Media inquiries: Total Quality PR (Thailand) Co. Ltd. Tom Van Blarcom / Bew Chartvivatpornchai Tel. 02 260 5820 Ext. 119 Fax 02 260 5847 — 8 E-mail : [email protected], [email protected]