January SAC Pool Party

On Tuesday, January 3, Sarah Bromfield, Director of Support-A-Child, was up bright and early running errands and preparing for the big afternoon - A POOL PARTY!  Thanks to Sarah’s innovative ideas and generous funds, she single-handedly coordinated a celebration for the children and a chance for the Breisch Family to meet and interact with them.  Balloons, rafts, candy, goodie bags, squirt guns, scuba diving gear and even an elephant were at the party.

At 2 p.m., buses ventured to the local schools and picked up the children and parents; they were then taken to Cousin’s Resort (some by elephant) in Bang Niang, where the pool party took place.  Festivities ran from 3:00 – 5:30 p.m. 
 
When the children arrived, they apprehensively stood around the pool, unsure whether to get in or not.  But after twenty minutes, each child was swimming and enjoying their time in the pool.  Even a light sprinkle of rain didn’t stop the children from getting out of the pool.  “You could see in each child eyes, that they were having the time of their lives,” said Ali Matthews, a 4Kali.org volunteer and temporary lifeguard at the party.

There were plenty of volunteers available to give the children individual attention if they were unable to swim or frightened by the water.  4Kali.org also had plenty of rafts and floating devices to help the children feel more at ease in the water.  Parents enjoyed each other’s company and got to see their children’s excited faces as some of them went in a pool for the first time. 

A special thanks to Ecotourism Training Center (ETC) for their time and generosity.  ETC provided scuba diving gear and volunteers to help demonstrate the diving techniques with the children; how to breathe properly, how the oxygen tank works.  The children absolutely loved this aspect of the party and we are grateful to ETC.  Thank you!

Also, a huge thanks to Cousin’s Resort for allowing the pool party to take place at their newly completed resort.  They were so hospitable and helpful with everything we needed.

The party came to an end around 5:30.  “The kids really didn’t want to get out of the water, you could tell they didn’t want the party to end,” said Ana Mouna, 4Kali.org volunteer.  Once we convinced the children it was time to leave,  they received goodie bags with treats and toys and piled back on the buses.  It was a great time had by all