The Brackett Foundation

enote 2              May 31, 2003

 

Introduction

 

On the first day of May, the Rotary Club of Hamilton, had its "Roses for the Living Award" night.  Tapestry, the a capella singing group in which Tom is a member, was asked to sing for the occasion, and Liz was invited by our minister to attend.  And so it happened that we were both there, an otherwise not likely prospect.   It turned out to be a ruse to get us both there because our work in the Foundation was being honored. Three of our children showed up, Liz's elder brother and sister showed up, and several persons with whom we had worked in the past.  All gave short talks on our family and work.   Although Tom felt a little silly in his Tapestry costume, the ceremony was a very fine occasion, and we are deeply honored by it.

 

Question

 

What are your living arrangements when you are in Thailand and India?

 

Answer

 

When we first went, we stayed in a Karen refugee camp in Thailand.  The Karen had built a hut of bamboo for us, and gave us a person to cook and to clean.  The camps are now closed and we can no longer do that.  Now we stay in simple hotels in the various towns nearby to the people we serve.  Food and room costs vary widely, but outside of Bangkok average about $25 a day

 

Student of the Month Julay

Julay gets our award for hard work.   He left school as a young lad and fought for the Karen army, for seventeen years.  Now he has a family with two daughters attending school. To provide for them he helps setup the night market. This job is a split shift starting from 1pm to 3pm for setup, and 1am to 3am for take down.  He goes to school at night, and has taken an additional job as a gardener on weekends.  Now that he has finished high school and done very well, he is planning to attend college in Political Science. He says,  “from what I can understand no person is expert in Political Science”. 

 

Current Activities

  • Working on the Spring Newsletter and Annual Financial Report.
  • Liz gave a talk on our work to a local church.
  • Planning a meeting of the Hamilton Area Leadership Council.
  • Finishing up our agreements and first payments for projects and scholarships..

 

Tom & Liz

If you are interested in seeing our web site, click here.

(315) 824-3435   The Brackett Foundation P.O. Box 8 Hamilton, NY 13346   tomb@twcny.rr.com

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