Pittwater Life April 2017 Issue

Lend a ‘Hand’ for kids
charity founded by North
A Narrabeen local Peter
Baines after the 2004 Boxing
Day tsunami marks a significant
milestone next year.
Hands Across the Water,
an organisation supporting
at-risk Thai children has just
launched the program and
opened applications for its 10th
annual fundraising bike rides.
A NSW police forensic
investigator for 22 years, Peter
worked in Bali after the bombings
in 2002 and then in Thailand
following the tsunami,
leading the Australian team in
the identification of the people
who died and the repatriation
of bodies across the world.
After spending several
months in Thailand the
50-year-old father of three
began raising money to build
a home to accommodate a
group of children who had
lost everything.
“I set up ‘hands’ in 2005
then professionally I spent a
couple of years working on
counter terrorism for Interpol
and the United Nations
before resigning at the end of
2008 to work for myself and
‘hands’,” he said.
“We now have seven homes
across Thailand and we have
350 kids who spend each
night with us.
“We have 43 kids who have
graduated from our homes
and are currently studying at
university – two of our kids
have already graduated from
uni, one with a law degree and
one with a business degree.
“Our focus is long term on
the kids,” he explained.
Peter acknowledged an
Australian-based charity
working overseas was existing
in a competitive space – Hands
Across the Water’s niche was
providing “meaningful experiences”
to the supporters who
engaged with it with 100 per
cent of donations going to the
kids and their communities.
There will be eight rides in
Thailand over the charity’s
“riding calendar” from November
through to March. For
more info go to handsacrossthewater.org.au
– Lisa Offord
News
Celebrating 25 Years
APRIL 2017 21