CARING FROM PHUKET TO BRIGHTON

RMTnews :: october 2007 :: www.rmt.org.uk 20 2008 London orphan fund calendars! Calendars featuring either steam trains, modern trains or vintage buses are available for £5 each. 2008 London orphan fund diaries also available for £2. Please send your order to: Mark Harding Unity House 39 Chalton Street London NW1 1JD This summer bungalow number one, bearing the RMT logo, was opened in the Sunshine Orphan Village in Phuket, Thailand which will care for eight children and a ‘mother’ to care for them. RMT’s London Widows and Orphans Fund fund secretary Jim Stevenson said that the idea to open such a shelter for these vulnerable children came after the devastating Tsunami that hit the region on Boxing Day 2004. Today Jim, who is also an RMT regional organiser, and the fund committee are looking for members to sponsor the children so they can grow and develop in a safe environment. “Following investigations we found out that the cost of housing, schooling and food is about £400 per child per year or £3,200 for all the children in the RMT-sponsored bungalow,” said Jim. The fund committee is asking individuals to donate £10 or more on an annual basis to sponsor the children. “We are also inviting people to act as pen pal ‘mums and dads’ to the eight children to maintain contact with the children and keep each other informed of events,” he said. For more information on the project visit www.phuketsunshinevillage.org and for a standing order mandate to sponsor an orphan contact Jim Stevenson in the RMT South East region office at Unity House in London. LONDON OUTING The London Widows and Orphans Fund recently took over a hundred orphans and widows of members on a day- out to Brighton recently. The fund committee negotiated for Southern trains to donate the tickets to and from Brighton and Gatwick Express provided picnics for the orphans. After a full day out, including a visit to the Brighton marina, the day trippers enjoyed an evening event at the Brighton railway club jointly organised with the Brighton Widows and Orphans Fund (below). The committee raises most of its funds from selling diaries and calendars advertised below and through donations. Anyone wishing to join the committee should contact Jim Stevenson in the RMT South East region office at Unity House in London. RMT’s London Widows and Orphans Fund is raising funds to help orphans here and in Thailand CARING FROM PHUKET TO BRIGHTON