Pattaya Charity 'Hand to Hand' Enters New Chapter with Founder's Farewell

PATTAYA, Thailand – After nearly three decades of work among some of Pattaya’s most vulnerable children and families, Margaret “Margie” Grainger at the Pattaya City Expats Club (PCEC) meeting on September 2, reflected on the origins of the Hand to Hand Foundation, thanked supporters, and introduced Jesse (Jess) Chilver, the woman who will help guide the charity into its next chapter. Margie, who came to Thailand from Australia 29 years ago intending to teach for only two years, told the club that her life changed after a Children’s Day visit to the police jail on Beach Road. Dressed as a clown and carrying only sweets, she found children being held upstairs, including an eight-year-old boy and his three-year-old sister. She returned the next day with chicken, rice, oranges and water — a simple act she described as the beginning of a ministry that would eventually become Hand to Hand. Recalling the beginning of the Hand to Hand Foundation with 9 children in attendance for which she made sandwiches before and after school. The foundation, formally established 17 years ago, now supports children, families, disabled people, prisoners, hospital patients and residents of Pattaya’s poorest communities. Its programs include a free preschool for children from slum communities, Saturday activities offering meals, crafts, English lessons, computer access and homework help, and an adult school serving students from age 12 to 59. Margie said many adult-school students missed formal education because of poverty, trafficking, disability or lack of identity documents. The foundation has also signed an agreement with the education department so students can graduate with recognized certificates. Hand to Hand also provides scholarships, food and supplies for families, prison and hospital outreach, housing support, job training, gardening projects, cooking classes and a soccer program. She said the scholarship program alone costs about 1.8 million baht a year, covering school materials, uniforms, meals and transport for children who might otherwise be unable to continue their studies. At the meeting, Margie also thanked supporters of a recent fundraising walk around Lake Mabprachan. Participants covered a combined 9,190 kilometers and raised 468,000 baht for the foundation, making it one of the organization’s most successful fundraisers. Visit https://www.pattayamail.com/news/hand-to-hand-walk-goes-extra-mile-as-pattaya-honours-margaret-563540 for the Pattaya Mail article about the walk. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The event was also a farewell. Margie said she is returning to Australia to be closer to her family and help support her parents, including her father, who has motor neuron disease. She acknowledged the difficulty of leaving the children and the organization she helped build but said the transition had been carefully prepared. “I didn’t do this alone,” she said. “There’s a massive team out there that are going to keep carrying the weight of this and help these children in the future.” Margie added that the foundation’s board and staff are now fully Thai, calling that development “very, very exciting.” Jess, said her goal is to build on the foundation’s first 17 years while strengthening systems, partnerships and sustainability. She said Hand to Hand must continue to focus on education and long-term pathways from early childhood through school, vocational training and employment. “I don’t see this as the end of an era,” Jess said. “I see it as the beginning of Hand to Hand’s next chapter.” Club members responded with thanks and a standing ovation, praising Margie’s dedication and the foundation’s impact across Pattaya. The meeting also included recognition of the documentary Slumdog Saints: The Women Who Joined Hands, which has helped introduce donors and volunteers to the charity’s work. To view this documentary, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD5POfLvIQM. For many in the room, the gathering marked both a farewell and a handover. Margie’s departure closes a deeply personal chapter in Pattaya’s charitable community, but the message from Hand to Hand’s new leadership was clear: the work will continue, with the same heart and a growing vision for the future. For more information on the Foundation’s charitable activities, visit Following the presentation, MC Ren Lexander brought everyone up to date on upcoming Club events followed by the Open Forum portion of the meeting where questions are asked and comments made about Expat living in Thailand, especially Pattaya. To learn more about the PCEC, visit their website at https:/pcec.club. A video of the presentation can be viewed here on the PCEC’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ0iW-qTJA8.