The Roaming Pikes

Work…

Christy

Christy and kids spend a fair bit of time in our café which is conveniently right next to our apartment. This location has become a key place for all sorts of people to meet as they come for meetings, volunteering and of course a really good coffee!

Last week she was in there and seated at the table next to her was a group of people who were visiting from Africa. They are submitting an application form to request a shipment of goods from us and were meeting to discuss their work. A container from us can help to furnish places such a school, a hospital or an orphanage. It can be a huge blessing to the recipients as it enables them to help more hurting and poor in their communities. In a busy day of chasing children and changing nappies it was such a good reminder of why we are here doing what we do. At times we forget that we are living perhaps differently then we would in our home countries. Our normal life consists of boxes, 40 foot long containers, forklifts, daily interacting with people from over twenty nations, thinking it is cool at 30 degrees, battling the biggest ant infestations ever seen and seeking ways to encourage the local community in helping those in need.

Tom

In the past month Tom has been helping an Australian man collect, repair and prepare medical equipment for shipment to a medical centre in remote Papua New Guinea. The centre was once a hospital that served the needs of the local population. In recent decades it was ‘demoted’ from hospital to medical centre after it became neglected and rundown because of a lack of funding and poor maintenance. The centre is currently unfit for patients, it has no running water, power for only five hours per day and no patient access to toilets.

Local people who should have used the centre as their closest facility for life-threatening conditions like malaria, tuberculosis or neonatal illness have been choosing instead to travel many more miles to a larger hospital. Others, unable to travel further, simply seek no treatment at all or rely on traditional village remedies.

Things are about to change, a non-profit organisation in Papua New Guinea has been restoring the centre. The only thing missing is the furniture and medical equipment that will truly bring it to life. This month we loaded a large quantity of high quality, valuable medical equipment donated by Hong Kong hospitals, as well as office furniture, computers, wheelchairs and consumable medical supplies. The monetary value of these goods is enormous and we were so thankful to be able help this hospital become operational once more.

Looking for a Change?

We were inspired the other day after speaking to some friends of ours who were seeking a change in life. We jokingly suggested that they should come join us in Hong Kong to work alongside us. Surprisingly just a few days later we received an email that they were bringing their entire family for three months! So to you, dear reader, we extend the same offer, come join us in helping the poor. Our organisation has some urgent needs:

• Accountants: We lost one of our accountants at the end of last year. We are urgently seeking one more.
• PA to Directors: Our director is in urgent need of PA support.
• Actors, teachers and those with ‘youth worker’ skills for our Global X-perience simulations.
• Graphic designer: We need one full time, on staff, in order for our Communications Dept to manage its load.
• Phones: Our reception area needs support; someone with a heart to communicate.
• Help for our Locals Outgoing Goods Office: one with Cantonese skills and a love for people in need.

We also have ongoing needs for people:

• with IT & COMPUTER skills: web designers, software developers and systems administrators.
• with ADMINISTRATION skills: PAs, managers, systems analysts, book-keepers.
• with WAREHOUSING skills: packers, forklift drivers, inventory managers, truck drivers.
• with COMMUNICATION skills: public speakers, grant writers, translators, graphic designers, digital designers, layout specialists.
• with TEACHING skills: people short and long term, primary and secondary.
• with CATERING skills: a cook is needed to help supervise the preparation of lunch meals for over 100 people each day.
• with HUMAN RESOURCES skills: training and member care skills, care-givers, cooks/caterers, counsellors.
• with CONSTRUCTION skills: landscapers, ‘handyman’ enthusiasts, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, engineers, architects, gardeners.
• with CAFÉ & MARKETPLACE skills: buyers, sellers, servers, baristas.
• with THEATRE skills: actors, producers, dancers.
• with DESIGN skills: people for set construction, theatre production.

If you see yourself in any of the above, please feel free to contact us.

A Little Bit of History…

We currently reside and work on an old British military base. There is much history on this site and we sometimes have the opportunity to meet people who lived here many years ago. This particular building on our site is going to be listed as of historical significance in Hong Kong. It is now a beautiful building that is often used for corporate teams having a day of service or as place to socialise as a team. You may also note the large, old looking trees in the area. During World War II most trees were cut down for firewood except for those on the untouchable military bases. As a result, we have a large variety and some of the oldest trees in Hong Kong.

Family…

Evelyn

Evelyn has had her first two teeth come through and is dealing with it rather bravely. She gets excited when the tube of gum numbing Bonjella is waved in front of her. We have tried several foods with her but to this point she is not the least bit interested in them (an enormous contrast to Peter who couldn’t get enough from first spoonful!). She is a joyful little girl who loves watching her big brother run laps around her.

Peter

Peter is loving his time in preschool and learning new things each day. We are enjoying watching him grow and are proud of our considerate little guy. He will often run to the kitchen and come back with enough little cups for each of us to have a drink or bowls for a snack. Peter’s train obsession continues, everything becomes a train track and he will often be found with a selection of trains keeping him company in bed.

Bruno

Turtle Update: Some may recall we had a turtle for many years. You may be sad to hear that, in what must have been the slowest escape in history, Bruno (the turtle) climbed out of his tank, jumped off the balcony and has escaped into the wild. In all honesty, we are a bit relieved after discovering how long turtles actually live and not knowing what to do with him! Think we will stick with kids rather than pets for now.

Packing

As you may recall from our last newsletter, we were heading to Australia for a wedding in July. The kids did very well with all the car and plane travel and although we barely slept the whole 3 weeks, we survived! As you can see they quite enjoyed packing!

Cairns

We had almost a week in Cairns (which is here for non Australian readers) and were able to do a few special things for Peter. We went to a crocodile farm where Peter was able to watch some live crocodiles in action and pet some more friendly animals like the wallaby. We also spent a night on a banana plantation where Peter was in banana heaven. He often speaks of the ‘nana trees with much commitment in his voice.

Sydney

We were again touched by the kindness of so many while in Sydney. It was such a reminder of the wonderful family and connections that have been built through our time here. To those who think of us regularly we thank you! Simple things that we enjoy and try to never take for granted; being able to drive to the shops and buy food for more than a day at a time, stroller access everywhere, amazing variety of fresh food, parks and McDonald’s playgrounds!

A Month of Photos

We now find ourselves in the middle of June and can’t believe how fast this year has gone! We continue to enjoy watching the kids grow and learn new things each day. We are entering the heat of the Hong Kong summer and trying our best to stay cool. Peter has developed a keen interest in Popsicles and would eat them for every meal if we let him. Evelyn chatters up a storm if you look at her and encourage her to respond in any way.

Peter

It has been a remarkable month of growth for Peter; he has started to speak a great deal, has taken to sharing, jumping, singing and is now completely obsessed with Disneyland. He now starts the day with a rendition of the Small, Small World Clock, including re-enactments of the chimes, gongs and marching around the room singing.

Evelyn

Evelyn has grown amazingly quickly, so much so she is now well above the 97^th percentile lines for both height and weight as she turned three months old. She has started to laugh, and is now freely rolling over keeping us on our toes- the house is no longer safe!

Work

Christy was able to attend a food expo a few weeks ago in search of some new products for the fair trade cafe on our site. She met some great companies, drank some good coffee and has been busy coordinating new local suppliers of fair trade, organic soy milk and some social enterprise baked goods to stock our displays.

Tom has been kept busy keeping the systems running. It is amazing to see what he is able to do with such a small staff of one =). A few weeks ago, he attended the biggest fundraiser we have ever held as an organisation. It was host by a famous fashion designer who has participated in the experiential activities held on our site. He was inspired and wanted to bring the issues of poverty before his sphere of influence. It was an impressive night both in presentations and in the guest list. The results were very encouraging and will enable to us to send shipments that have been held up by lack of funds and will allow us to take forward many desperately needed improvements around site. The end result, as with all of our work, is that we will be able to help more people, more effectively.

You Know It is Summer When…

• After drying off from a shower, you’re just as wet as before.
• There’s no difference between the hot water tap and cold water tap, everything is hot.
• The cacophony of cicadas makes outdoor conversations impossible.
• The rattle of ancient air-conditioners makes indoor conversations impossible.
• Swarms of dragonflies announce approaching typhoons.
• It‟s so hot that the weatherman gives us “hot weather warnings”. We would never have known otherwise!
• It’s 30 degrees at 6am.
• Everyone sweats. Even the buildings.

Coming to Australia in July

We haven’t given much warning of our visit to Australia but we are coming down for Tom’s brother’s wedding in Cairns and then on to Sydney to catch up with friends. We will also be introducing Evelyn to Australia who will receive her passport just days before we fly! Our time is short but we hope to catch up with as many people as possible with two little folk in tow. Please contact us and let us know if you are interested in a cup of tea, a game of bocci or having us share about what we do with any groups you are involved in. We depart to Cairns on the 3^rd of July and will arrive in Sydney on the 12^th until the 24^th July.

Support

This morning we stared into our coin jar. Some weeks this precious jar is what we live off of and we are again at one of those weeks. Wonderfully and amazingly, we have never made it to the bottom of the jar without some funding coming in to help cover whatever costs we are facing. When we lived in Sydney we too sometimes lived on our coin jar but we knew that a set pay day was coming, we just had to make it to the end of the week. As we were in the process of writing this update, we received an email from a group in the US with a wonderful message that they will be helping to support us for the next year. Another friend arrived at our door with nappies for both kids when we were down to our last few wondering what we would do when they ran out. These gifts are a huge encouragement and for them, and all our other supporters, we are very thankful!

We have some larger expenses coming up in the next few weeks that we’d appreciate your thoughts for cover over.  If you are interested in assisting, please follow the link here to a list of specific needs that are before us.

July

July is a special month for us as it will be our 6^th anniversary and Peter’s 3^rd birthday. We are looking forward to celebrating these important days as a family.

Evelyn

Evelyn has been growing steadily these past two months and is a happy, quiet little girl. She has big brown eyes and dark hair looking much like Tom did as a baby. She has started to smile and enjoys playing on her mat, swatting at the toys above her. She is a good sleeper and so we are coping pretty well with less sleep!

Christy has recovered well from the cesarean and found the whole hospital time a much better experience than with Peter. We of course were very thankful to leave and get home with Evelyn!

Peter

Peter started attending a preschool in January along with the four other kids under five that also live here. He has been enjoying singing, dancing, learning letters and numbers. His favorite number is currently “5″ which is linked to giving a hi five after completing one of his many wooden puzzles. He is adjusting very well to being a big brother and happily gives Evelyn kisses and is always wanting to share toys to help her stop crying.

Home

We are enjoying being a family of four and adjusting to life with two little people to keep fed and happy. We are continually amazed at the generosity of those that support us and we thank you again for those that have joined with us to enable our part in this work to continue. In the past few months, we have also had several visitors that have been both a joy and a huge help to us in a variety of ways.

Visitors

We have gained a number of new friends in recent months, all of whom Petey has embraced with open arms. We have had visits from Marjorie, Jenny, Kate (Christy’s sister) and Tom’s mum.

Work

Electrical

The past months have seen Tom undertake a lot of electrical work on the site. One of the joys of an elderly facility is the “character” of the buildings. Our organisation is doing a lot of wonderful work, much of which the buildings were never designed for. It is often a rewarding but challenging task to upgrade the existing aging infrastructure to support all of the new directions in which our organisation is heading. The electrical work that Tom has been putting in place will air-condition the fair trade marketplace, keep the coffee machine in the cafe hot and allow us to keep the many websites our organisation operates working.

Christy

Christy has kept an eye on her work for both our fair trade cafe and accounts tasks, but has been primarily focusing on keeping the kids well. It is very convenient living onsite so she is able to help out where and when she can, we have moved to a larger flat with the birth of Evelyn which takes us even closer to the cafe!

Japan

We have been asked by several people what we have been doing for the people of Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami. We have been speaking with groups who are on the ground in Japan and have a local knowledge of what kind of aid will be most effective and helpful at this time. One issue that is becoming a desperate concern to many aid workers is that on top of the trauma, loss, injuries and illnesses facing the survivors the weather is still bitterly cold with snow in some areas.

We have sent two consignments; one of blankets another of clothing for distribution to those so badly affected by this disaster. Because of power shortages, even places with electric heating have had to turn the heating off, leaving people to huddle around kerosene lamps or simply rely on what layers of warm clothing and blankets they can find.

Travel

We will be heading to Australia in early July to celebrate the wedding of Tom’s brother, Sam. We will be in Cairns for the wedding and then heading down the Sydney afterwards. We would love to catch up in either location and would especially appreciate the opportunity to share about our work.

Support

None of the staff within our organisation are paid, from the directors down. We work for free to serve those in need both locally in Hong Kong and around the world. We are very grateful to the many people who have and continue to support us in what we believe is an important work that is making a real difference to the lives of many around the world. If you are interested in partnering with us in any way (financial or otherwise), we would love to hear from you. For more information please see our Support Us page.