a trip to remember

For model and television presenter Brodie Harper, Thailand is more than just fun and sun

WORDS CATRIONA GILLIES LAWSON

Photos: Paiwan Benjakal and
Brodie Harper

From her modelling days on the catwalk to her current job as presenter for Channel Nine’s Postcards, one constant in Brodie Harper’s life has been her commitment to helping children – most recently, as a World Vision child sponsor.

Harper’s family has always sponsored a World Vision child, so it was natural for her to then sponsor her own child. She and her fiancé Heath Meldrum recently returned from visiting the child they sponsor, Uraiwan, in Thailand. It was an enriching experience for the young couple and one Harper wants to share with as many people as possible.

“Sponsoring children through World Vision was always part of my family life so it’s never been a question of not doing it – it’s more, why wouldn’t everyone want to help?” she says. “When Heath and I were in a position where we could sponsor a child, we went straight to World Vision. We’re encouraging our friends to do the same.”

Many other children like Uraiwan need sponsoring and Harper and Meldrum are determined to raise awareness among their friends and colleagues.

“We take far too much for granted here and it’s easy to forget that there are children living close by who don’t have basic staples in their lives, like clean water, food and shelter. Imagine how much better the world would be if we all took some responsibility.”

Harper and Meldrum chose Thailand because they have developed a special bond with the country.

“This is our fourth trip – our first was before the tsunami and we’ve always been struck by the beautiful, friendly nature of the Thai people. No matter how difficult things are, Thai people just rally and get on with it, with kindness and a smile on their face.”

For Harper, the trip meant a chance to see first-hand how a little help can make a huge difference to the lives of disadvantaged children.

“It was exciting to go as part of World Vision to visit Uraiwan. I was struck by the energy of the World Vision team in Thailand who organised the visit. They are young and so completely dedicated to improving and enriching the lives of Thai communities that you can’t help but get excited to be a part of it.”

Harper and Meldrum spent the morning at Uraiwan’s primary school where they presented the headmaster with a large and detailed map of Australia and showed the children where they lived and how far they had travelled.

“It was wonderful to spend time with Uraiwan at her school and to see how eager the children are to learn about the world,” says Harper.

It was a day of excitement at
Uraiwan’s school when two Aussies
dropped in

“For many Thai children, primary level is all the education they will ever receive. By year six, children are learning English but in remote communities, many children are faced with the prospect of having to leave their village to complete secondary school – which often is not possible. The children are very, very shy and I imagine it would be quite a scary prospect to leave their families to attend school.”

To help school life, Harper and Meldrum gave Uraiwan and her sister sets of pencils, crayons, rubbers, sharpeners and scissors. Harper continues, “We also gave them volley-balls, pumps and a totem tennis – games that are great fun and relatively indestructible!”

Later, Harper and Meldrum visited a World Vision community project funded through the child sponsorship program – a mushroom farm that encourages communities to become more self-sufficient. “Using mushrooms grown out of the sides of bottles means the mushroom farms can be run on a smaller scale with greater output,” says Harper. “It’s great that our sponsor money helps to fund basic needs and education for Uraiwan and also helps support projects like this that benefit the community as a whole.

Through interpreters, it was explained to them how the farmers harvest the mushrooms and sell them at the market each season, after which the money is divided among the working community to re-harvest the farms.

“The remaining money then goes to meet the children’s educational needs. And what really hit home was how proud the farmers were to have made the money themselves,” she says.

“It was so moving to see the happiness and pride of the farmers as they realised they could support their families and increase opportunities for their children and generations to come. It was a very special and memorable day for us.”

Brodie and Uraiwan take on the
totem tennis

Harper and Meldrum will remember their fourth trip to Thailand for another very special reason. Back at their hotel Meldrum had organised for their balcony to be transformed into a paradise. Twinkling lights, shimmering satin, strewn rose petals and exotic palms set the scene for romance and, as the sun set, Meldrum proposed.

“We always have an amazing time in Thailand – you couldn’t meet nicer people – and this time it was very, very special. When Heath opened the curtains to our balcony… ” Her smile says it all.

About Starkids
Jetstar has now taken their StarKids’ fundraising onboard with donation envelopes in the seat pocket of every Jetstar service. Passengers are encouraged to place small change in any currency into the envelopes. All monies raised will go to the StarKids’ program. This Jetstar and World Vision initiative aims to raise at least AU$3 million over three years for World Vision to fund programs assisting children in Australia and countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. For more information visit www.jetstar.com/starkids