Partners For Others

Hi, my name is Ray and for the past 25 years, I’ve been shipping containers of aid across the globe, helping children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged parts of the world. I have run into financial difficulties this year so I’m looking for your support to help keep this mission going.

Revelstoke Times Review Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltECqRLtelU

I've been a gold miner for the last 40 years, mostly in the Yukon, I was born in British Columbia Canada and when I was 9 years old my family moved to the South Pacific Islands of Fiji and Tonga and then to Central America as volunteers in the local schools. I went to the local schools, learning the language and living an incredibly adventurous life as a kid. When I wasn’t in school or working, I spent my days wandering the jungle on my horse, exploring caves, climbing on top of the Mayan Ruins, finding artifacts or swimming in the River.

PHELISANONG CHILDRENS CENTER, LESOTHO

When I returned to Canada at the age of 18, I built my own log home and then found myself drawn into gold mining, which has captured my imagination for almost 40 years now. I was married for 34 years and have 6 wonderful children, 2 biological and 4 adopted.

In 1994 I returned to Fiji for a 20-year school reunion and while I was there I saw children attending the same school I did, using the same encyclopedias and books from the 60s. I saw families struggling financially to be able to send their kids to school, in some cases only being able to afford to send 1 of their kids; I found it heartbreaking to even think about having to make such a decision.

As I was flying home I realized how incredibly fortunate I was, to have a passport that is accepted all over the world, to live in a country where I was able to go after anything I dreamed of, with the only obstacle that could be in my way, would be myself, no government, social, economic issues preventing me from succeeding. It was a sobering thought to realize that all my friends I grew up with, didn't have the freedoms that I had.

SOLOMON ISLANDS

I made a promise to myself sitting on the plane that I would do whatever I could to help from that day on. When I arrived home I immediately organized to send a container with a small tractor, bakery, a small sawmill and a welder so that the school could have a secondary income other than just school fees and so that the kids could learn how to bake bread, weld, cut lumber from the trees in the forest behind the school, make furniture, and plant commercial gardens.

My goal was to have the kids be able to work 2 hours a day after school, so they could learn a trade and help pay for part of their school fees and it worked, the school fees were cut by more than half. The school went from 65 kids to over 300 in a few short years.

SWAZILAND ORPHANAGE

I have been doing this for 28 years now and I could tell you story after story like this that has brought me such incredible joy, to be able to give back to those who are less fortunate than myself is something I find hard to put into words. Life has been good to me, I have been blessed to be able to help people all over the world from the war-torn parts of eastern Ukrain, Phelisanong Children's Center in Lesotho, Belize, Swaziland where 3 of my children are from, Costa Rica, Solomon Islands, Fiji, where another one of my daughters is from, and more.

SWAZILAND

I'm telling this story now because I have run into financial difficulties from the breakdown of my marriage of 34 years which has left me without the funds to be able to ship containers this year. My warehouse is full of more than 250,000 lbs of items, like wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, new and good used clothing, construction nails, dehydrated soup mix for orphan care, school books, shoes, bibles, toys, medical supplies and so much more.

LESOTHO 2006 www.phelisanong.org

Thank you for reading my story and for your generous donations.

I will be creating a website called www.partnersforothers.ca where you can read about the things that have happened over the years and I will continue to upload pictures and videos of all the future shipments sent so you can see and read stories of people’s lives being changed for the better from your support.

YUKON GOLD

Lesotho Video