Riding for a reason — Hands Across the Water
In October 2026, I will take part in my seventh ride for Hands Across the Water, cycling both the 500km North Ride and the 500km South Coastal Ride, covering 1,000km over 10 days through Thailand. Each year, I swap my real estate toolkit for a bike helmet and join fellow riders to raise vital funds for a charity that provides children with safe homes, education, and the opportunities they deserve.
I would like to share this journey with you, along with the purpose that keeps bringing me back.
Why I fundraise for Hands Across the Water
Each year, a group of real estate professionals comes together to cycle across Thailand in support of Hands Across the Water. This Australian charity was founded in 2005 in response to the Boxing Day tsunami and continues to provide vital care for children across Thailand who need it most.
As Australians, we live in a country where education, healthcare, and the freedom to shape our own futures are supported by strong government systems. It is easy to take that for granted.
The children I ride for do not have that same safety net. Many have lost their families, and the level of government support available to them in Thailand is limited. Hands Across the Water creates safe homes, education pathways, and brighter futures for these children, giving them the chance to thrive despite the challenges they face.
Supporting this cause is my way of giving back and ensuring that more young people can access the opportunities they deserve.
Read more about Hands Across the Water on their website.
How you can help
Since 2020, I have ridden annually with around 60 fellow real estate professionals to raise funds for Hands Across the Water, which supports seven children’s homes across Thailand. Together we pedal hundreds of kilometres with one shared goal: to change lives.
I am incredibly grateful for the support of friends, family, and local community members who have rallied behind me through trivia nights, raffles, and generous individual donations over the years.
What makes this journey so meaningful is the opportunity to see the impact of those contributions firsthand. During each ride, we visit several of the homes, spend time with the children, and see the facilities that fundraising has built. Your donation does not simply go into a fund. It becomes safe shelter, education, and a brighter future for a child who needs it.
The difference we make to more than 350 children
Hands Across the Water now supports over 350 children across Thailand, providing safe housing, healthcare, education, and pathways into adulthood. Some of the first children cared for after the 2004 tsunami are now young adults who have completed vocational training, pursued trades, or graduated from university. That is the power of consistent, long-term support.
The charity also invests in sustainable initiatives that give young people practical skills while generating income to fund the homes. These include farming, fish and animal husbandry, clothing and merchandise production, and tourism ventures. The long-term goal is for profits from these enterprises to cover the full cost of running the homes, so more children can be supported into the future.
My prior connection to Thailand
At 16, I left my small hometown of Dunolly, a town of around 600 people, to become an exchange student in Bangkok. Coming from a school of 350 students at CCC in Maryborough, I suddenly found myself in a school of 3,500. As the only exchange student, I had to learn Thai quickly just to keep up.
It was 1990. I could only call home once a week, there was no internet, and school life was far stricter than anything I had known in country Victoria. Living in Bangkok opened my eyes to the broader world and to the daily realities of poverty and community in ways that have stayed with me ever since.
Thirty years later, I returned to Thailand through Hands Across the Water and the Digital Live Bike Ride. The language came back naturally. The country had changed too, even in remote and low socioeconomic communities, with technology and connectivity now opening doors that were unimaginable during my student exchange. Funds raised by the real estate community have helped create digital learning centres and education programs that give children in remote villages access to opportunities I could not have foreseen when I was sitting in a Bangkok classroom in 1990.
Having now participated in multiple fundraising rides, visiting children’s homes along the way, I have seen children grow up and thrive. Hands Across the Water does not only support orphans. It supports children who, for many reasons, cannot live with their families. Reunification is always the aim, but in the meantime, the charity provides safe homes, healthcare, education, and most importantly, love. The essentials every child deserves.
I feel privileged to be part of this, supported by friends, family, and two communities: the Maryborough Goldfields and the real estate industry. Together, we are helping these children not only to survive, but to live lives of their own choosing.
