chris thomas
It is with the greatest sadness that we share with you the news that our wonderful co-founder and partner, Chris Thomas, passed away suddenly on the evening of 20th October 2022.
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We are devastated by this loss of a brilliant, kind man who devoted many years of his life freely helping people in need here at home and all over the world.
Latest news
The library and reading room are finished!
The Chris Thomas Library and Reading Room at Ton Kit 2 school in Nambak, in honour of Chris, was completed in Autumn of 2023. It has a lovely plaque with a photo of Chris and is full of books, children and laughter every day.
We are very grateful to Big Brother Mouse for allowing us this project and memorial to such a wonderful man, and to our supporters who funded it.
May it go on to provide years of entertainment and learning for enthralled readers, young and old.
THE CHRIS THOMAS LIBRARy
and reading room
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Upon learning of Chris' sudden death, a huge number of people asked if AidforAll could create a special project to which they could donate in Chris' memory.
We talked to a few people and decided that a library at one of the new schools being built by Big Brother Mouse in Laos would be very fitting.
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Chris was an avid reader. He loved history, science fiction, thrillers. His general knowledge was incredible (he was the one you always wanted on your pub quiz team). He also strongly believed in education and more importantly, teachers who loved teaching, who taught with passion and patience.
Big Brother Mouse in Laos, founded and run by the wonderful Sasha Alyson, started with one small classroom and now has schools all over Laos. Chris and Connie visited several of them as well as privately paying for several books to be printed.
Sasha puts great emphasis on teaching techniques and we felt that constructing a library/reading room at his colleague Siphone's new school near his home village would be ideal.
The school itself is finished and work has now started on the Chris library. Hopefully it will be finished by Summer 2023, thanks to the many donations and fond memories of Chris' friends and supporters.
Watch this space!
remembering chris
As many of you know, he made frequent trips to Vietnam, Laos and India over the last 12 years to donate to, and create, projects there. Most recently he took time off his work to make several trips with his van full of aid to help Ukrainian refugees in Poland and also making the risky trips into Ukraine itself to deliver aid in April.
His kindness knew no bounds and even the Covid lockdowns didn't stop him: he helped many during the pandemic doing shopping and hospital trips for the elderly and the confined.
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It was Chris and Connie's intention to return to India, Vietnam and Laos straight after Christmas 2022 to pick up the projects they had planned for AidforAll before the pandemic including a sewing room with sewing machines and fabrics for women, and self-defence classes at the poor school in Baruipur, Kolkata, India and helping the Big Brother Mouse organisation in Luang Prabang, Laos with their hugely successful school projects.
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For now we can only reflect and remember with love the most wonderful man.
We intend to create a project in honour of Chris - you are welcome to donate to AidforAll in his memory and thank the many of you who have already donated for Chris.
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Chris leaves behind his heartbroken love and AidforAll co-founder Connie Potter, his girls Dilly and Kayleigh, his sister Jenny and nephew Xavi and niece Indy.
That best portion of a good man's life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.
William Wordsworth​