Peter Baines Hands Across The Water Interview

Peter Baines Hands Across The Water Interview

After travelling to Thailand in 2004 as part of the response team following the Boxing Day tsunami, Australian forensic detective Peter Baines was deeply touched by the number of children left orphaned by the disaster and was inspired to set up an organisation that could make a significant difference in their lives. In October 2005, Hands Across The Water (Hands) was born.
For more information go to www.handsacrossthewater.org.au

Interview with Peter Baines

Question: What originally inspired you to head to Thailand after the Boxing Day tsunami?

Peter Baines: I was working in Thailand with the New South Wales Forensic Police, that was my job and I had been to Bali after the bombings. I was deployed into Thailand to lead the disaster identification work where we identified the bodies of those who had died and sent them home.


Question: How did that trip inspire the organisation, Hands Across The Water?

Peter Baines: When I was in Thailand I met a group of kids who were living in a tent and I decided then that I, with a colleague from the UK, would set up Hands Across The Water and raise enough money to build the kids a home.


Question: Can you talk about the work that Hands Across The Water have already done in Thailand?

Peter Baines: We are now onto our seventh project in Thailand. We've built two orphanages and a big community centre for the kids who were affected by the Boxing Day tsunami. We now run a HIV orphanages and a couple of other projects.


Question: What plans do you have for the future in regards to work in Thailand?

Peter Baines: Now we are starting on a new orphanage for the girls in the hill tribe who are trafficked into the sex industry; this will be located in Chiang Mai, we aim to build the new centre in the next six months.
I just returned from finalising our latest works which is another new home for the girls from brothels in the hill tribes.


Question: Why do you think Hands Across The Water is one of Australia's fastest growing boutique charities?

Peter Baines: I think that is due to the model of Hands Across The Water; we've raised over seven million dollars in the last six years and we've never spent a cent of that on donors money; people really connect with how we operate as a charity. We also give people the opportunity to engage in what we're doing and share their experiences through our Bike Ride and different opportunities that we have for them to connect, there is real access through our supporters and donors to the projects that we run so they can see where the money is going and the difference that has been made.


Question: What's a typical day like, for you?

Peter Baines: I travel nationally and internationally to speak at corporate functions and conferences on leadership and share the stories that I have from working in various countries throughout the world. When I'm not doing that I'm working on running Hands Across The Water; I travel to Thailand once every six weeks to visit and oversee the various projects that we run.


Question: Why was it important for you to write a book and publish a recipe about your experiences?

Peter Baines: My book was published through Pan Macmillan and released last year. The cookbook was a fundraiser that we did for Hands Across The Water which was really successful; we had 51 of Australia's leading chefs contribute their favourite childhood recipe and a story about themselves. We made $240,000 profit from the cookbook, in three months because it is a high quality product.

Hands Across The Water is about providing experiences and opportunities rather than just asking for money.


Question: How can Australians contribute to Hands Across The Water?

Peter Baines: Australians can get involved by buying a copy of the cookbook, riding or sponsoring one of the riders for the charity bike rides that we run in Thailand or even sponsoring one of the kids on an ongoing basis. Australians can also visit projects that we run in Thailand - there is an open invitation for people to visit any of the projects that we run and contribute for an hour, a day or a month. There are many opportunities depending on what someone wants to do and their time and capacity. Visit the website for more information www.handsacrossthewater.org.au.