Iva lives and works in Australia. She has 30 years’ experience working with young children both as a Peadiatric Occupational Therapist (providing therapy to children with special needs) and an Early Childhood Teacher (advising and teaching in schools, early learning and childcare centres). She believes that children need opportunities, positive experiences and quality education so that they follow their hopes and dreams – big or small.

Iva says: ”I work with ACF to support and encourage them in the valuable ministry of educating these young children.”

Mike Penistone is best known as the ‘Global Rugby Coach’ from his years coaching Rugby League and Rugby Union in the UK and Australia, and more recently through his global Rugby Coaching Consultancy.

Mike has been an ACF friend and avid supporter, and has raised funds and awareness for sport programs and new sport facilities at ACF’s new location.

Roland learned about ACF in 2016. Roland says: “I was blessed to see the immense love and care for children by the whole staff, headed by Mrs. Roelien Muller.” Since then his church in Austria, CIG Wien, his family and himself, have supported ACF.
“This year, I was very honored to be appointed an Ambassador for ACF in Austria. It’s my goal to deepen the relationship with ACF and create more awareness for their work in Austria.”

JP spent 40 years in Asia, where he developed his own businesses. He lives in Phuket with his wife since 2018. JP started to support ACF’s scholarship program in 2015 and has also been involved by raising awareness for the work ACF is doing in the local community and Internationally. JP says: “ Each year a child receives education is a step forward in life. We cannot hope for a better future in the world without better-educated people, this is why I decided to dedicate time and resources to children in need. The ACF team has my support, trust, and admiration for the many years of relentless work with unfavored children and their families. I believe that proper care and education are the best tools to beat poverty.

We should all contribute when we can.”

Over the last 10 years my husband and I have been spending more time in Phuket. We love the island and the people. We learnt about ACF and their impressive charitable works. It’s an excellent cause helping those in need, particularly the children. We like to be involved and support in any way we can.

Danny has been a friend and supporter of ACF for the past eight years. He also lived in Phuket for about two years and understands the need for assistance to underprivileged families living on Phuket. Danny is a Project Designer by profession.

Danny says: “It has always been an aspiration for me to help the needy, especially children.”

For the past 25 years Marianne has dreamt of being able to do more charity work than she was doing while she still worked in a full-time managerial position.

When she moved to Phuket 2014 with her husband, she started looking for an organisation that in a broader perspective would coincide with her values and beliefs – as well as having an important mission. Says Marianne:

“When I found Asia Center Foundation (ACF), I felt at home immediately, with the people, with the objectives, with the dedication. Since then I have tried to support ACF in all possible ways that I’ve been able to. Today I’m honored being an Ambassador and a Member of the Board at ACF.

I’m proud and very happy to be a part of this organisation, which provides education opportunities to the most disadvantaged children in Phuket. My ACF colleagues are accomplishing fantastic results – giving these children hope of a better future! Nothing can be more important.”

Marianne has held senior positions in the airline industry, facility management companies and also has had her own business in service development. Before retiring, she was Head of Security Operations, first at the Swedish Parliament and later at the Swedish Government.

Philippe and Naemi are in the process of adopting children from Thailand and during a presentation in Switzerland heard about Asia Center Foundation’s work with disadvantaged children. In order to get to know the culture, they traveled through Southeast Asia for two months. This led to Naemi’s heart’s desire to do a work placement in Thailand, in order to get to know the untouristic Thailand.

“In April 2019 we met Roelien Muller at an adoption meeting in Zurich, Switzerland. At this meeting Roelien told us about ACF and her work with children in Phuket. She mentioned that she would like to include a healthcare program and that she needs health workers. This made us sit up and take notice and so after a conversation and a few emails, Naemi left for Thailand.”

Naemi is a nurse in oncology and Philippe is an electrical engineer. Naemi volunteered for ACF for three months – mainly in the healthcare sector but also wherever she was needed. After their return to Switzerland, Philippe and Naemi continue to support ACF. Philippe and Naemi also created a children’s healthcare curriculum with lessons for a year, which ACF is using in Cornerstone Learning Center.

“We are very happy to continue to work with ACF, even though this year and Corona put some obstacles in our way and refused us a further work assignment with ACF. We feel honored to now be Ambassadors of Hope for ACF and thus pursue long-term cooperation. Our goal is to make ACF known in Switzerland, to visit ACF regularly and help wherever necessary.”

Bob was involved in rugby coaching in various areas of Thailand with The Old Bangkok Bangers Rugby Club when he first came across ACF.

“I was blown away by what ACF was trying to do through their various programs and just loved the vision that Roelien had for the future. Being a teacher, I thought that ACF was trying to help the children involved in a different way from other charities that I had come across in Thailand. After speaking with Roelien I decided to try and help to raise money for the center. On my return to Bangkok, I made a decision that I would do a sponsored bicycle ride from Bangkok down to Phuket with 2 of my friends. That was in 2010 and we have been cycling and raising money for the center for the last 10 years. I love how the center is community based and what it stands for.

I am honored to be an ACF Ambassador of Hope and it is something that I certainly will try to live up to.”

“I started working with Roelien in 2002 when she was working in the slums in Patong. After the tsunami in 2004 we set up a scholarship program for kids affected by it, mostly orphans, and we have been raising funds for the program since, at the annual Phuket International Rugby Tens event. Over the years the Phuket Tens contributed millions of baht through the efforts of teams, supporters and individual donors, who supported the scholarship program by sponsoring a child.

I’m pleased to have become an Ambassador of Hope to help raise awareness and much needed funding. With the 2020 Tens event being cancelled, it left a huge gap in funding for the scholarship program. Any help will be greatly appreciated since ACF is managed through donations.”