[glagoliska]

Betti, no need to apologise. I would feel slightly miffed myself if I tried to support a charity and they were just ignoring me. I know there are a few other UK based charities around, but I don't have much experience with them. I think most of them are fairly small and only geared up for fundraising in the UK. Somebody trying to make a donation from abroad might just be something they don't know how to deal with, especially if the charity is only run by volunteers.

I have started supporting the Pattaya Street Kid's Support Project about two years ago and although they don't have any paid staff they have always been pretty quick in replying to my emails. Even at the Mercy Center some of the staff are volunteers and they put in quite a few hours every week not only caring for the children but also spending a lot of time enabling any sponsors who wish to do so to meet with "their" sponsored child. For them you are not just a number who adds to the charity's revenue - I always feel like a VIP when I visit "my" students.

Regarding PayPal: As I wrote above you do not need to be registered with PayPal. You can still use it for donations provided you have got a debit or credit card. It is fairly simple. I have done it myself in the UK, but of course, it might be different in Thailand.

I agree with you that it would be easier if they were to publish their bank details on the website, but having to contact them first might just be the Anglo-American way of doing things. For example, in Germany companies usually print their bank details on the invoice whereas in the UK most of the time I have to phone the supplier and ask for their bank details to be send to me.

TomUK