Mega family flying to aid poor

EVOTIA TAMUA THOMPSON

THE ADVENTURERS: Rachael Ayres and Ella-Rose, 2, eady to see the world, with back from left, Micaiah, 5, Tessa, 4, and Levi, 7, and front, Josiah, 12, Kyle, 10, Kaleisha, 9, and Jaala, 13.

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Learning to share is important when you are part of a family of 10.

So it’s no surprise Robert and Rachael Ayres – along with their eight kids, are happy to give some of their time and energy to the world’s poorest people.

The Titirangi residents are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime.

They leave for Singapore on October 6 and will stop in Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Russia and Estonia before finally reaching Britain in May.

They will combine sight-seeing with charity work along the way.

Robert and Rachael will work in a school during their time in Cambodia and their brood will help teach conversational English.

But that’s not all.

They are also keen to help get a struggling book publishing company in Laos into a healthy position.

Big Brother Mouse was set up in 2006 in a bid to get children, who generally have limited access to books, reading.

But production costs are high at about $1000 a book and the Ayre family is raising money to help get more rolling off the production line.

"We have so many books in our local library yet they have so few," 13-year-old Jaala says.

The Kaurilands Baptist Church is hosting a silent auction on May 23 to help them collect funds for the company. The entire family, including two-year-old Ella-Rose, will walk Auckland’s 16km coast to coast challenge two days later.

"We are hoping to get sponsorship to raise more money for the book company," Rachael says.

Robert is taking a year off from his lecturer’s job at AUT University and Rachael says the children are especially excited about some of the tourist attractions they’ll visit when they’re not busy helping others. "They are looking forward to going to Disneyland Hong Kong, riding elephants in Thailand and going on a horse trek in Mongolia," she says. "It’s all quite wild."

The family may resort to some extreme measures to avoid losing anyone during its travels.

"We have a buddy system and we may have to use the very un-PC reins," Rachael says.

The children have been getting used to walking long distances with their backpacks and they aim to travel as lightly as possible.

"Everyone gets one or two toys each, " she says. "I’ll be taking my knitting needles and Robert will take his GPS unit."

- © Fairfax NZ News