"We each have an enormous capacity to make a difference and The Pyjama Foundation is actually doing that; changing the world, 1 child at a time"

A letter of support from Bryce Courtenay AM

Most people know me as an author or speaker and I am often acknowledged for providing inspiration and hope to my readers. It was not always that way for me.

The journey towards today’s destination started for me at age 8 when I leaned against a crate of books. I endured what many would consider a tragic childhood and can relate to the constant crisis that is the lives of children who have been abandoned, neglected or forgotten. This is the day to day reality of the children the Pyjama Foundation works with.

I had never learned to read, having spent my youth in an orphanage from 2 months old. I had been repeatedly beaten and while the bruises always healed, the scars on my soul did not. I was 15 years old before I was embraced or kissed.

Having made the 400klm journey by foot to see a doctor after cutting my finger very badly one day when I was just 8 years old, I was too weak to attempt the return journey. I leaned against a crate to take a moments respite. After catching my breath I realized it was a crate of books. Reaching into the crate, I pulled out a large green book with golden edged pages. It seemed somehow special, perhaps even magical. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

I had never (and have not since) stolen but I took that book and although I could not read a word inside its cover, it stood for something magical that had previously seemed impossible to me. Eventually I returned to the orphanage book in hand and I managed to persuade a woman at the orphanage to read to me. Bit by bit I came to understand the words and the way she read them- she had taught me to read. Finding that book and learning to read changed my life.

Storytelling and imagination emerged as the essence of my life and the gift I had to offer to the world. The value of developing these skills cannot be over estimated, is desperately difficult to measure and is often overlooked. Learning to read changed the outcome of my life.

I won a scholarship to attend a boy’s school in South Africa, I passed everything with flying colours and graduated as one of the most applied and academically gifted children the school has seen. This lead to a full sponsorship to attend one of the best universities in the country and to the life I have today.

I fully support and endorse the work of The Pyjama Foundation and its Volunteers and offer my humblest gratitude to whatever force drives people like my friend in the orphanage and Bronwyn Sheehan to stand for the difference that is possible.

We each have an enormous capacity to make a difference and The Pyjama Foundation is actually doing that; changing the world, 1 child at a time.