Chris was instantly moved to do something when hearing the news reports filtering through about the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004, which wiped out families and devastated communities in Thailand.He was watching his three daughters, aged 3, 2 and 3 months, playing with the gifts Santa had left the day before, when the news hit him – “What if that happened to us and our girls were left without parents!”
He followed the developments over the years and the creation of the charity in 2005 by the amazing Peter Baines OAM to support the orphans left behind, but he wanted to do more. In 2019, he was given the opportunity to join the fundraising bike ride, and was ready to do the preparation and training when COVID struck and put an end to that. However, he participated and raised funds for the virtual bike ride that year instead.
In 2024, another bike ride was planned for 2025 and he immediately signed up with the support of his family and Ceebeks Team and joined 24 other riders in March 2025, who paid their own travel costs to ride 500 kms in 5 days and he personally raised over $9,500 for this wonderful charity that is Hands Across the Water
The ride had such an impact on Chris that he and Ange have sponsored Wit, the boy that he was riding for, and they both have signed up to participate again in September 2026, Chris as a rider and Ange as a support person for the homes.
