Peter Baines joined the NSW Police Force at 19 and worked first as a uniformed officer before he transferred across to join the Forensic Services Group and become a real-life crime scene investigator (long before it was cool).
Little did he know that decision would change the trajectory of his life.
He is now an author, speaker, consultant and the co-founder of an amazing charity called ‘Hands Across The Water’.
Peter’s work as a forensic investigator took him first to Bali to identify victims following the 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202 people, including 88 Australia.
Then 2 years in 2004 he made his first trip to Thailand to assist with the identification of victims following the Boxing Day tsunami that killed between 250,000 and 300,000 people.
In a strange yet beautiful twist of fate, during his third rotation in Thailand, he agreed to raise money to fund a home for a group of children he had met who had been orphaned by the tsunami.
And so ‘Hands Across The Water’ was born; a charity that now owns and operates 7 homes across Thailand and cares for hundreds of at-risk children.
In his conversation, we discuss:
- why action leads to clarity and that if you wait long enough you’ll find reasons not to do the thing,
- the ‘postevent’ blues and the struggle with adjusting to ‘normal’ life after an experience that shifts your view of yourself and/or the world,
- the importance of understanding your measures of ‘success’ and making sure they align with your ‘why’,
- where the idea for the charity rides originated from, and
- the impact that bushfires and COVID-19 have had on their fundraising efforts in 2020.
Get the full show notes for the episode here.
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