Mr and Mrs Ben and Elspeth Kong have more experience of Asia
than any other New Zealanders they know who offer guardian and homestay
services.
Ben's father, the late Mr Peter Lee, was born in Guangzhou (Canton), China. He emigrated to
the island of Fiji in the 1930s, where he married and settled. Ben was born
in Fiji but finished his education in New Zealand where he met and married
a New Zealand nurse, Elspeth.
In 1974, Ben and Elspeth moved to Thailand where for the next 17 years they
worked with Thai Christian churches as missionaries with OMF International.
They taught in churches, tutored in English language classrooms, and did
practical work in village development programmes
During this time they learned to speak the Thai language fluently and came
to understand the culture of their many Thai friends.
Two of their four children were born in Thailand and went to schools in
Malaysia and the Philippines.
As a result of all this, Ben and Elspeth Kong understand the young Asian
students in their care.