Ron Green and his fellow orphanage kids say thank you

IT was no small thing for Ron Green and the other former home boys to let our journalist and photographer accompany them back to the orphanage.

IT was no small thing for Ron Green and the other former home boys to let our journalist and photographer accompany them back to the orphanage where they were so cruelly abused 60 years ago.

Abandoned as children and then, as adults, silenced from talking about what happened to them, the men felt that telling their story was a way of saying: "We're still here. This happened. We haven't forgotten." The response to their story (published July 27-28) has been overwhelming, proving to Ron and his mates that people do care about what happened to them; that they don't have to suffer in silence. We've passed on all your letters offering goodwill, prayers, and words of hope and encouragement, and published a selection of them today. Through our journalist Trent Dalton, Ron and Mal and the other men pass on their appreciation for all your kind words.