P. F. Cairns

Pam Cairns was brought up on a small farm near Lockerbie, Scotland. The author was educated at Lockerbie Academy and later at Edinburgh University, where she studied medicine.

While working as a general practitioner in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Pam and her husband Alan had the opportunity to lead a team of medical volunteers to the Amazon jungle of Peru. This was the first UK medical team that The Vine Trust charity had sent to work on their vessel, Amazon Hope. The medical staff delivered primary health and dental care to the villagers on the banks of the river Amazon.

The three-week trip to Peru had a huge effect on Pam. Resigning from her medical practice, she became the volunteer Medical Director of the Vine Trust. Over the next two years, she and her husband worked, with others, to develop and promote the Amazon Hope Medical and Dental Project. (See www.vinetrust.org)

It was while in Peru that the author first came across street children and learnt of their struggle for survival. Pam began to understand the factors responsible for their ever increasing numbers worldwide. Deeply shocked, she discovered that not only did the children have to contend with hunger and disease, but also the cruelties and abuses of adults and the authorities.

Now retired from medicine, Pam lives with her husband on their small holding in Angus, Scotland. The couple have three adult children. Pam is a committed Christian and an active member of Soroptimist International. She is enjoying her new career as a writer.