University of Colorado freshman Heather Starbuck poses for a portrait while wearing a shirt she designed for Operation Lyhou, a project she founded to raise funds to build a school in rural Cambodia. (Will Morgan)Heather Starbuck touched by trip she made in high school
09/06/2009
By Melanie Asmar, asmar@coloradodaily.com
ColoradoDailyMail.com
The kids surprised the University of Colorado freshman in other ways, too.
As she was saying goodbye on her last day, a particularly outgoing 13-year-old boy named Lyhou approached her. He was one of the poorest in the school, she said; he wore the same shirt, green-and-white striped with a sassy saying -- "I Do What I Want" -- printed in English across the front, almost every day.
That day, he took off his sunglasses and gave them to her as a keepsake.
"They were probably his only personal possession," she said. "He had nothing but he was so generous."
Starbuck has started a campaign in Lyhou's name to raise money to build another school in Cambodia.
The 18-year-old launched Operation Lyhou (pronounced Lee-how) this past summer with the goal of raising $13,000. To reach her goal, Starbuck is selling trendy T-shirts emblazoned with a sketched peace sign for $19.99 each.
So far, she said, she's raised $526.
Starbuck is working with an organization called American Assistance for Cambodia, which has helped build more than 400 elementary and middle schools in rural Cambodia since 1999. Through the organization, World Bank will match Starbuck's $13,000. The money will pay for the construction of a modest school and other amenities, including teachers, computers and solar panels, she said.
"The kids there love school," she said, adding that they often came early or stayed late and showed up on weekends to use the computers.
"It's amazing to see how much they took advantage of it," she said -- especially coming from the United States, "where school is seen as such a drag."
Starbuck traveled to Cambodia as a high school junior. Her school, the private Overlake School in Redmond, Wash., had raised the money to build a primary school in the town of Pailin, Cambodia, several years earlier, a project profiled in a New York Times column about the problem of sex trafficking in Cambodia and the positive effects of education.
Every two years, students from Overlake return to Pailin to make improvements and volunteer there, teaching English, dental hygiene and other subjects for two-and-a-half weeks.
Starbuck ended up on the trip by chance. She was new to Overlake and halfway through her junior year, hadn't chosen an activity for the school's "project week." Someone dropped out of the coveted Cambodia trip at the last minute and she snagged a spot, not knowing what to expect. At the time, she said, she was bitter, "an angry high school kid who thought school was boring."
Visiting Pailin changed that.
"I was feeling really down," she said, "but it made me realize there are so many better things you could be doing than feeling bad for yourself. Somewhere in the world, someone has it worse."
The trip inspired Starbuck to intern with two nonprofit groups -- a microfinancing organization called Global Partnerships and the aid agency Mercy Corps -- and eventually apply to CU, where she's studying international affairs.
She said she chose CU partly because the school is ranked the No. 5 all-time producer of Peace Corps volunteers, a path she's considering pursuing after graduation.
Starbuck keeps in touch with Lyhou, who's now 14 and in high school. At first, she said, the e-mails they sent were simple: "How's the weather? Did you go to school today?"
But in the year and a half since she last saw him, Lyhou's English has improved. In one of his last messages, he asked what she sees as a very important question: "How's college?"
Lyhou told her he wants come to the United States to study.
"He seems to have really big goals," Starbuck said.
So does she.
09/06/2009
By Melanie Asmar, asmar@coloradodaily.com
ColoradoDailyMail.com
HELP OUTSeveral things about Heather Starbuck's trip to Cambodia last year made an impression on her. The heat. The cockroaches that crunched under her feet when she walked down the hallway of her hotel. The way the kids at the school she visited immediately caught on to "The Macarena."
To learn more about Operation Lyhou -- or buy a T-shirt -- visit operationlyhou.blogspot.com or e-mail Heather Starbuck at heather.starbuck@colorado.edu
The kids surprised the University of Colorado freshman in other ways, too.
As she was saying goodbye on her last day, a particularly outgoing 13-year-old boy named Lyhou approached her. He was one of the poorest in the school, she said; he wore the same shirt, green-and-white striped with a sassy saying -- "I Do What I Want" -- printed in English across the front, almost every day.
That day, he took off his sunglasses and gave them to her as a keepsake.
"They were probably his only personal possession," she said. "He had nothing but he was so generous."
Starbuck has started a campaign in Lyhou's name to raise money to build another school in Cambodia.
The 18-year-old launched Operation Lyhou (pronounced Lee-how) this past summer with the goal of raising $13,000. To reach her goal, Starbuck is selling trendy T-shirts emblazoned with a sketched peace sign for $19.99 each.
So far, she said, she's raised $526.
Starbuck is working with an organization called American Assistance for Cambodia, which has helped build more than 400 elementary and middle schools in rural Cambodia since 1999. Through the organization, World Bank will match Starbuck's $13,000. The money will pay for the construction of a modest school and other amenities, including teachers, computers and solar panels, she said.
"The kids there love school," she said, adding that they often came early or stayed late and showed up on weekends to use the computers.
"It's amazing to see how much they took advantage of it," she said -- especially coming from the United States, "where school is seen as such a drag."
Starbuck traveled to Cambodia as a high school junior. Her school, the private Overlake School in Redmond, Wash., had raised the money to build a primary school in the town of Pailin, Cambodia, several years earlier, a project profiled in a New York Times column about the problem of sex trafficking in Cambodia and the positive effects of education.
Every two years, students from Overlake return to Pailin to make improvements and volunteer there, teaching English, dental hygiene and other subjects for two-and-a-half weeks.
Starbuck ended up on the trip by chance. She was new to Overlake and halfway through her junior year, hadn't chosen an activity for the school's "project week." Someone dropped out of the coveted Cambodia trip at the last minute and she snagged a spot, not knowing what to expect. At the time, she said, she was bitter, "an angry high school kid who thought school was boring."
Visiting Pailin changed that.
"I was feeling really down," she said, "but it made me realize there are so many better things you could be doing than feeling bad for yourself. Somewhere in the world, someone has it worse."
The trip inspired Starbuck to intern with two nonprofit groups -- a microfinancing organization called Global Partnerships and the aid agency Mercy Corps -- and eventually apply to CU, where she's studying international affairs.
She said she chose CU partly because the school is ranked the No. 5 all-time producer of Peace Corps volunteers, a path she's considering pursuing after graduation.
Starbuck keeps in touch with Lyhou, who's now 14 and in high school. At first, she said, the e-mails they sent were simple: "How's the weather? Did you go to school today?"
But in the year and a half since she last saw him, Lyhou's English has improved. In one of his last messages, he asked what she sees as a very important question: "How's college?"
Lyhou told her he wants come to the United States to study.
"He seems to have really big goals," Starbuck said.
So does she.
7 comments:
Heather, Building schools is not the problem, Is is finding good qualified teachers and paying them a good salary that is the problem. If you build schools you will still have to find teachers, and find money to pay them so the students dont have to pay.
3:40 PM,I appreciate your idea. You are completely right, school alone could not provide a good education. But what a freshman from University of Colorado can do? If she can build a school, it is a very big contribution to Cambodia. We have seen in the news that Prime Minister Hun Sen has constructed thousand of schools across cambodia, but there are thousands more needed. Majority of primary schools have to arrange two group of classes, one in the morning and another in the afternoon.
Heather! you have my salute.
Your generousity and your determination to provide education to the poor make the rich and spolied kids in Phnom Penh shame.In Cambodia, we hardly find any rich teenagers willing to do any thing for the poor at all. They even use very bad language on them and on other poeple outside their circles.
From Thana:
Dear, all local and oversea Cambodians,
As we are all Cambodians, pls do not waste our time anymore to criticise each other and fight only with our own people perself.
As Cambodians, we all must be proud and optimistic due to the fact that Camboida is one of the wonderful nation in the world in terms of culture, tradition, honest, patience, hard work, bravery, ....etc.
Therefore, if you agreed with me, pls let me say that from now on, we should put our interests in front firs and clearly classify them into priorities as best idea/suggestion/recommondation options for taking considerations as referent inputs in the agenda of current and future policy spaces:
1- As Khmer/Cambodians, we should unite as one voice to fight against foreign encrouchment/agression/interests;
2- As Khmer/Cambodians, we should stop criticise individual person, we should not name and colour each other;
3- As Khmer/Cambodians, we should express opinions in a manner of morality, respect to the press code. And judgement/assessment shoud be besed on data collection, survey, research, proof......etc.
Of course, even some circumstances, prerogative way of thinking may be used. However, sometime I would suggest that it should not be used and based too much on what we think perself rather than what we present as a majority/common think or perecption;
From Thana: Continue....
4- As Khmer/Cambodians, we should only publish or disseminate information that would deem to be not useful and valuable to the interests of public, local, oversea patriots, and foreingers. Information provided should not be a such of felse or exxagerated information that would lead to conflict of interests between supporters and oppositors. Aand especially; as the result, it also misleads to the public and perceptions of foreigners because such wrong news may turn out into foreiners's wrong judgements, then lead to exsposure of bad images about Cambodia (we made and created ourself). Consequency, we lose opportunities, chances, interests, and ......etc., and then foreign countries may look down us and take opportunities/chances from our weekness; and
5- As Khmer/Cambodians, we must commit ourself and ready to devote our resouces (capital, finance, material, intellecual/brain, encouragement, motivation....etc)., and sacrify of our lifes to our nation and people. Frankly speaking, I am very impressive as I seen some of friends have done very good comments and suggestion about how to improve domecracy, defend the country's interests, deal with poverty alliviation such as ideas of transfering money back home to help families, relatives or country, express opinions to defend our nation from foreign aggression, and advise the government,......etc. However, I am very sad, while I see only small number of people always have negative and black or dark views about Cambodia that those will never be helpful to our country and people at all.By the way, since I rarely seen, may I suggest and encourage all of u to provide or share your encoutered experience about how to improve economy, trade, negotiation skills, social issues....etc, in which those ideas,sugguestions/recommondations/inputs would help Cambodia alot in general.
In conlusion, as we are now living in this modernized society, hi-technololy, free and fair trade/competition,nondiscrimination,....etc., we should stop expessing unimportant, felse, exxagerated and useless news/information that would mislead and then indirect or direct impacts to people and society, in particularly; our current chilrend or next young generation or even our Cambodian people as a whole. Incorrect news/information leads to big misleadings or misunderstandings. Therefore, negative impacts will be as follows:
- Conflict of interests;
- Creating gap, diversion, then it becomes difficulty/burdensome to break difference;
- Less chance to achieve common interest/goal/vision, then hard to get win-win solution; and
- Increase expusure of bad images about our country, then our people and country is in the position of losing, not foreign countries.
From Thana
Sorry, due to the technical problem and time constraint, u may see one of my previous posting is missing some words. However, the above text is came with an edition.
this is an example of the true american spirit of helping and assisting others like cambodia. thank you, america and american people for helping to make a difference in my country cambodia. i love the USA. god bless cambodia and the USA.
she represents america really well in the world. thank you for helping to make a difference in my country cambodia. god bless america and cambodia.
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