Saturday, November 16, 2013

CCF Scott Neeson: World Housing providing new homes for CCF children in Steung Meanchey

Photo: A core principle of CCF is to provide the best possible education and care for the child, without distancing the child from their family. 

We feel it's essential that when the child prospers, the family's life also improves. A mother shouldn't have to choose between sending their child to school or having a meal on the table or being able to make a debt repayment. That's a key reason why we spend so much time and resources on community services. With your child in CCF's education program, you won't be worse off. You can get medical care, subsidized rice, clean water, emergency housing etc. In fact, with a perfect monthly attendance record, the child's parents gets 10 kg of rice for free. It costs CCF about $4.80 for the 10 kg. What's the value of having a child in school for a month?

We have 40+ community services, from medical treatment to the granny program. However there was one essential service - a basic human right really - that was outside our financial reach: a clean, humane and dignified place to live.  

This week all that changed. 

Through a partnership with a new Canadian-based group, World Housing, we are able to provide new homes for the most impoverished and deserving families here. It's like the Toms Shoes model. With the sale of an apartment, house or condo from a World Housing partner, one of our locally-built houses will be supplied to a CCF family. Now isn't that something special?

It was the brainchild of Pete Dupius, who wrote a PhD and spent 4+ years working through the process. This week, with the World Housing team in tow, Pete, Sid and team came here to open the first of the World Housing homes. 

Hands up if you remember the sad wee girl in the top left image? She was living in a very high risk situation and lived in that squalid wooden thing to the left. I took this photo almost the moment I saw her. 

Now, I'm pleased to tell you, that's a piece of history! See the bottom left photo? Those are our first 5 new houses, built by local Cambodian crews. Each house comes with insulation, solar power, cooking area downstairs, toilets and washrooms, furnishings, even family photos on the wall. As one mother said when accepting the key to her new home, "this is like a dream to me", then added "it's the first time in my life I have had a toilet". 

The photo on the right is of course our once-squalor housed girl, sitting on the steps of her new home. She has such a nice mother, who works hard to overcome an especially tough start to life, and to ensure her daughter never has to go through the same. 

Thank you Pete, Sid, Graham at World Housing! 

Thanks to our local crew, who are now taking a much-deserved break. 

And please send your good wishes and good thoughts to the 5 wonderfully-happy, very-deserving families who are, at his very moment, living their dream. 

In fact, I'm off to visit them right now.

A core principle of CCF [Cambodian Children's Fund] is to provide the best possible education and care for the child, without distancing the child from their family.

We feel it's essential that when the child prospers, the family's life also improves. A mother shouldn't have to choose between sending their child to school or having a meal on the table or being able to make a debt repayment. That's a key reason why we spend so much time and resources on community services. With your child in CCF's education program, you won't be worse off. You can get medical care, subsidized rice, clean water, emergency housing etc. In fact, with a perfect monthly attendance record, the child's parents gets 10 kg of rice for free. It costs CCF about $4.80 for the 10 kg. What's the value of having a child in school for a month?

We have 40+ community services, from medical treatment to the granny program. However there was one essential service - a basic human right really - that was outside our financial reach: a clean, humane and dignified place to live.

This week all that changed.

Through a partnership with a new Canadian-based group, World Housing, we are able to provide new homes for the most impoverished and deserving families here. It's like the Toms Shoes model. With the sale of an apartment, house or condo from a World Housing partner, one of our locally-built houses will be supplied to a CCF family. Now isn't that something special?

It was the brainchild of Pete Dupius, who wrote a PhD and spent 4+ years working through the process. This week, with the World Housing team in tow, Pete, Sid and team came here to open the first of the World Housing homes.

Hands up if you remember the sad wee girl in the top left image? She was living in a very high risk situation and lived in that squalid wooden thing to the left. I took this photo almost the moment I saw her.

Now, I'm pleased to tell you, that's a piece of history! See the bottom left photo? Those are our first 5 new houses, built by local Cambodian crews. Each house comes with insulation, solar power, cooking area downstairs, toilets and washrooms, furnishings, even family photos on the wall. As one mother said when accepting the key to her new home, "this is like a dream to me", then added "it's the first time in my life I have had a toilet".

The photo on the right is of course our once-squalor housed girl, sitting on the steps of her new home. She has such a nice mother, who works hard to overcome an especially tough start to life, and to ensure her daughter never has to go through the same.

Thank you Pete, Sid, Graham at World Housing!

Thanks to our local crew, who are now taking a much-deserved break.

And please send your good wishes and good thoughts to the 5 wonderfully-happy, very-deserving families who are, at his very moment, living their dream.

In fact, I'm off to visit them right now.



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Scott, you are beyond amazing. You have the heart of gold. Thank you so much for your kindness.

scott said...

thank you for letting Cambodia be my home. Scott.

Anonymous said...

Scott you have done a great job for human being. Your passion,, you love and care for the people will be remember by all Khmer.
Note: why Hun Sen never envision this simple project for his people?

Anonymous said...

thank you for help make poor khmer people's life a little better. they are lucky to get nice houses like this.

Anonymous said...

Thank Scott for you my country'
specific for my Khmer poor communities.Tnank again godbless
yours community and yours families.
Respectively and,
Saincerely

Sokunthea Mao said...

You are the true definition of hero !!!!! I'm sure you already know that !!!! There are not many people like you in this world, otherwise, there's no war, corruption or mistreating !!! The world would be st peace !!!