Cambodian Embassy in US Collecting for Flood Relief

Monday, 07 November 2011
Cambodian Embassy in US Collecting for Flood Relief
Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer | Washington, D.C

“They face a lot of shortages, and, most importantly, infectious diseases are worrisome. In the immediate future, they will need food, shelter and healthcare.”

The Cambodian Embassy in Washington is helping to raise funds for floods victims in Cambodia, following weeks of inundation that has left thousands of families stranded.

At a gathering in Washington Sunday, the embassy collected around $6,500 from some 200 Cambodian-Americans, the ambassador, Hem Heng, told VOA Khmer.

At least 250 people have died in the floods, which began in August and continued through September. The floods hit 17 provinces, covering some 400,000 hectares of rice fields and causing many to be evacuated to higher ground.

TV Raises More Than $1 Million for Victims of Tragedy

CTN and Bayon have continuously taken donations, at time broadcasting pleas for aid and running donation totals during regular programming. (Photo: Courtesy of CNN)

Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Friday, 26 November 2010

"...but what I’m worried about is that the expenditure of funds will not be transparent for the victims.”

Following Monday’s Diamond Bridge tragedy, nearly $1.5 million has come in from concerned Cambodians via fund drives by two TV stations, for both the families of the dead and for those injured.

By Friday evening, Bayon TV had raised more than $1.08 million and CTN had brought in more than $500,000.

A total 347 people died on the bridge and another 395 were injured, when a mass of Water Festival revelers stampeded on the crowded bridge Monday night.

The country’s worst tragedy in decades was felt across Cambodia and in expatriate Cambodian communities abroad, culminating in a national day of mourning Thursday.

CTN and Bayon have continuously taken donations, at time broadcasting pleas for aid and running donation totals during regular programming.

Officials from both stations said they would end their fund drives Friday and aim to distribute the money to families of the dead next week.

Hout Kheang Heng, deputy director general of TV and Radio Bayon, which is operated by the prime minister’s daughter, said 100 percent of the fundraising would go directly to victims as cash. Teams will travel to the villages where the families or survivors live or to hospitals to deliver the money, he said.

Chhun Kosal, deputy director of CTN’s fundraising committee, said so far with about 85 percent of the donations counted, the station has raised $420,000 and 373 million riel, or $93,000. They will also deliver 100 percent of the cash to survivors and relatives next week, he said.

Both said the relatives of the dead would receive more than survivors.

However, members of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party and a workers union representative said they are skeptical the money will reach the hands of those it was meant for.

That’s because during similar fundraising for soldiers stationed near a border dispute with Thailand since 2008, there was little transparency and it remains unclear where the money went, said Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Teacher’s Association.

A similar problem could plague the donation efforts for the bridge victims, he said.

“I really admire both stations for opening fundraising,” he said. “It shows that Khmer love Khmer. But what I’m worried about is that the expenditure of funds will not be transparent for the victims.”

Victims of Cambodian tragedy remembered

Donations will be accepted for those who died at Water Festival

11/26/2010
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram

LONG BEACH -- Members of the Cambodian American Business Association and other civic organizations will be holding a memorial Saturday at MacArthur Park, 1321 E. Anaheim St. from noon to 4 p.m. for the victims in this week's tragedy at the Water Festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

A candlelight vigil will follow from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Members of the groups will be collecting donations for families of the 347 victims who died when crowds panicked and stampeded at a riverside celebration.

Information is avaiable by calling Thary Ung, 626-383-7559, Anthony Kim, 626-261-0765, or Ratha Chan, 562-206-9004, or online at www.cambaonline.org.

Story event helps Cambodian kids

Jennifer Meloche, left, Gaye LePage, centre, and Gayle Redfern will be reading children’s books for Voices In The Night, a free evening of storytelling to support Shoe Boxes for Kids which is a project that aids the Angkor Children’s Hospital in Cambodia. Voices In The Night takes place May 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Evergreen Cultural Centre. Admission is free with supplies for the shoe box. (Photo: Colleen flanagan/THE TRI-CITY NEWS)

May 06, 2008
By Lara Gerrits
The Tri-City News

The combination of shoe boxes and story books is a strong one for Cambodian children who don’t have a home.

Stage 43 is pairing the two seemingly unrelated items together for a Voices In The Night storytelling event May 17 at the Evergreen Cultural Centre, with all goods raised benefiting Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The first half of the evening will have young participants decorating shoe boxes that will be filled with donations, while the second half will feature the lost art of storytelling.

The only cost to attend the family-friendly event, beginning at 6:30 p.m., is a hygiene item(s) for the hospital, which treats the children of Cambodia, one of the world’s poorest countries.

About 34% of people there survive on less than $1 a day and of a population of 13 million, nearly half are under the age of 15. About 51% of children are malnourished and one in seven will die before their fifth birthday.

Stage 43 is donating the shoe boxes as well as decorating supplies, but kids (or adults) can bring special ribbons, bows or other art along if they wish. Later, storytellers from Stage 43 will share with the children magical stories.

Angkor Hospital for Children provides both outpatient and inpatient, acute, emergency, surgical and dental care. AHC has treated 500,000 kids since 1999. Currently, the outpatient department sees 300 to 400 children daily and maintains 50 inpatient beds.

All treatment and inpatient care is free of charge.

Suggested items to donate for the shoe boxes are: packaged toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, nailbrushes, hairbrushes, combs, water bottles, t-shirts, flashlights, batteries, colourful pencil packs, pens, crayons, manual sharpeners, books, colouring books, paper, magnifying glasses, soft toys, balls, card games or anything else you can think of. 

Also, if you want to correspond with a Cambodian child, then bring a self-addressed envelope so a child can write you.

For more information about Cambodian children, go to the hospital website at
www.angkorhospital.org.

Details about Voices In The Night, are at www.stage43.theatrebc.org or email Cathie Young at foxonice@telus.net.

lgerrits@tricitynews.com