Toronto Police Service's May Mak gives all for Full Tummy Farm Special

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5zkEf8XOH0

Sep 14 2011
KJ Mullins
Digital Journal

Toronto - Toronto Police Services has a special person in civilian employee May Mak. Mak was in the lobby at Police headquarters today for a bakery and jewelery sale to benefit Full Tummy Farm and Habitat for Humanity Toronto 9-1-1 Build.

Full Tummy Farm is May's special project. After a trip with her sister to Cambodia she knew she had to do something about the poverty she saw inside the orphanages.

"In Canada we turn on the tap and there's water, but for these children there isn't any running water. There's poverty, hunger and little future unless they have education or are lucky enough to be adopted," May said as today's sale ended.

Sarah is praised by Cambodian government for work with orphans

Sarah, Alice, Hannah and Pola Chhin.

Thursday 1 September 2011
Eastbourne Herald (UK)

A VOLUNTEER from Seaford has been praised for her efforts abroad.

Sarah Chhin, a member of Seaford Baptist Church, served as a volunteer Christian Development Worker with Cambodia Action.

She is the project manager for Project SKY, whose aim is to provide support and ensure the social inclusion of young adult orphans out of orphanages and into communities.

Between January and June this year, the project helped the lives of more than 900 people including young people living in orphanages, orphanage directors, village chiefs and community members.

Onondaga Road pupils help Cambodian orphans

Schoolchildren at an orphanage in Cambodia review school projects and books sent by pupils at Onondaga Road Elementary School. (Photo courtesy of Kathleen Hart-Zavoli)
Students at an orphanage in Cambodia review school projects and books sent by pupils at Onondaga Road Elementary School. (Photo courtesy of Kathleen Hart-Zavoli)
A student at an orphanage in Cambodia looks at a letter sent by pupils at Onondaga Road Elementary School. (Photo courtesy of Kathleen Hart-Zavoli)
Students at an orphanage in Cambodia review school projects and books sent by pupils at Onondaga Road Elementary School. (Photo courtesy of Kathleen Hart-Zavoli)

Wednesday April 15, 2009
By Catie O'Toole
The Post-Standard (New York, USA)

Pupils in Jessica Goodnough and Virginia Madden's classes at Onondaga Road Elementary School in the West Genesee school district took part in a project to help children in a Cambodian orphanage with their English lessons.

Goodnough's fourth-graders wrote original stories, with themes ranging from a pencil boy who wanted to be an eraser, to moving from the earth to the moon. Meanwhile, Madden's second-graders wrote letters telling the children in Cambodia about life in Central New York and at Onondaga Road school.

Kathleen Hart-Zavoli, whose son is in Goodnough's class and whose daughter is in Madden's class, hand-delivered the stories and letters to the Cambodia Tomorrow English School at the Kompong Speu Orphan Center in Cambodia during the last week of February.

Hart-Zavoli, of Camillus, is a volunteer board member for Cambodia Tomorrow, a non-profit group started by parents who adopted children from the orphanage.
Both Hart-Zavoli's children were adopted from different orphanages in Cambodia.

"I thought it was a good idea to give the students a connection outside of Camillus, and also give the students in Cambodia a connection to other children," Hart-Zavoli said. "The kids here have been so excited, and the kids in Cambodia were equally as excited to receive the letters and stories."

Last week, Hart-Zavoli brought Onondaga Road Elementary students letters from the students in Cambodia.

In their letters, the children in Cambodia drew pictures and wrote about their Khmer New Year, which is April 14 to 16.

Hart-Zavoli said the children at Onondaga Road were excited to learn about a different culture.

"They think this is a very cool thing they're doing and the fact that they got responses to their letters seemed to really make their week," she said.

Cambodian orphans melt ex-pat

BACK HOME: Donelle McLeod spoke to parishioners at Hamilton's Wesley Methodist Church, discussing her involvement with the Rainbow Bridge orphanage in Cambodia. (Photo: DONNA PAGET/Waikato Times)

Tuesday, 27 May 2008
By JEFF NEEMS
Waikato Times (New Zealand)

Donelle McLeod tries not to get too attached to the children at the Rainbow Bridge Happy Tree Aids orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, but says it is difficult not to.

Ms McLeod, formerly of Cambridge and with family still in Waikato, is based in the Cambodian capital working for ANZ, and is a regular visitor to Rainbow Bridge, an orphanage specifically for children with HIV/Aids.

She was back in Hamilton for a short stay last week, and spoke to members of Hamilton's Wesley Methodist Church about her connection to the orphanage and how donations from parishioners had helped the facility.

"You can't get too connected to them (the children) or you just want to take them all home. They certainly get connected to you," said Ms McLeod, who plays with the children for a few hours each week.

"But you have fun you make water bombs, kick a ball around, read books, that sort of stuff."

The orphanage is home to more than 60 children.

Ms McLeod regularly donates clothing, toys and linen to the orphanage, and insists any friends coming to Phnom Penh to stay with her do the same as payment for their stay with her.

Food, shelter and clothing are covered by government grants, but all other goods and services are paid for with donations.

Donations from Hamilton people have enabled orphanage staff to vaccinate the children, who range in age from babies to 19-year-olds.

While she had been a little sceptical of what percentage of charity donations actually reached the communities they're intended for, Ms McLeod said having direct contact with Rainbow Bridge staff reassured her donations were definitely being used to benefit the children. Ms McLeod added her own money to make up the donations to US dollar value, a popular currency in Cambodia.

Ms McLeod was introduced to the orphanage through a work colleague and said her involvement over the past 12 months "has become bigger than Ben Hur".

She is contracted to work in Cambodia until next May.

Her role involves bringing Cambodian banks up to international standards.