Cleveland, Tenn., is now sister city to... Phnom Penh? [-Time to learn to say "forced evictions" in "Southern Drawl"?]

In this file photo, a woman hangs laundry on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh as a passenger train passes by just feet away. (Photo by Associated Press /Chattanooga Times Free Press)

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012
By Randall Higgins
Chattanooga Times Free Press

KHMER ROUGE

The regime, which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, killed an estimated 2 million Cambodians in that time. Under the group's leader, Pol Pot, the regime emptied the country's cities, determined to create a totally agrarian, communist society. In 1979, Vietnamese troops, tired of border skirmishes with the Khmer Rouge, invaded Cambodia and sent the Khmer Rouge back to the jungles. Pol Pot continued to lead the group as an insurgent movement until 1997, when he was arrested and sentenced to house arrest by his own followers after killing one of his closest advisers. He died in 1998 in a tiny jungle village, never having faced charges.

Source: Time magazine

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- The distance between Cleveland and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, shrank a little Monday.

The capital city of Cambodia and Cleveland -- 9,100 miles apart -- are now Sister Cities.

The City Council approved the Sister City resolution Monday.

"There is no cost to the city, and it creates good will," Mayor Tom Rowland said Monday.

The Cambodian tie to Southeast Tennessee is through an organization called People for Care and Learning, created by the Church of God. Founded in 2002 in Cleveland, the organization seeks to improve the lives of some of the world's poorest people in Southeast Asia.

Its goal in Cambodia is to build a village inside the city limits of Phnom Penh to house about 8,000 displaced people, said Fred Garmon, president of People for Care and Learning. The job will take about $2.5 million and three years, he said.

Christmas Food Relief for people at Siem Reap Rubbish Dump on 31/12/2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUThxo4PkSo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXrk46Qj-wM

Click here to view the remaining videos

05 Jan 2012

Originally posted at:

http://camwatchblogs.blogspot.com/2012/01/chistmas-food-relief-for-people-at-siem.html

In November 2011 the Christmas Food Appeal was launched by Cambodia Charity Foundation-Australia for people at Siem Reap Rubbish Dump, in which we received overwhelming supports from people mainly in Australia (i.e. Sydney and Brisbane etc) as well one generous donor from Colorado (USA).

Also, a few people in Cambodia plus another American donor had kindly contributed to wards this appeal.

On behalf of the Cambodia Charity Foundation (CCFA) we would like to express our sincere appreciation for all generous donations.

The distribution was finally carried out on Saturday 31st of December 2011 at a rice field not far from Siem Reap Rubbish Dump by Khmer expats, to approximately 121 families (i.e. 500 people at the dump site).

House building in Cambodia a natural fit for Lush

December 30, 2010
By Pamela Eadie
Ottawa Citizen Special (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)

Thanks in part to a generous donation from a good corporate citizen, it's expected that 25 new houses will be built in a poor region of Cambodia next month.

Rockin4Tabitha (R4T) is a grassroots charity that builds houses in Cambodia on behalf of the Tabitha Foundation; 2011 will be its fifth year doing so. Rockin4Tabitha is a fundraiser rhythm and blues concert in support of the Tabitha Foundation Canada's house building efforts in Cambodia.

R4T works through the Tabitha Foundation Canada with the primary purpose of raising money to build houses, wells and ponds. The Rockin4Tabitha build team, comprised of international volunteer, travels to Cambodia each February.

This year, it's benefiting from a $10,000 donation from beauty product company Lush Handmade Cosmetics, which offers more than 300 luxurious products made by hand with fresh, organic ingredients. They are also minimally preserved and minimally packaged.

Lush raised the funds through the sales of its Charity Pot lotion. The lotion is made with skin-softening organic fair trade cocoa butter and almond oil. It is sold exclusively for charitable giving; every penny that's paid for the pot, excluding tax, goes to grassroots charities around the world including R4T. Charity Pots can be purchased at Ottawa-area Lush stores, and online.

In addition, Lush will partner with R4T by sending five of its employees to Cambodia to participate in the build.

2010 marks the fifth anniversary of R4T. Since its inception, R4T has built a total of 50 houses, providing clean, safe, dry homes for 283 Cambodians. Each volunteer team member pays for all their own travel, accommodation and food costs associated with the trip; as well, each team member must raise and contribute $1,100, the cost of a single house.

The Tabitha Foundation is a benevolent trust founded in 1994 to undertake development initiatives in Cambodia in the areas of health care, education, sanitation, housing, and small business. Cambodia is still coming to grips with the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge regime, a country unsure of the role of Westerners in their world, and is also a country with deep beliefs in the Animist and Buddhist religions.

For more information please see www.lush.ca and www.rockin4tabitha.ca.

Child Sponsorship Report 2010, from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Dec 27, 2010
Source: SOSChildrenVillages.org.uk

Dear sponsor,

It is my pleasure to write to you and tell you more about the life at the SOS Children’s Village Phnom Penh. We hope you enjoy reading and knowing more about the families and their lives at the village.

Up to date we have provided a family to 181 children who 1 of them have been embraced this year. She has been provided with all necessary needs so she always feel belong to her family. She can later overcome the trauma of losing her environment, friends and family from where she comes. She has found in the SOS Children’s Village Phnom Penh a loving home. The youngest child is under 3 years old and the oldest child is 21 years old. We have been organising Khmer Traditional Dancing every Sunday morning, football training every Thursday & Saturday, Karate-do every Saturday evening & Sunday morning. We organize English class in village for elementary level everyday. Simultaneously they also study out side the village for the beginner & Newspaper class everyday. They all enjoy studying all this Programme. On March 13, 2010 SOS girl team joined football match at Old Stadium. This match was for the friendship and was organized by Indochina Start Fish, supported by Barclay Capital Bank.

SOS Nursery provides education to our children and the children from the neighbourhood. The SOS Nursery is in the village and you can hear children laughing in every group. This is a place which is never quiet! Up to 125 children between the ages 3-6 attend SOS Nursery. The availability of suitable classrooms, game and toys ensures that the children are given the optimum conditions for developing their social, intellectual and creative skills and they are prepared for the primary school.

Presently, three Youth Houses are functioning in Phnom Penh. 21 youngsters are living in I youth house, 24 youngsters in II youth house and 21 youngsters in III youth house. Some of them have already started vocational training course, attended University and some get higher education.

Simultaneously there are 2 youths have found a part-time job. They want to get experience during studying.

The mothers and Aunts from the SOS Children’s Village are regularly receiving literacy training Programmeme in order to help reinforce their level of understanding, improving their work and responsibilities and allowing them to better support their children’s care and education. They also received training on the SOS Village manual and Child Protection Policy for better understanding.

In order to make children more interested in their life, we always promote their developments, activities and events which organized within and outside the village.

On the 1st June, International Children’s Day a joint entertaining activity was arranged at SOS Nursery in village. All mothers, children and co-workers participated in the event. All the children get up early to made up and dress up neatly. All children enjoyed playing with many game such as banana eating competition, pair running competition and dancing game competition. There were many question relating to the rights of the children are prepared for children. They can answer all the questions. They also received the gifts from the committee. They all were joyful and know well about the International Children’s Day.

During the Vacation, youth leader and youths went away on a trip to Kampong Som Province. They took between 3 and 4 hours to reach Kampng Som Province. There are several popular beaches in the provincial Centre of the Kompong Som Province such as Victorial, Independence, Sokha, O Chheu Teal, and O Tres. They have visited all that beaches. They were happy to see the clean white sandy beach, the crystal clear ocean and palm trees. After they finished lunch they took a rest for one hour. Then they swimmed togther. They enjoyed it very much and had a wonderful time!

Your kind help enables us to do work. Therefore on behalf of all us I would like to thank you and convey our gratitude and appreciation.

Yours Sincerely,

Mrs. Meas Mala

Senior Co-worker Sponsorship

A beautiful Khmer baby named Ann Marie

Baby Ann Marie (Photo courtesy of Wayne Matthysse, co-founder of Partners In Compassion)

April 30, 2010
By David Calleja
Foreign Policy Journal

Ann Marie is not the most traditional Khmer name a Cambodian girl can be christened with. Her bulging eyes and a black mark on her forehead the size of a human thumb print are signs of the burden she is carrying. This fragile baby who weighed 1.6 kilograms (3.5 pounds) at birth on March 23 has already experienced more trauma in her short lifetime than so many of us would experience in half of our statistically predicted average life expectancy.

Twenty days after Ann Marie was born, her mother passed away from AIDS-related complications. There is a high probability that Ann Marie is HIV positive. It is hoped that she has relatives who may come to visit her one day, but this is not a certainty because none of her relatives know where she is.

Wayne Matthysse is co-founder of Partners in Compassion, a communal home for residents infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. He is under no illusions about the situation that he is dealing with. “We do not get the perfect children, just the rejected ones. But when you are in the kind of business we are in, you take whatever comes.”

Statistics tell conflicting stories on the approach to the situation of AIDS in Cambodia. The British-based charity AVERT declares on its website that Cambodia has Asia’s second highest AIDS prevalence rating. In a report released by UNAIDS in March that focused on Cambodia’s progress, the country’s National AIDS Authority shows that between 3638 children between the ages of 0-14 years received Anti-Retro Treatment, an increase of 18.6% compared to 2008, and 237.2% since 2005. While no new data is presented since the previous report in 2007, it reiterates that 8.8% of children aged between 0-17 years are recorded as orphans (one or both parents dead) and 6.1% of children aged between 0-17 years have a chronically ill parent.

For all the numbers and indicators, it does not answer how this affects the quality of life and care that baby Ann Marie will encounter.

Mr. Matthysse spoke about how Ann Marie became the newest resident of Partners in Compassion in Sramouch He village. Situated two hours from the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh, this is home for adults and children whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS, either through contracting the illness or having no other family capable of caring for them.

“The day Ann Marie’s mother died, Vandin San (who runs Partner in Compassion Home Care) rang me and asked if I would accept her.” With one phone call, Ann Marie was literally “dropped like a hot potato” on the doorstop; no forms and no bureaucracy to contend with.

In October 2008, while living in the nearby village of Tropang Sdok, I made a visit to Partners in Compassion to see how residents lived and the small scale business projects in animal husbandry, sewing, and community building. At the time, plans were being made to construct extra classrooms along with further restoration of the adjoining Wat Opot. At that time, 65 residents, of which less than half were identified as being HIV positive, resided on the grounds of Partners in Compassion. From that visit, two aspects stood out: Chhang’s Place, a crematorium named after one of the former child residents who passed away, and the level of responsibility undertaken by children in the burial process. They seemed remarkably mature for their age and cope with loss in a dignified manner.

There is no question about the amount of love that will be afforded to Ann Marie by Partners in Compassion’s extensive family. Inhabitants love their newest addition to the family like their sibling or daughter. Donors have provided consignments of baby clothes. With three trained nurses (including Matthysse, a qualified medic), there is no shortage of attention and expertise. The day after Ann Marie’s arrival, Jurgen Reichl, a Male Paediatric Intensive Care Nurse from Switzerland, arrived at Partners in Compassion and decided to stay for a few weeks. Together, the parenting skills and available medical resources give Ann Marie a fighting chance at living a full life.

Since her arrival, Mr. Matthysse says that Ann Marie’s condition has improved greatly and her weight has increased to 1.8 kg. “She is feeding well and is gaining more strength color,” he says. Once health services resume after the break, Ann Marie will be taken to the nearby town of Takeo to be registered in the HIV program. Mr. Matthysse is determined to provide the baby with the same opportunities that every other child, teenager and resident has had to make the most of life. “I am well aware of the fact that I will most likely not be around to see her graduate from high school,” says the 63 year-old. “So I must work even harder to assure that there will still be a program for her 18 years from now.”

This does not just represent Mr. Matthysse’s future vision, but one that is already in place. Current students benefit most from opportunities to shine, like Pesai, a high school student who has grand visions of becoming a professional artist. Several years ago, Pesai, his sister Srey Lak and mother entered the grounds following their father’s death from AIDS. Matthysse told me their while their mother was taking Anti Retro Viral (ARV) drugs and showed signs of improvement, she later broke her hip, developed ulcers on both buttocks, and never recovered. She died with her two children at her bedside.

“After the cremation, Pesai came to me and asked, ‘I don’t feel sad that she died. Is that wrong?’” says Mr. Matthysse. “I assured him that there was nothing wrong with feeling that way and that in time he would be able to remember the good times again.”

Pesai’s inquisitiveness about his own nature and that of others has influenced his art, dealing with what Mr. Matthysse calls the two sides of personality: what we show and hide—traits reflected in Pesai’s depiction of Angkor. Mr. Matthysse believes that Pesai will not only become a wonderful artist, but more importantly, “a great leader”.

Maybe someday, when Ann Marie is older, she will find her own unique style in which to express her gratitude and approach to life, in an environment where everyone is beautiful.

You can find out more about Partners in Compassion by visiting their website:
www.partnersincompassioncambodia.com
------
David Calleja graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science and Master of Social Science from RMIT University in his home city of Melbourne, Australia. He has taught English in China, Thailand, South Korea and Cambodia, where he worked for a local NGO, Sorya, based in Tropang Sdok village. In addition he has also volunteered as a kindergarten English teacher, tutor and a football coach to male orphan students in Loi Tailang, Shan State. He has narrated and produced a video biography of Cambodian students learning English entitled I Like My English Grilled. His video documenting life at Stung Meanchey, Cambodia, A Garbage Life, can be viewed online. Contact him at david_calleja@foreignpolicyjournal.com. Read more articles by David Calleja.

Local impact in Cambodia

David Cooper, Chris Durant, Hilary James, Heidi Hindmarsh and Claire Durant in Cambodia.

Tuesday, 5 February 2008
By AMIE BROKENSHIRE
Victor Habor Times (South Australia)

VICTOR HARBOR - In starting the new year, Victor Harbor locals Hilary James, Chris Durant and Claire Durant, can be satisfied knowing that they have been able to make a difference in the lives of many Cambodian people.

Last November, together with Hilary's son David (also of Victor Harbor) and daughter Heidi (of Woodcroft), the three women spent 16 days doing missionary work in Cambodia.

Hilary has already visited Cambodia twice before and was instrumental in raising $20,000 to build a church and an orphanage there.

But for the others, who had never been to the impoverished country before, it was an eye opening experience.

On their first afternoon, the group was taken to a smelly rubbish dump to initiate them on exactly what it is like in Cambodia and how the people live.

They would carry medical packs with them wherever they went and tend to people who had injuries, cuts, sores and infections.

"Everywhere we went we were cleaning up infections and sores, and we would suss out who needed to go to hospital," Hilary said.

Claire's main task was teaching English to a small class aged between 13 and 21, which she said was challenging but also very rewarding.

She couldn't believe that it only costs $1 a month for them to learn English, which for Australians seems like a drop in the ocean but for them is quite a significant amount.

"It was hot and you just sweat, it's hard trying to teach to them and make them understand and then having to understand them," she said.

David's forte was the medical side of things, he is a volunteer with SA Ambulance at Goolwa, and he was always patching people up, tending to broken bones and assessing horrible infections, hence he was quickly given the name Dr Dave.

Hilary's daughter Heidi just loved looking after the little babies and always had a baby in her arms.

A memorable moment for the group was when they met a little girl who badly needed to go to hospital but had no money.

They were able to use some of the money they had raised to send her to hospital and her life was saved, had she been left for only a couple more days she would have died.

"To think that about $10 saved a life, that really struck us, these things are just so rewarding," Chris said.

"It's so cheap to save a life there," Hilary said.

"And yet it's so expensive for them," Chris added.

The community raised $6000, which the group took over to spend on the people in Cambodia and they said it really did go a long way.

They would like to thank everyone on the Fleurieu Peninsula who donated time, money or items to the cause and are pleased to be able to tell you that your contribution did make a difference.

The three women are now on a mission to continue raising money for Cambodia and the next garage sale will be held on February 9.

Hilary's next project is to raise enough money for 600 cakes of medicated soap for children in a village north of Phnom Penh who have scabies.

She also plans to start up her own foundation so donations can be tax deductible, for more information contact Hilary on 8552 5532.