PRESS RELEASE: New York Students/T​eachers Send Ripples of Hope to Borei Keila Kids and Cambodian Teachers

http://www.box.com/s/c9o41d4di73bpuvhzrnr

New York Students, Teachers Fundraise for Cambodia

Springville Middle School Sends Ripples of Hope to Borei Keila Children Disrupted by Evictions; to Teachers Training on the RFK Center’s Speak Truth To Power Curriculum

_____________________

PRESS RELEASE
_____________________

New York/Washington D.C./Phnom Penh, 7 Feb. 2012: Two hundred students of Social Studies teachers Drew Beiter and Joe Karb classes of Springville Middle School in New York are planning a charity event to benefit children evicted from the Borei Keila Phnom Penh neighborhood and teachers training on the Speak Truth To Power (STTP) project of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights being conducted by CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education.

The students are inspired by what they learned from the RFK Center’s global initiative Speak Truth To Power, especially the human rights educational curriculum, which has already become integral to classrooms in locations throughout the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia, including Cambodia.

The STTP curriculum includes an introduction to and history of international human rights through the tales of the STTP defenders and the play. The curriculum has been adopted for Cambodia and translated into Khmer. CIVICUS Cambodia is working with educators (mainly the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association and monks) in 20 of Cambodia’s 24 provinces.

Explains teacher Drew Beiter, “I think that from our end, all these situations reaffirm the real-time, real-life value of the STTP curriculum and of standing up to injustice around the world. We're happy and proud to be standing with CIVICUS Cambodia and the people you work with and care about.”

The STTP project began with a book of the same name by Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy. The book portrays the stories of fifty-one courageous human rights defenders fighting for various crucial human rights issues from female genital mutilation to freedom of religion and reconciliation and justice. The book is accompanied by a photo exhibition designed by Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Eddie Adams. In 2000, the play Speak Truth to Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark, written Ariel Dorfman, was adapted from the book and has been performed all over the world by world-famous actors as well as schoolchildren, local heroes, college students, and even prisoners.

It is not the first time these students, under the leadership of their activist teachers, Drew Beiter and Joe Karb, have acted as human rights defenders and translated their concerns for human rights abuses into concrete action.

The two educators teach a course on modern U.S. history, emphasizing the role of human rights defenders in the past and present. Working with technology coordinator Ben Higgins, in the past three years, the group has supported school building efforts in Darfur, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan. See some of their past activities: www.springvillegi.org/webpages/abeiter/human_rights.cfm

Adds teacher Joe Karb, “I imagine the money might be used for supplies, books, trainings, or even copies of Speak Truth to Power--whatever has a measurable impact.”

Says Springville student Allison: “We want our efforts to have a lasting impact; one that hopefully continues past the current generation. Anything that will help educate these children – books, teachers, classrooms – is what we aim for. With an education, they can continue to do good for themselves and others.”

CIVICUS: Center for Cambodia Civic Education is the partner of the Speak Truth To Power project of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights in Washington, D.C. Taking cue from the Italians, the STTP is translated as Courage Without Borders into Khmer. The STTP program in Cambodia is funded by The Charitable Foundation (Australia). Springville Middle School is one of the schools in New York implementing the STTP curriculum.

CIVICUS Cambodia founding president Theary Seng enthuses, “I am deeply moved by the shared humanity and activism of these young human rights defenders on the other side of the world for the welfare of the vulnerable and oppressed in my home country, especially the children of Borei Keila whose lives and schooling have been disrupted and made even more vulnerable by the violent evictions.”

The charity event is scheduled for late February. Called a “Day of Silence”the Springville students will voluntarily refrain from talking, using their cell phones, computers, televisions, or audio devices for twenty four hours, getting pledges from their parents and community. In doing so, the students are sending a message of solidarity to the Cambodian students who currently do not have a political voice due to government repression or poverty.

__________________________________________
For further information, please visit and/or contact:

Mr. Drew Beiter and Mr. Joe Karb
Social Studies Eight
Springville Middle School, New Yorkabeiter@springvillegi.org and jkarb@springvillegi.org

Mr. John HeffernanDirector, Speak Truth To Power
RFK Center, Washington, DCheffernan@rfkcenter.org www.rfkcenter.org

Ms. Theary C. SengFounding President
CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education, Phnom Penhwww.civicus-cam.org
+855.12.222.552 and/or theary@civicus-cam.org

OCEC's Bon Phka Samaki Announcement

http://www.box.com/s/0jhtsmol47zebhkt12m3


http://www.box.com/s/cb508yeif50ajmbn202n

New York Students, Teachers Fundraise for Cambodia

http://www.box.com/s/9hb8pj06yirvmskybnt6

New York Students, Teachers Fundraise for Cambodia

Springville Middle School Sends Ripples of Hope to Borei Keila Children Disrupted by Evictions; to Teachers Training on the RFK Center’s Speak Truth To Power Curriculum

_____________________

PRESS RELEASE
_____________________

New York/Washington D.C./Phnom Penh, 18 Jan. 2012:  Two hundred students of Social Studies teachers Drew Beiter and Joe Karb classes of Springville Middle School in New York are planning a charity event to benefit children evicted from the Borei Keila Phnom Penh neighborhood and teachers training on the Speak Truth To Power (STTP) project of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights being conducted by CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education.

The students are inspired by what they learned from the RFK Center’s global initiative Speak Truth To Power, especially the human rights educational curriculum, which has already become integral to classrooms in locations throughout the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia, including Cambodia.

The STTP curriculum includes an introduction to and history of international human rights through the tales of the STTP defenders and the play.  The curriculum has been adopted for Cambodia and translated into Khmer.  CIVICUS Cambodia is working with educators (mainly the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association and monks) in 20 of Cambodia’s 24 provinces.

Explains teacher Drew Beiter, “I think that from our end, all these situations reaffirm the real-time, real-life value of the STTP curriculum and of standing up to injustice around the world.  We're happy and proud to be standing with CIVICUS Cambodia and the people you work with and care about.”

The STTP project began with a book of the same name by Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy. The book portrays the stories of fifty-one courageous human rights defenders fighting for various crucial human rights issues from female genital mutilation to freedom of religion and reconciliation and justice. The book is accompanied by a photo exhibition designed by Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Eddie Adams.  In 2000, the play Speak Truth to Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark, written Ariel Dorfman, was adapted from the book and has been performed all over the world by world-famous actors as well as schoolchildren, local heroes, college students, and even prisoners.

It is not the first time these students, under the leadership of their activist teachers, Drew Beiter and Joe Karb, have acted as human rights defenders and translated their concerns for human rights abuses into concrete action.

The two educators teach a course on modern U.S. history, emphasizing the role of human rights defenders in the past and present. Working with technology coordinator Ben Higgins, in the past three years, the group has supported school building efforts in Darfur, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan. See some of their past activities: www.springvillegi.org/webpages/abeiter/human_rights.cfm 

Adds teacher Joe Karb, “I imagine the money might be used for supplies, books, trainings, or even copies of Speak Truth to Power--whatever has a measurable impact.”

Says Springville student Allison: “We want our efforts to have a lasting impact; one that hopefully continues past the current generation. Anything that will help educate these children – books, teachers, classrooms – is what we aim for. With an education, they can continue to do good for themselves and others.”

CIVICUS: Center for Cambodia Civic Education is the partner of the Speak Truth To Power project of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights in Washington, D.C.  Taking cue from the Italians, the STTP is translated as Courage Without Borders into Khmer.  The STTP program in Cambodia is funded by The Charitable Foundation (Australia).  Springville Middle School is one of the schools in New York implementing the STTP curriculum.

CIVICUS Cambodia founding president Theary Seng enthuses, “I am deeply moved by the shared humanity and activism of these young human rights defenders on the other side of the world for the welfare of the vulnerable and oppressed in my home country, especially the children of Borei Keila whose lives and schooling have been disrupted and made even more vulnerable by the violent evictions.”

The charity event is scheduled for late February. Called a “Day of Silence” the Springville students will voluntarily refrain from talking, using their cell phones, computers, televisions, or audio devices for twenty four hours, getting pledges from their parents and community.  In doing so, the students are sending a message of solidarity to the Cambodian students who currently do not have a political voice due to government repression or poverty.

__________________________________________
For further information, please visit and/or contact:

Mr. Drew Beiter and Mr. Joe Karb
Social Studies Eight
Springville Middle School, New York
abeiter@springvillegi.org and jkarb@springvillegi.org

Mr. John Heffernan
Director, Speak Truth To Power
RFK Center, Washington, DC
heffernan@rfkcenter.org
www.rfkcenter.org

Ms. Theary C. Seng
Founding President
CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education, Phnom Penh
www.civicus-cam.org
+855.12.222.552 and/or theary@civicus-cam.org

Salen Sy's Open Letter and Poem

http://www.box.com/s/yx80inna7lvjddgx0ofr


http://www.box.com/s/j2c4e5lunb3oaoh1rsnv


http://www.box.com/s/npyub9ms3s8n85ngmakv

OCEC Bon Phka Samaki Announcement

OCEC's Bon Phka in Long Beach, California

BON PHKA IN LONG BEACH, FUNDRAISING TO REBUILD A SCHOOL IN TAKONG Commune, MALAY District, Banteay Meanchey, CAMBODIA

Cambodia visit a life changer for Rotarians

Cambodia calling: Natalie Devenny is asking people to donate for a school.

14 Jun, 2011
Neelima Choahan
Melton Weekly (Australia)

BACCHUS Marsh Rotarians are in a race against time to raise the roof for a Cambodian school before the start of the country's wet season.

The club has raised $7500 for the project and is looking for a matching amount to bring the total to $15,000.

The roofing project will allow the school in Mondul 3 to educate about 400 children in a new facility.

Rotarian Natalie Devenny said she was amazed at the support the club's 'Raise the Roof' fund-raiser received last month.

University of Portland students raise $20,000 for education in Cambodia

Kenny King with Cambodian student (Photo courtesy of Kurt Berning)

6/4/2011
Catholic Sentinel (USA)

Kenny King and Kurt Berning, students at the University of Portland, have raised more $20,000 for education in Cambodia. King and Berning are the founders of Global Alliance for Developing Education, a non-profit that is dedicated to building education in developing countries. The money was raised at a gourmet meal and auction held at the North Portland school.

King and Berning also took first place in the non-profit category at the $100K Challenge, a business plan competition hosted by the University’s Entrepreneur Scholar program and Pamplin School of Business.

The organization's strategies include expanding an existing microfinance program, building a secondary school, training teachers and providing scholarships for high school students to attend college.

Over $80,000 raised to feed Cambodia kids

Mon, May 30, 2011
By Jecolia Tong
Asia One (Singapore)

MORE than 700 people showed up yesterday morning at East Coast Park for a 2km walk which culminated in a fair, and they helped to raise over $80,000 for underprivileged children in Cambodia.

The Walk The World event, held annually by express-delivery company TNT, consumer-goods company Unilever and global science-based company DSM, was organised in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP).

WFP is the United Nations' front-line agency in the fight against global hunger. However, those companies were not the only ones doing their part for charity. The event was held in more than 100 countries yesterday.

In Singapore, funds were raised through the sale of coupons, which could be exchanged for drinks and food, or used to play games at a fair set up at the event. There were corporate donors, such as Swiss bank BSI, which donated $30,000.

Orphan Culture Education Center's Humanitarian Fund-Raising

Fundraising dinner set to help boy with severe heart defect

Bunkek Song holds her 3-year-old brother, heart patient Bunlak Song, in the Cambodian New Year Parade in Long Beach on Saturday. (Jeff Gritchen / Press-Telegram)

04/21/2011
By Greg Mellen, Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram

Tickets for Saturday's banquet are $35, or $25 for students with valid identification. Tables for 10 are available at $300. For tickets and information, contact heartswb.org@gmail.com, or call Peter Chhun at 818-640-6191.

LONG BEACH - The story of Bunlak Song, a boy abandoned at birth by his homeless mother in Cambodia, has touched many hearts.

Now, a local nonprofit is seeking help to save the heart of the impoverished child who suffers from a severe heart defect.

Hearts Without Boundaries is holding a fundraising dinner Saturday at the Grand Paradise Restaurant, 1350 E. Anaheim St., to help raise funds to help the child.

The local charity has already helped three Cambodian children in poverty receive life-extending open-heart surgeries and is hoping Bunlak will be its fourth.

Hip hop moves benefit kids in Cambodia

GOOD CAUSE: Lisa Ho runs hip hop classes for young people and the profits go to a Cambodian children's charity.

12/04/2011
NICOLA MURPHY
Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlZHnqb6cXk&feature=player_embedded

A two-week trip to her mother's home country turned into a year-long journey of personal discovery for Lisa Ho.

The Blockhouse Bay resident spent a year volunteering at a charity called Tiny Toones in Cambodia in 2009.

Now she is running children's hip hop classes in New Lynn and donating all the profits to Tiny Toones.

Miss Ho has a background in dance and studied commerce at the University of Auckland.

She travelled to Cambodia in December 2008 to find out more about where her mother grew up.

"She had told me bedtime stories about running away from soldiers and eating spiders but I didn't know very much about the country."

Miss Ho was shocked by what she saw when she arrived.

"It's another world, it's very lawless," she says.

Bon Phka Samaki in Pusignan, France to raise funds for the construction of SRP headquarters

Dear Friends and Compatriots,

In observation of our Buddhist tradition, we would like to invite you and your family to come to the Bon Phka Samaki ceremony (Solidarity Flower ceremony) to help build the new Sam Rainsy Party headquarters in Phnom Penh, and also to provide support to the Sam Rainsy Party Youth Movement which represents the future of our country.

Your support is our Strength

The construction of the SRP headquarters started more than 3 months ago, and the party youth movement is already in full swing. Information regarding the construction of the party’s headquarters and the youth movement program will be available for you to peruse during the event.

We thank you for your generosity and your participation in this event.

Grenoble, 16 September 2010

Event Program

When: Sunday 10 October 2010

Where: Wat Buddharaingsey

124 Route Nationale

69330 Pusignan

France

Together we can help Mr.VANN NATH, the famous Cambodian painter!

Vann Nath and his painting

The Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center is very pleased
to invite you to the solidarity night and the exhibition opening:

'Together we can help Mr.VANN NATH,
the famous Cambodian painter!”

Friday, May 07 at 6 pm
Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center
#64, St 200, Okhnia Men, Phnom Penh
With the presence of Vann Nath’s children

Limited printings series of Vann Nath’s painting will be available to purchase. All proceeds from the sale will go to Vann Nath’s family to alleviate his medical expenses.

* * *

Le Centre de ressources audiovisuelles Bophana
vous invite à la soirée de solidarité et le vernissage de l’exposition de peintures :

« Mobilisons-nous pour aider le célèbre peintre cambodgien, M.VANN NATH !»

Vendredi 07 mai, 18h
Centre de ressources audiovisuelles Bophana
#64, rue 200, Okhnia Men, Phnom Penh

En présence des enfants de Vann Nath

Des reproductions photographiques de qualité seront mises en vente et tous les fonds récoltés seront reversés à la famille de Vann Nath et qui serviront à financer les frais médicaux.

* * *

មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលធនធាន​សោត​ទស្សន៍​​​បុប្ផាណា មានសេចក្តីសោមនស្សរីករាយសូមគោរព​អញ្ជើញ
ឯក​ឧត្តម លោក លោកស្រី អ្នកនាងកញ្ញា ចូលរួមជាភ្ញៀវកិត្តិយស​ក្នុង​ពិធី​រាត្រី​សាមគ្គី និងការតាំងពិព័រណ៌ផ្ទាំងគំនូរ៖


«រួមគ្នា ជួយ វិចិត្រករខ្មែរ វ៉ាន់ ណាត !
នៅថ្ងៃ សុក្រ ទី០៧ ខែឧសភា ឆ្នាំ២០១០ វេលា​ម៉ោង​ ៦ ​ល្ងាច
មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលធនធាន​សោត​ទស្សន៍​​​បុប្ផាណា
អគារលេខ ៦៤ ផ្លូវលេខ​២០០ ឧកញ៉ាម៉ែន ភ្នំពេញ


ដោយមានការចូលរួមពីក្រុមគ្រួសារលោក វ៉ាន់ ណាត

រូបថត​ចម្លង​ចេញពីផ្ទាំងគំនូរប្រកប​ដោយ​គុណភាព​មានចំនួនកំណត់​​នឹង​​ដាក់​លក់ ហើយថវិការ​ដែល​ប្រមូល​បានពីការលក់នេះ​នឹង​ប្រគល់​ទៅ​ឱ្យ​គ្រួសារ​លោក​វ៉ាន់ ណាត​​ ទាំង​អស់សម្រាប់ចំណាយលើការព្យាបាល​។

Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center
64 street 200 (Okhnia Men), Phnom Penh
Tel: 023 992 174 / 092 605 127
www.bophana.org

Help Cambodia protect its folks from land mines

March 21, 2010
Maggie Downs
The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, California, USA)

Cambodia is simultaneously magical and savage — a country populated by generous, warm people who live on land that can literally kill them.

Bill Morse knows this well.

The Palm Springs man, who moved to Cambodia last year, heads up Cambodian Self Help Demining, a non-governmental organization that is run for and by Cambodians.

Morse invites our community to pitch in and help, too, by attending an upcoming auction at Peabody's Cafe in Palm Springs.

“We really need people to come out and give,” Morse told me by phone, speaking from his home in Siem Reap. “Even the smallest amount of money makes an enormous difference.”

The organization helps Cambodians make their own country safe for their own people. Their work is mostly focused in what the government considers to be “low-priority” villages.

They also run the Cambodian Landmine Museum, which promotes mine awareness for tourists and natives.

Danger lurks everywhere

Mine clearance is not an easy job in a place still peppered with an estimated 5 million explosives.

But it's necessary work — after the land is cleared, the people can safely use it for farming, businesses, roads and homes.

Last year, they cleared more than 163,000 square meters, putting over 2,400 people back on the land.

And they did it all for just $4,313 per month.

Last year, their first full year of operations, the nonprofit trained and employed 19 Cambodian de-miners.

“Some of our guys are ex-Khmer Rouge soldiers, working as penance for what they did in the past,” Morse says. “Some are fathers who are concerned about the future of their country. One is a boy who lived at the land mine museum and is missing a limb.”

This year, the organization plans to add a second de-mining team. This one will be an all-female team, providing necessary jobs for Cambodian women. Their team leader is a 23-year-old named Sophary, currently the office manager at the land mine museum.

Sophary works full-time, goes to school full-time, is putting her brother and sister through school, is helping her parents pay off their mortgage and has a volunteer job.

“Her vision is to help clear land mines,” Morse says, “because it's so important for her country.”

The land mine museum also houses and educates children who are victims of land mines or come from families too poor to feed or clothe them. They currently care for 26 children and expect to add 20 more before the end of the year.

The April 6 auction at Peabody's will feature many items, including Khmer jewelry and clothing, a stay at a bed and breakfast in Maine, dinner at local restaurants and a trip to Cambodia with the opportunity to detonate a land mine.

Maggie Downs is a features reporter for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at (760) 778-6435 or maggie.downs@thedesertsun.com.

Sa Sa Art Gallery & Art Projects Fundraiser at Baitong

Local woman raising funds for a school in Cambodia

Donna Martin holds a picture of a Cambodian school in front of a computer screen that shows the location of the schools. Martin wants to raise $13,000 to pay for a school in the Southeast Asian country. Photo by Rod Stetzer

Tuesday, October 20, 2009
BY ROD STETZER
rod.stetzer@lee.net
Chippewa Herald (Wisconsin, USA)

Donna Martin loves being retired after teaching full-time for 34 years in the Chippewa Falls School District.

But while enjoying the more relaxed pace of retirement, she kept asking herself: “What are you doing to make a difference?”

Last summer, while on a trip to the Boundary Waters area in Minnesota, Martin found out.

She read an article in O, The Oprah Magazine, about how to help girls around the world. The article said a Web site, Cambodiaschools.com, builds an entire school in Cambodia, a country of 14 million, for a donation of $13,000. After the Asian Development Bank matches the donation (up to $30,000), a site is selected from a waiting list and a school is built by American Assistance for Cambodia. The group, which has built over 300 schools in the country, says $10,000 of the donation is used to build the school, and the other $3,000 for a general school account. (The contributions are tax-deductible).

“I thought $13,000 was nothing,” she said.

So Carol Martin, who retired in 2003, is setting aside money she earns by substitute teaching to build a school in Cambodia. She figures that it will take three years to raise the money.

Several people suggested speeding the process by taking her idea to community groups to see if they would be willing to donate. “That’s exactly what I’m doing,” she said.

She said she’s willing to speak to groups about the school project, and has a 10-minute DVD to show about building a Cambodian school.

She talked with the Chippewa Falls Senior High School staff on Thursday, Oct. 15, asking that the school’s service clubs keep the Cambodian school idea in mind for a project.

Martin said each school built by the group behind the Web site has three to six classrooms. The teachers are state certified, and each school has solar panels that give off enough power to run a couple of computers.

Each school is built in brick, because a wooden structure would not stand up to Cambodia’s monsoon season from May to November.

Martin said some people may remember Cambodia for “The Killing Fields” days, when murderous dictator Pol Pot killed thousands. Cambodia today is a democracy, and has been since 1991. “It is stable,” Martin said.

Many in the country live in villages of 100 to 400 people. Martin said 84 percent of the population lives in rural areas. “Half of the women can’t read or write,” she said.

So there are a lot of people in search of an education. “The classes are huge. The classes are 30 to 45 people in the class,” Martin said.

Martin said within 5-8 months of getting the money, the American Assistance for Cambodia will have the school built. “I could name the school. I could go visit it. And I could teach there,” Martin said.

The main thing, however, is to get the school built so students can begin learning.

“I’m hoping to do it in a year with contributions,” Martin said.

Changing lives

Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Written by David McAuley
SX News (Australia)

A backpacking trip to South East Asia led David McAuley to head a charity that’s making a difference: helping Cambodian children affected by HIV/AIDS. Travelling through Cambodia as a backpacker in 2005, I had no idea that the small town of Battambang was going to become such a big part of my life. Tucked away in the rice fields was a small Buddhist pagoda that was caring for forty street children. It was a fledgling project funded and supported by Australians John Kinsella and Tim Berry [owner of the Midnight Shift]. The children were abandoned or orphaned, many suffering from HIV. All were living in tin sheds with mud floors.

Four years later, I now find myself living in Battambang and managing our onsite operations. The Hope for Cambodian Children Foundation of Australia has built a beautiful centre with nine houses, complete with a school, kitchen, library and a Buddhist prayer bungalow. We now provide housing to 125 people, education to 170 and healthcare to over 200. The charity is about putting families back together and giving children a home and education.

Cambodia is country of harsh realities. For all its beauty and happiness, there is an immense suffering that plagues its people. The main propellant of this hardship is HIV/AIDS. More than two thirds of our children have been orphaned or abandoned because of the disease.

Much of the work at the centre is counselling and dealing with children suffering from post traumatic stress. Each child has a different story, a different hardship and a unique way of surviving. The stories of abuse, sex trafficking and drug trading never get easier to hear or closer to comprehension.

As the centre and project continue to grow and improve it is not the numbers or figures by which we measure our success. Watching the children grow, learn and thrive is more rewarding than any statistic can represent.

Two years ago a man delivered us a one-month premature baby in a plastic bag. His mother had died during child birth and there is no such thing as an incubator in Cambodia. Our local doctor said he had a 50 per cent chance of surviving. When one of our housemothers, Ma Vy, heard the report from the doctor, she asked if she could be the one to care for him. She named him ‘Samnang’, meaning good luck. And since that day he has never left her side.

Today Samnang is a strong and healthy boy. He lives with his housemother who also looks after twelve other teenage boys – no easy task. Not long ago Samnang took his first steps with his adopted older brothers looking on and, soon after, said his first word: “pa”. Many of the boys that live in Samnang’s bungalow have previously lived on the street, begging or selling drugs. For a special present, the boys used their pocket money to buy their new little brother a pair of tiny shoes that squeak when he walks.

I feel so lucky to be part of such an amazing project that is allowing children to reclaim their childhood. Many of our girls and boys have experienced things that no child should ever have to. But watching them learn to trust, to love and care for each other is like watching deep scars disappear.

Through the child sponsorship program we have seen such amazing improvement. Recently our volunteers have set up a wonderful website where people can directly donate goods such as mosquito nets, baby milk and shoes. The goods are delivered each month and make such an impact on the lives of the children and families in our community. Having sponsors, donors and volunteers provides a wonderful atmosphere of safety and consistency in which the children can thrive.

Hope for Cambodian Children is a hub of energy and excitement.

It is now a community centre where people come to seek help and friendship.

The SX Pride Week Gala Dinner, to be held on Wednesday, July 1, at Slide, will raise funds for the Hope for Cambodian Children Foundation. Tickets are $90, with $30 from every ticket purchased going towards the charity. For bookings, go to sxnews.com.au.
.............
David McAuley is the Manager Director of Hope for Cambodian Children Centre. He is based in Cambodia. Go to hopeforcambodianchildren.org.

North Hunterdon Students Raise Money To Build Cambodia Schools

Sunday May 17, 2009
Hunterdon County Democrat (New Jersey, USA)

North Hunterdon High School students have raised about half the money needed to build a school in rural Cambodia.

Through the community service project Schools Building Schools, the English Department raised $6,066 for the American Assistance for Cambodia organization.

During spring recess in April, students were encouraged to read books, magazine and newspapers, and gather pledges for every minute of reading they did while out of school.

The 221 participating students read for 1,840 hours. Lauren Sheldon's period 5-6 class earned a bagel breakfast for raising the highest number of pledges.

All of the money raised goes to American Assistance's Rural Schools Project program, which has led to the construction of more than 300 primary and lower secondary schools -- with matching funds from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank -- in rural Cambodia. Each school is sponsored by a donor to provide improvements, such as English/computer teachers, Internet connections and access to clean water.

Information on the Rural Schools Project can be found at www.cambodiaschools.com.

Water relief for rural Cambodians

(Standing, second from left) Dr Kribanandan Gurusamy Naidu, Divya George (standing, eighth from left), Damansara Rotary Club committee members and Interactors from the elc International School with a mock cheque of RM21,000 to be given to the landmine victim centre.

2007/07/21
New Straits Times (Malaysia)

KUALA LUMPUR: When members of the elc International School’s Interact Club learned of the plight of rural students in Cambodia, they were moved to tears.

One of the most basic necessities — water, was not available to the Cambodian students as piped water is only available in towns.

Making up their minds to help in any way possible, the club members decided to organise a fundraiser at the school’s International Understanding Day last March.

They raised RM24,000 and this would be used to set up a rainwater harvesting scheme at a rural school in Cambodia.

"We are happy we could help them in some way," said club president Divya George, 15.

With piped water in rural areas non-existent, rainwater harvesting is one solution to the needs of the students, and indeed the community.

"We thought of helping them through rainwater harvesting because it would give a huge impact towards the community," said adviser Dr Kribanandan Gurusamy Naidu, who is also Damansara Rotary Club international director.

Today, a group of 28 people comprising 13 Interactors from the school, some parents and Rotarians, would be visiting Cambodia to draw up a strategy for using the funds.

They would also hand over RM21,000 raised during last year’s International Understanding Day to a landmine victim centre in Cambodia.

It will be used to buy prosthetics for victims.