Schools For Cambodia

Three New Schools for Cambodia!

2011-12-19T16:47:00.000-08:00

AMFW Lisa McCoy with the Round Square Student Team 2011
in front of Their Completed School
in Prokeab village, Cambodia

Students from Round Square and their Nearly Completed School!
December 20th - Construction Day 8!
School Building Project Funded & Built by http://www.roundsquare.org/
In Collaboration with A Mine Free World Foundation, Canada
& Banyan Learning Tree in Cambodia

Round Square (RS) 'Brighter Beginnings' School in Prokeab, Takeo
Built by 21 international student team members.
December 19th Bicycle Distribution Ceremony:
The First 80 of over 200 Bicycles Sponsored by RS Students, Adults and Their Supporting Schools.

Round Square Students Design Sign for Their Constructed School

Round Square Student Team Leader David MacLellan (Canada) and
AMFW Exec. Director Lisa McCoy at Dec. 19th
Bicycle Distribution Ceremony at 'Brighter Beginnings'.

                                  Round Square Adult Leadership Training Team and Their Completed
                                    'Happy Gecko' School in Bakot, Takeo Province.
                       Under 'Happy Gecko' Sign: RSIS Project Manager Liz Gray and RS Exec Director Brian Dawson

RSIS Students in Early Phase of School Construction-

Lots of digging, shoveling, hand-mixing cement -

International Students Providing 'Sweat Equity' for the Education of Rural Cambodian Children.

In early December, 21 students arrived in Cambodia from participating international Round Square Schools to build a school at the Banyan Learning Tree Centre located in Prokeab village, Takeo province, Cambodia.

Countries represented include Kenya, Canada, Australia, South Africa, India and England. Their Team Leaders are David McLellan (Canada) and Sonia Christian (South Africa).

Their 'Sweat Equity' Trip not only included building a school in rural Cambodia, but to also to participate in many of the cultural aspects of Cambodia. This included, visiting many of Cambodia's historical sights, learning a bit of the language, and social interaction with Khmer students.

A major hightlight of their trip was the 'Bicycle and Chicken Distribution Ceremony' which was held on December 19th. The RS students had raised a few thousand dollars towards bikes and chickens for needy children and families. These were presented to the recipients at a grand distribution ceremony presided by the local Commune Leader, Mr. San Keoun.

It has been a pleasure for me to spend each day with these amazing students dedicated to provide education for the rural children in Takeo province. We all plan to celebrate this grand accomplishment by spending Christmas at the beach in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

Banyan Learning Tree School - Outskirts of Phnom Penh -
Nearing Completion!
School Building Project Funded by Patti Lee, Barbara Seagram
& Their Bridge Groups from Toronto, Canada.
A Mine Free World Foundation Project supported by
The Canadian Landmine Foundation

Two Library Building Projects Slated for January 2012!

Many Thanks to Donors Asif and Wendy Ghayoor for funding the Library/Computer Resource Building at Prokeab village in Takeo Province.

Thanks to the generosity of Asif and Wendy Ghayoor (who raised half the funds and personally donated the other half), the rural children and adults will have a wonderful new community resource at the Banyan Learning Tree Centre in Prokeab village, Takeo province, Cambodia.

The "Calogero and Luke Puma Library" will be an integral part of the Banyan Learning Tree Centre, enabling children and adults to access books and resources in Khmer and English.
Computers in the library will provide students with access to information with basic computer skills taught. Construction on this first-of-its-kind project for Prokeab will commence January, 2012.

A second, big thanks to Patti Lee, Barbara Seagram and their enthusiastic Bridge Players from the Toronto School of Bridge.

Their amazing fundraising efforts have realized the new Banyan Learning Tree School on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, and continues with their sponsorship of a Library/Computer Resource Centre at the Bakot School Site.

Project to commence January 2012.

URGENT APPEAL FOR CAMBODIAN FLOOD VICTIMS & Update from Cambodia

2011-10-18T03:19:00.000-07:00

It has been raining almost everyday since Pauline Johns and I arrived in Cambodia three weeks ago. These rains have made a devasting impact to the lives of so many in the rural areas.

Rice crops have also been severely damaged with rice prices already on the increase - making matters even worse for the population's poor.

Close to one million people have been affected by the present flood conditions in many rural areas and also in the cities.

A Mine Free World Foundation is seeking your help to provide IMMEDIATE AID for some of the tens of thousands of families throughout Cambodia that have been stranded in flood waters for several weeks now.

The worst flooding in over a decade has claimed the lives of close to 300 people so far. Rain is predicted for several more days.

Here, in Battambang province, the district of Moung Roussey has 2116 families in need of immediate clean water and food. Your generous donation will provide this through the efforts of the Cambodian Red Cross who we work closely on the ground with.

Moung Roussey Flood-Damaged Home-
Before-On Dry Land. Accessible Only By Boat Now

Donations made through our PayPal Portal will get these much-needed funds to Cambodia quickly. Please indicate ‘for flood victims’ on your donation submission. Donate at: http://www.aminefreeworld.org/

It will take some time for the flood waters to recede, so donations made by cheque will still benefit these families as they struggle to put their lives back together.

Donations by cheque:

A Mine Free World Foundation

In Memo Field: 'for flood victims'

Mail to:

A Mine Free World Foundation

906 Fung Place, Kitchener, ON
N2A 4M3

Thank You For Your Help!
Lisa and Pauline, October, 18, 2011 - Battambang province, Cambodia...

The past three weeks have seen Pauline and I visit all our main project areas: Phnom Penh, Takeo and Battambang.

Lisa and Pauline Lend a Hand at the Groundbreaking for
Banyan Learning Tree School on the Outskirts of Phnom Penh

On October 10th, we arrived in Phnom Penh to attend the groundbreaking of Banyan Learning Tree (BLT) School located on the city outskirts. This two-storey cement construction will replace the existing 60 year-old decaying structure that was demolished last week. Patti Lee, Barbara Seagram and their Bridge Group from Toronto are raising the funds for this Canadian Landmine Foundation project. BLT School conducts many outreach projects for landmine survivors in Phnom Penh and Takeo province.

BLT will see two new one-room schools built in two Takeo villages – Prokeab and Bakot- this December when groups of students and adults arrive from the international organization RoundSquare (RSIS). RSIS is funding the building of both schools and fencing for the large school site at Prokeab village.

Thanks to the Rotary Club of Etobicoke and their generous donation that will provide upwards to 10 landmine-affected families in rural Takeo province with a self-sustainable business.

Here in Battambang, Pauline and I have been out to the Koas Krala villages implementing Canadian Landmine Foundation Housing projects for landmine-affected families. This project provides all the building materials for a landmine-affected family to rebuild their village home.

Landmine Survivor Widowed Ki Peng and Her Three Children
will receive materials to have a new home built with help from Family Members

All the above projects are conducted through A Mine Free World Foundation in Canada.

After a few days in Phnom Penh next week, I’ll be heading to Siem Reap to meet up with the first of two groups of district 7070 Ontario Rotarians arriving in Cambodia on their ‘Sweat Equity’ Trip http://sweatequityd7070.blogspot.com/

We had hoped to get out the villages numerous times this week, but it has rained daily. We travel to the villages on the back of small motorcycles on slick, muddy village roads – made even less safe in the sheeting, pouring rain. We travel with Sopheany Chhouen and Mr. Loeung Deun from the Cambodian Red Cross. They’ve been twice out to the villages in Moung Roussey district providing aid to over 1,000 flood-stranded families there.

‘Muskoka Wells’ to Benefit Two New Schools in Cambodia

2011-09-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

Thousands of donated items from Muskoka and beyond, in the hands of a team of hard-working volunteers, resulted in over $5,500 raised at the A Mine Free World Foundation Giant Garage Sale held at the Gravenhurst Curling Club this July.

It was all for the cause to provide rural Cambodian children with two vital essentials that we here in Canada enjoy ample access to: Clean Water and Sanitation.

On two school-building sites in two small villages in Cambodia there now stand two, brand new two-stall latrines and two wells which are proudly sponsored by all those in Muskoka who contributed to the Giant Garage Sale endeavor.

A Big Thank You to Director Om Chamnap and Phearom Noun from

Banyan Learning Tree for a Successful Well and Latrine Project

New Schools

In addition, two new one-room schools will be erected this December in Prokeab and Bakot villages in Takeo Province, Cambodia when Gravenhurst resident Lisa McCoy and Pauline Johns (Australia) and teams of students and adults from the international organization Roundsquare (www.roundsquare.org) spend three weeks in Cambodia on a school construction trip.

These are just two of four building projects that local Rotarian, and A Mine Free World Foundation http://aminefreeworld.org/ Executive Director Lisa McCoy and Board Member Pauline Johns will be coordinating during their upcoming six months in Cambodia and Laos.

Another two-storey school on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, funded by Patti Lee, Barbara Seagram and the Toronto Bridge Group is slated for construction in October. The school site in Prokeab village will also see construction of a library/computer facility. All of these schools are under the Banyan Learning Tree umbrella organization in Cambodia.

17 year-old Thoun, a disabled student in a small village outside of Siem Reap, is now getting practical experience in his future profession. An excellent student, he now is providing an English Class at his village home. All supplies and desks were also provided from Giant Garage Sale funds. His own education is supported by the Rotary Club of Etobicoke. Now, he is sharing his knowledge with others. Thanks to Socheat Chea for overseeing this project in Cambodia.

Landmine Survivors

Much of A Mine Free World Foundation’s projects are conducted through the Canadian Landmine Foundation (CLMF) http://canadianlandmine.org/. Officially introduced in 1999, the CLMF is Canada’s foremost awareness building and fundraising organization for landmine eradication. Its President and CEO, the Hon. Lloyd Axworthy, was the Foreign Affairs Minister responsible for ratifying the Ottawa Treaty, the international treaty to ban land mines.

All our current school-building projects all provide outreach programs for landmine-affected families.

Last winter, we implemented 34 micro-businesses for rural landmine survivors as well as provided educational support for their children. We’ll be providing this help for many more landmine survivors this winter. You can watch a video of one of her successful bicycle repair business recipients on the home page of the CLMF website.

You can sponsor a landmine survivor today with your donation to A Mine Free World Foundation. We have many families waiting for a small village business or a new home. You can donate online. For more information visit http://aminefreeworld.org/ or email: aminefreeworld@gmail.com

We look forward to showing visiting Rotarians from our district as well as the November Rotary and Friends Sweat Equity groups from district 7070 all these projects when they visit Battambang and the surrounding villages.

Rotary Wheels for Learning

Volunteering as Field Coordinator for the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst’s Rotary Wheels for Learning (RWFL) bicycle distribution program, Lisa, and Pauline, coordinated the distribution of over 300 bicycles for rural Cambodian children last year. Many of these bicycles went to children from landmine-affected families.

In January, 19 Bracebridge and Gravenhurst Rotarians and friends will join McCoy in Cambodia to distribute bicycles in five rural areas of the country. Their goal is to be able to provide 1,000 bicycles for needy children to attend school.

Fund Raiser at Boston Pizza September 22

You can help this cause by attending a special fundraising dinner at Boston Pizza in Gravenhurst on Sept. 22nd, 6-9pm. The Cambodia Trip Team will be on hand to serve your dinner! Special presentations, a silent auction and a night of fun are sure to be had by all. Reservations only – 684-8024.

If you can't attend, consider making a tax-receiptable donation to Rotary Wheels for Learning at the site below.

We head for Cambodia September 27th. Follow us at: http://schoolsforcambodia.blogspot.com/ and http://rotarywheelsforlearning.blogspot.com/

We’ll also be spending some time in Laos this February as we join Steve Rutledge from Adopt a Village in Laos to help distribute 50 RWFL bicycles.

More, from Cambodia soon ;-)

Over $5,500 Raised at Our Record-Breaking GIANT GARAGE SALE!

2011-07-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

WOW! What a record-breaking GIANT GARAGE SALE it was!

Just over $5,500 was raised for latrines and wells for two Banyan

Learning Tree School building sites in rural villages in Takeo

province, Cambodia.

Gravenhurst Curling Club Filled to the Brim!

It would not have been possible without all of the dedicated

volunteers and donors who made this A Mine Free World Foundation Sale

the success it was. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart - it

was alot of work, but rewarding work, because many children in these

Cambodian villages will benefit from Hygienic Toilets and Clean Water

at these two schools.

A Huge thanks goes to Jay and Linda Harrison who helped so much to

organize this sale...to Dan Blix for all the graphic work...to Sobey's

Gravenhurst for our Saturday Sandwiches....to Bill and Dora Rathbun

for keeping us perked up with their coffee for 2 days...to the

Gravenhurst Curling Club for letting us fill their rink with

stuff...to Muskoka's wonderful publications for their support...so

many of you to thank!

Jim Goodwin and Lisa McCoy at Cash Table

We raised more than what we needed for the projects at hand. With the extra we raised, Thoun - a bright 18 year-old disabled student (limited mobility and smaller limbs on right side of body) in the small village of Pheam in Siem Reap Province, Cambodia will be starting a weekend school for young children in his village. He receives educational support from A Mine Free World Foundation and has been waiting for the opportunity to 'give back' by helping young children in his village receive extra help with their studies.

Pauline Johns, Socheat Chea & Lisa McCoy with Thoun at his village home in Pheam, Cambodia

Please keep tuned to our website at http://www.aminefreeworld.org/ for updates

on the latrines, wells and the weekend school project in Pheam

village.

Thank you for all your time, muscles, gasoline, garage space and

wonderful donations!

Lisa McCoy,

A Mine Free World Foundation

Donations and Volunteers Needed for our Annual GIANT GARAGE SALE July 9th & 10th

2011-06-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

Our 6th Annual 'A Mine Free World Foundation'
Giant Garage Sale Towards Educational Support for Cambodian Schools is Coming Up Soon!

We need your help - Donations of good used or new items (no clothing, please).

MANY VOLUNTEERS needed - Young & Old. Great summer volunteer experience for students.

Set-up all day Friday - volunteers with some time and a truck needed.

People to help set-up, sell and clean up any time throughout the 3 days.

Many 'sit-down' jobs.

We are also in need of many grocery bags and the loan of some shopping carts.

We also need GARAGE SPACE IN THE GRAVENHURST AREA to store donated items until July 8th.

For a minimum donation of $20, you can have a table to sell your own wares at the sale.

To volunteer, have a table or donate, contact: Lisa McCoy 705-687-8538, schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

OR

Jay & Linda Harrison 705-687-7679, linjay@rogers.com

This year, we are trying to raise $4,822 towards two 2-stall latrines

and two wells for two rural school-building sites in Takeo province,

Cambodia. The sites have been leveled and filled. Now, we need your

help to provide CLEAN WATER and HYGIENIC TOILETS for the two schools

that will be built on these sites in December. We have a group of students coming from around

the world through the RoundSquare organization to builds these schools. http://www.roundsquare.org/

We have Bracebridge and Gravenhurst Rotarians going over in January

that will be giving out some of the Rotary Wheels for Learning

Bicycles to new students who will be attending these schools.

No donation is too small - no committment of time volunteered is too small. It will all go to help provide these rural children with important sanitation.

Vaughn Adamson with Lisa McCoy and just a few of her numerous donations

Many Thanks to those of you who have already volunteered your time and have made generous donations. This past weekend, Jay, Linda, Carl and I picked up two truckloads and one trailer load of items donated by good friend Vaughn Adamson of Dwight and her family. Thanks to all - including Vaughn, Barb, Jay and Linda for their trucking and loading help. We'd love to pick up more donations like this.

Many thanks to also Inge Fritz and Neil and Kim Barlow for their donations.

Huge Thanks to Dan Blix for his superb graphic design work on the posters going around Muskoka and on this blog:

Dan's Advertising Design:

http://dansadvertisingdesign.blogspot.com./
I'd be so happy to have my phone ringing off the wall - so please go check out your garage or attic and we'll be happy to put your items to good work in the developing country of Cambodia.

TORONTO BRIDGE GROUP FUNDRAISING FOR A SCHOOL IN CAMBODIA

Earlier this year, Barbara Seagram, Patti Lee and members from their Toronto Bridge Group visited Phonm Penh and our small Banyan Learning Tree School there. The Bridge group had raised funds for 40 bicycles for the children there through Rotary Wheels for Learning http://rotarywheelsforlearning.blogspot.com/ .

Barbara and Patti saw the close to 100 children who attend the small one-room bamboo school there and took it upon themselves to fundraise to build a new two-storey, cement school for the children.

The total project cost is just over $24,000. $3,000 has already been raised by donors in Australia. The Bridge Group is determined to raise the rest through three spectacular Bridge Events.

The first will be held in Toronto on June 24th. The second, on August 27th in Chatham.

This Canadian Landmine Foundation Project is conducted by A Mine Free World Foundation.

Tax receipts are issued for donations of $25 or more. Contact me at schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com to donate.

To play Bridge for a Cause in Chatham, contact Patti Lee at: pattilee@sympatico.ca

Thanks Everyone, Lisa McCoy

A Busy April for A Mine Free World Foundation!

2011-04-30T12:54:00.000-07:00

I arrived back from my six months in Cambodia the first week of April and have hit the ground flying! A Mine Free World Foundation (AMFW) Board member Pauline Johns is back in her home country of Australia, and many plans are already underway for our return to Cambodia this October.

AMFW President Maria van Santen and I were guest speakers at the Etobicoke Rotary Club’s Night of a Thousand Chopsticks event on Wednesday, April 27th. Rotarian Bill Rathbun, his wife Dora and our Gravenhurst Rotary Exchange Student , Federica, all enjoyed the wonderful buffet dinner at the Mandarin Restaurant. Many Thanks to the club for such an enjoyable evening. It was good to see Debra Selkirk, Richard Chapman, Hugh Williams and all our many good friends there.

Lisa McCoy & Maria van Santen of AMFW at Night of A Thousand Chopsticks

What a fantastic surprise to see good friend and Toronto Rotarian Chris Snyder arrive! Chris is also a Board Member of the Canadian Landmine Foundation, which is supporting some of A Mine Free World Foundation’s ongoing projects.

Maria and I gave a special powerpoint presentation to everyone at the event highlighting the many beneficial projects in Cambodia that the Rotary Club of Etobicoke supported this past year for rural landmine-affected families and their children.

Lisa McCoy Provides Richard Chapman of the Rotary Club of Etobicoke
with a Report of their Club's Support for Landmine-Affected Families

Thanks to all who attended the Night of a Thousand Chopsticks Event that will realize future help for landmine-affected families in Cambodia – particularly those that are living in the rural areas in huts that are less than adequate and pose a risk to these families’ health and well-being.

Thanks to Rotarian Ralph Chiodo for buying more Cambodian silk scarves in aid of our AMFW Rural Dental Hygiene Education Program in Cambodia, and thanks to everyone at the event who purchased at total of $169 in 'Embracelet' sales. Money raised from the sale of these woven bracelets made by rural women and girls in Cambodia, goes back to support their educational needs, and to help more women and girls.

Many Thanks to Dora Rathbun for selling close to $600 in Embracelets at our AMFW and Rotary Wheels for Learning presentations this past month. A big thanks to Bill Rathbun for driving us all over Ontario!

Chris Snyder from The Rotary Club of Toronto, Bill Rathbun from the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst
and Ralph Chiodo from the Rotary Club of Etobicoke -
All Paul Harris Fellows!

Dora Rathbun selling Embracelets with Lisa McCoy

During our six months in Cambodia and our many trips into rural villages to visit these families, we came across many living in grass huts with termite infested beams and large gaping holes in the roofs and walls – many did not even have four walls!

Pauline and I rebuilt two homes this past winter. With help from Sopheany from the Cambodian Red Cross in Battambang and Director Chamnap of Banyan Learning Tree in Phnom Penh, we now have developed a project that can provide a new post and beam, grass-paneled, metal-roofed home for a rural family.

Your Donation of US$425 can provide a new home for a landmine survivor and his/her family. Recipients are supplied with all the building materials and tools and they build their own home. Donors are given a photo of their sponsored family’s present home, their new home and biographical information on their family.

You can read details of this project, and how to donate at the following Google Docs Link:

CLICK HERE

Patti Lee, Barbara Seagram and members of their Toronto Bridge Group are still going strong and planning about three events to raise funds towards AMFW’s project to rebuild Banyan Learning Tree School on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Members of their group had visited the school and helped give out some of the 40 Rotary Wheels for Learning Bicycles they provided for children there. You can read more about this at:

http://rotarywheelsforlearning.blogspot.com/

Banyan Learning Tree School provides English and basic sanitation education to close to 100 students. It also conducts many outreach projects for landmine-affected families in villages near the Killing Fields. The children attending the school are currently learning in a makeshift bamboo classroom. There is only one small outside latrine. The new, two-storey cement structure will include inside classrooms and two indoor washrooms. The total project cost is US$23,038.74. This AMFW project is supported by the Canadian Landmine Foundation. Any donation of $25 or more is eligible for a Canadian tax receipt. Donations towards this building project can be made by cheque to:

‘The Canadian Landmine Foundation’, and mailed to:

Chris Snyder
Investment Planning Counsel/ECC Group
100 Simcoe St., Suite 100
Toronto, ON, M5H 3G2

In the Memo Field of your cheque, please indicate ‘Banyan School’. Tax receipts issued in Canada for donations of $25 or more.

Please help us rebuild Banyan Learning Tree School. If we can raise $17,241.76, we can build the first storey this fall! For a full project proposal, contact me at: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

More exciting AMFW rural school-building projects in Cambodia are being supported by the world-wide Round Square organization, www.roundsquare.org . They will be bringing two groups over in December to fund and build two one-room cement free education schools in two rural villages in Takeo province. The first team will be comprised of students from around the world. The second will be a leaders training group. It will be exciting for all of us at AMFW to host enthusiastic people from around the world as they work alongside rural people in Cambodia to build schools to further the education of children.

These two schools will be part of our Banyan Learning Tree (BLT) organization in Cambodia. BLT Director Om Chamnap is pleased to announce that Socheat Chea will be our sub-office director in Takeo overseeing both these schools in Takeo. The school that the RoundSquare students will be building is the first structure on site. This Banyan Learning Tree School is the first phase of a huge nine-phase project – Banyan Learning Tree Centre- that will see a two-building Family Care Centre and Library & Computer Centre included – a valuable rural resource centre that will be of benefit to so many!

Director Chamnap has been working hard in Cambodia and we are happy to report that 215 trucks of landfill have just been leveled at this site!

Filled and Leveled - Ready for the Banyan Learning Centre in Rural Takeo

One more piece of exciting news to share! St. Brigid Catholic School in Toronto, Canada will be actively helping our Banyan Learning Tree School students in Phnom Penh! They have plans to raise some funds for bicycles for the students.

Last month, 67 of the BLT students wrote letters and created masterpiece drawings that I brought back with me to Canada to deliver to the St. Brigid students when I visit their school on May 27.

WE NEED YOUR HELP:

We are also busy getting plans underway for our AMFW GIANT GARAGE SALE this summer. We don’t have a venue or the date set yet – we need your help – we are looking for a place to hold this giant fundraiser! We are also ready to start taking in donations of new or good-used items.

CALL OR EMAIL if you would like to donate items, volunteer or have a venue where we can hold our sale:

Lisa McCoy 705-687-8538 schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com
OR
Jay & Linda Harrison 705-687-7679

Cambodian Landmine Survivor's Successful Bicycle Repair Business

2011-03-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

Since Cambodian landmine survivor Nil Noy received his 'A Mine Free World Foundation' bicycle repair business in November 2010, his business has been growing in leaps and bounds. Every time we visit his business we are totally in awe of his ingenuity and enthusiasm. His beaming smile and pride are as big as his determination to lift himself and his family out of a life of poverty. Soon after he received his Rotary Club of Etobicoke sponsored business, he began buying bicycle parts from the few dollars he made and started building bicycles!

Last month, Jay and Linda Harrison of Gravenhurst, Ontario donated a new compressor for his business which enabled him to pump up not only bicycle tires, but also the tires of trucks and tractors in the area.

He saved enough money from his business to enrol himself in a 10-day spray painting course in Battambang. He has just returned from this course and business continues to boom. He now has a yard full of bicycles he has built - he even built one using the wheels of a used broken wheelchair - just an amazing man!

Nil Noy and His Growing Bicycle building/repair Business

Nil Noy will also be 'giving back' by building 3-5 bicycles a year which will be donated to children of landmine affected families.

Nil Noy lives in Koh Krala district in Battambang province, Cambodia. He lost his right leg to a landmine in 1988 while serving in the army.

Nil Noy also saved Pauline and I from a possible snake bite :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8JCB6ifWig

Your donation will help a landmine survivor by supplying him/her with a self-sustainable business. Recipients receive a business which will provide them income in their rural community. Visit our 'To Donate' tab at the top of this page.

Here is another success story:

Plet Hing lives with her 2 daughters in a poor village in Koas Krala district, Battambang province, Cambodia. Thanks to the generosity of A Mine Free World Foundation donor, Morn Mon of United States, Hing now has 13 healthy chickens that will be laying soon.

Part of her donation package included $40 capital to build a chicken coop. But, Hing has no husband or knowledge of how to build a coop - but that did not deter her! She hired a local village man for $10 to build her coop, bought the coop building supplies for $20, and had $10 leftover to buy rice for her family and her chickens.

Plet Hing, Daughterand new Chicken Coop

Where there's a will - there's a way!

Plet Hing is 48 years old and lost her leg to a landmine. Shortly after, her husband left her and the girls to fend for themselves.

When Kog Koum was 9 years-old, he lost his right arm to a landmine. Children in the rural areas of Cambodian playing in the fields often fall victim to these deadly remnants of war.

Thanks to A Mine Free World Foundation Donors: the Etobicoke Rotary Club , who funded Heang Saret's TV/Radio repair business, and Jay and Linda Harrison of Gravenhurst, Ontario, who bought a year's worth of art supplies for the year-long course, Kog Koum now will have the opportunity to learn what he desires most - Art! He will be taught by landmine survivor Heang Saret who not only repairs TVs, but is known as an accomplished artist in his village.

Happy Art Student Kog Koum - Heang Saret Art Teacher looks on
Both Landmine Survivors

Heang Saret and Kog Koum both live in Koas Krala village and know each other. Kog Koum seems an unhappy boy, not being able to fit-in with his peers. He seems uncared for in his small village home - lost amongst his 7 other siblings. But he's a happy young man today, with big smiles and a world of creativity ahead of him. Their artistic relationship will hopefully also result in some positive mentoring for Kog Koum.

Heang Saret lost his right leg to a landmine in 1988 while serving in the army. He and his wife have five children. Their artistic relationship will hopefully also result in some positive mentoring for Kog Koum.
Kog Koum hopes to be able to teach art someday to young children in his village. We'll have some of their art available for sale to help other landmine survivors in 2012.

The Circle of Giving Keeps Going Around :-)

Lisa and Pauline, Battambang
A Mine Free World Foundation

Help for Landmine Survivors, Round Square Organization Sponsors a Future School-Building Project, Night of A 1000 Chopsticks & more!

2011-03-03T20:21:00.000-08:00

I'd like to begin this latest blog posting with a special announcement about a special school-building project in rural Cambodia:

Round Square Organization roundsquare.org, a world-wide association of more than 80 schools on five continents, will be briging a team of students to Cambodia this December to build a one-room school in rural Takeo province in Cambodia. The project will be conducted through A Mine Free World Foundation in Canada and will result in a second Banyan Learning Tree School built in Cambodia. Banyan Learning Tree is a registered Cambodian organization dedicated to providing free education and support for the impoverished children and people of rural Cambodia.

A team of up to 20 Round Square students from countries around the world will arrive the first week of December and with the help of local builders, construct a one-room, cement free-education school in the village of Trapeang Thum in Takeo Province. They will also get involved in sponsoring and giving out some bicycles to rural area students as well as a many other activities that will allow them to interact with Cambodia's friendly people and experience its unique culture.

An announcement of a special evening in support of A Mine Free World Foundation and its projects to help landmine survivors living in the rural areas of Cambodia:

Night of 1000 Chopsticks

Hosted by the Rotary Club of Etobicoke

Location: Mandarin Restaurant, The Queensway in Etobicoke.

Date / Time: 6:00 PM, Wednesday April 27

Visit the Rotary Club of Etobicoke website for more information.

Cost: $60 with a $35 tax receipt issued. Maximum capacity is 70 people, so register early!

I’ve just returned for another ten days traveling through the villages of Koas Krala district in Battambang province. The Canadian Landmine Foundation and the Rotary Club of Etobicoke have sponsored a total of 31 businesses and vocational courses for landmine-affected families scattered throughout this district. Days are spent visiting these families and seeing how these self-sustainable businesses are slowly improving the quality of their lives.

I am based in Battambang and to get to the villages involves a 50km moto ride there and back on the dry dusty roads of the region. My moto driver is Sopheany from the Cambodian Red Cross and she is a superb driver as most Cambodians are. We’re accompanied by Sida and Deun (also from the Red Cross) on another moto. By the end of our day, we are all covered in red dust , thirsty and tired but always with a heartwarming sense of accomplishment for the help we have been able to provide to a few of the poor in the area.

There have been so many success stories, but here are a few of the highlights:

Thanks to recent A Mine Free World Foundation (AMFWF) donor Morn Mon in United States, landmine survivors Plet Hing and Koun Khan each now have chicken-rearing businesses at their homes. Hing is also busy building a chicken coop which is also supplied with this donation. Khan already has a chicken coop, so will use his capital to buy a pig and few ducks. $125 can provide a family with up to 13 chickens, baskets, cages and capital to build their own chicken coop. To sponsor a chicken-rearing or another self-sustainable business for a landmine-affected family, please contact us at:
schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

Khan (with Sopheany)receives 8 chickens and
money to buy a pig and ducks

Hing receives her 2 baskets containing

13 chickens

Banyan Learning Tree School on the outskirts of Phnom Penh now has a collection of close to 100 books and a new wood bookcase – their first Library thanks to donor Robena Kirton of Gravenhurst Ontario. This new library was celebrated along with a distribution of 25 Rotary Wheels for Learning Bicycles on February 22nd. The school had its first international visitors that day: Patti Lee, Barbara Seagram and their Bridge Group from Toronto. We were all delighted with the ‘Reading Frenzy’ that occurred that first time the children saw and read these books.

You can watch a video of the children using the new library at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4i6zGd2JcA

Landmine survivor Heang Saret received support for his TV/Radio repair business from the Rotary Club of Etobicoke. When I visited his small roadside home/repairshop he was busy repairing a TV for a customer- business is good and he makes enough to provide food for the family. His family of five lives in the back portion of the hut and he conducts his repairs in the front. His straw roof and walls were riddled with gaping holes offering absolutely no protection against the elements for his family or business. Sopheany and I researched some costs for new beams, a metal roof and new grass panels for his house.

Thanks to Wendy Inatey from Australia, Saret’s family now has a new home. Sopheany and I purchased all the materials and Saret and his eldest son rebuilt their home. The project took them 11 days, and Saret and his son received the satisfaction of doing the work themselves. This rebuild cost US$130.

Saret's New Home with Metal Roof - $130

Landmine survivor Meum Haeng with a wife and five children live in a small hut that only has 2 walls. His wife received a small business from the Rotary Club of Etobicoke where she sells vegetables from her bicycle with an attached large basket. Haeng and his wife are desperately looking for a sponsor to supply the building materials to give them a metal roof and four new walls. US$180 can give them all the supplies they need and they’ll do all the work themselves.

Meum Haeng and Son

$180 will put 4 Walls and Metal Roof on Haeng's Home

AMFWF Board Member Pauline Johns and I will soon be heading back into the rural villages of Koas Krala district. We'd love to provide businesses and homes for more landmine-affected families. Landmine casualties are on the rise in Cambodia. I've seen the Cambodian Mine Action Authority CMAC) hard at work in the rural villages in this area, but it will take years and years to remove the estimated five million landmines that plague these rural areas in Cambodia. It does not take much to make a big difference in the life of a rural person.

We have friends Robin and Clair arriving from Australia tomorrow - their first time to Cambodia! Pauline and I have lots to show them. In a few days the four of us will be heading to Takeo province to vist the 11 rural women participating in the 'Embracelets' program and to see all the beautiful bracelets, necklaces and keychains they've been busy making. See: http://embraceletsforbooks.blogspot.com/ for more about that exciting project.

More soon in a few days...thanks to everyone for their generous support.

Lisa,

Phnom Penh

Cambodia Landmine Survivor Success Story - A Compressor for Nil Noy's Rural Bicycle Repair Business

2011-02-05T03:37:00.000-08:00

Click on the above photo to see a web album of Nil Noy and the compressor he will receive tomorrow.

Ever since landmine survivor Nil Noy received his Rotary Club of Etobicoke sponsored bicycle repair business, he has been going bananas fixing and even building bicycles from scratch! He is a man on a mission to lift his family of 8 out of poverty. He is proud of the bicycles he builds and sells. His home is on a busy road on the way to Koas Krala in Battambang district.

His business will improve vastly now with this brand new compressor which will enable him to not only pump up bicycle tires, but also moto and tractor tires. He will make 200, 500 and 1000 riel respectively for each tire he pumps up for a customer. - A Mine Free World Foundation - dedicated to improve the lives of landmine survivors in Cambodia. Watch his compressor fire up at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-iF5EwreM0

In return for his compressor, Nil Noy will 'pay it forward' buy building 3-5 bicycles a year for children of landmine survivors in his area - enabling them to get to school!

Nil Noy's compressor was loaded onto a moto trailer and will make it's way to Koas Krala tomorrow with a truckload of 70 Rotary Wheels for Learning bicycles. http://rotarywheelsforlearning.blogsot.com/

Donate today to lift a landmine survivor out of poverty - see the 'To Donate' tab at the top of this page.

Watch Nil Noy Smile as Battambang Rotarian Samrithy

fires up his new compressor generously donated by

Jay and Linda Harrison of Gravenhurst, Ontario

Nil Noy Receives Compressor in Koas Krala and is now ready for lots of business!

Two Days in Koas Krala Villages – Visiting Landmine Survivors and Volunteering for The Cambodian Red Cross

2011-01-28T05:23:00.000-08:00

I’ve been two days on the back of a moto (small-engine motorcycle) traveling the bumpy, dust-red backroads of Koas Krala district, Battambang Province, Cambodia. My friend Sopheany from the Cambodian Red Cross has been taking me around to visit all the landmine-affected families that received business and vocational support from the Rotary Club of Etobicoke and the Canadian Landmine Foundation.

Sopheany Chhoeun is 27 years-old and the dedicated District Administrator for the Cambodian Red Cross. Her English skills are being put to the test as we travel together. She is doing very well with simple translating and in the past two days we have visited 16 of the 31 homes that were provided these businesses through A Mine Free World Foundation.

Rien Youm - His Barber Shop & Customer
Funded by the Rotary Club of Etobicoke

Sopheany from the Cambodian Red Cross
Studies Landmine Survivor's Files

It is a long moto drive to Koas Krala - over one hour- and many of the landmine-affected families live strewn throughout several villages. So, it pretty well means all day on the back of a moto. Of the 12 businesses we saw on Wednesday, 10 were doing very good!

Most of them were chicken-rearing businesses. In November each recipient received chickens and chicken baskets and capital to buy more chickens and build a chicken coop on their property. Well – after 2 months results are astonishing and the chicken numbers have multiplied rapidly! One man has 46 chickens now, many chicks and ducks also! Another man has 14 chickens, many chicks and a PIG!

Son Sang-Chicken Rearing Business & Chicken House
Funded by the Canadian Landmine Foundation

Vun Therm-Chickens and Chicken House
Funded by the Canadian Landmine Foundation

One amputee who got a chicken business used his extra capital to buy 8 ducks and he has 68 duck eggs being incubated and 7 chickens now and is in the process repairing his chicken house. Another Chicken business recipient also has duck eggs about to hatch. Seems all our chicken businesses have a duck sideline!!!! Another chicken business that we visited has over 30 chickens now.

Khom Kam-8 Ducks, 7 Chickens, 68 Duck eggs to hatch, Repairs to Chicken House
Funded by the Canadian Landmine Foundation

Two of the chicken recipients are elderly men, one lost a leg to a landmine - the other has a fractured hip and internal injuries due to a landmine. These 2 old men have actually bonded with their chickens. They actually love them. I hope they both realize they will have to sell them eventually...actually, they have been...but I never realized that many of the recipients treat their chickens with such warmth, care and love. Also was wonderful to see all the grown chickens nesting in their cardboard boxes or whatever is on hand to make a makeshift nesting box with.

Comfy inside the new Chicken House

You can provide a village level chicken-rearing business to a landmine-affected family with a US$125 donation to A Mine Free World Foundation. Each donor is provided with a photo and information of their sponsored family. See our ‘To Donate’ page- tab at the top of this page.

A Mine Free World Foundation provides numerous village-level businesses to landmine survivors:

The one barber business we visited needs a new clipper - I will have to get him one, his business will pick up again then. The other barber recipient had a customer in the chair when I arrived. He cuts people's hair in his wheelchair. His business is doing well.

One small shop business recipient has changed his business to an EEL Farming business - they are building a small, square cement swimming pool!!!! That is great! This is also a very lucrative village level business.

That said, Sopheany and I discovered that we both like to eat eel, so we decided to have lunch in a very nice restaurant in Koas Krala...we ate fried eel, and 2 plates of chicken and vegetables, plus Coca Cola and the tab was only $3.50!!!!!!

We had a lot of fun - Sida (Red Cross volunteer) came along also. We find one big problem with many of the poorest landmine victims. Many landmine survivors don’t own the land or hut they live in. Their homes are falling apart with huge holes in the grass walls and roofs. I would love to be able to fix up their homes, but if you make them too nice, the owners may take their house and land back – big problem. One solution is to fix up their home with perhaps a few pieces of metal sheeting and patch up the grass walls – just enough to keep the family dry.

Help Repair the Heang Family Roof!

Heang Saret's TV/Radio Repair Shop
Funded by Etobicoke Rotary Club

One wonderful family – a landmine survivor who runs a TV and radio repair business is a hard worker and good father with a loving wife and five children. Big holes in their roof...his shop get wets when it rains ...all over the electronics, which they have to cover quickly with tarps....the one small room where they all live in gets wet, but he does not own the land or the hut. He had customers at his shop and his business is doing great. Perhaps some metal sheeting for his roof will keep his family and business dry. If you would like to donate to this specific need, please contact me at: http://schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

....Oh Yes! - These were all surprise business inspections. The recipients had no idea thatwe were coming. They were all (except for an absent carpenter recipient) happy to see us again and proudly showed off their businesses.

One of our landmine victims has died since his family was given a small shop business. The old widow now runs the small food shop business and is very proud of it. This business has also given her otherwise lonely life some socializing when people come to buy small goods from her.

Hor Veourn's Widow- Proud of her new Village shop
Funded by the Canadian Landmine Foundation

Anyway, from what I have seen these past couple of days, the chicken rearing businesses are a huge success - these are huge chickens - no disease problems either. People with these businesses, sell the chickens and ducks from their homes to nearby villagers to bring in money as needed. Many of the chicken recipients still seek out extra outside employment as it pops up. They also eat the chickens themselves too. But, I was really amazed at how fast they grow and have chicks of their own.

A Mine Free World Foundation donor, Morn Mon, has supplied 2 more chicken businesses for 2 more on our list of identified 51 Koas Krala landmine families - Plet Hing and Khoun Kam. They will get their chickens on Feb 6 at the Rotary Wheels for Learning bicycle distribution. We’ll be giving out 70 bicycles to needy area children who lack this vital transportation.

Yesterday, it was back to Koas Krala for more 'business inspections':

Cambodia is so interesting when you allow the Khmer people to take you places, and you have no idea where you are being taken to:

Today, I arrived in Koas Krala, caked in red dirt from being on the moto for over an hour (normal - from the roads, especially now in the dry season) Sopheany drives me to the Koas Krala District Governor's office, because she thought it would be "nice for me to meet him" , even though he does not understand English...anyway, it turned out to be a pleasant meeting with the Governor, who even offered me a room with bath at the office to stay in if ever I should need one. (maybe he saw how dirty I was :-)

After that, again - having no idea where I was being taken, Sopheany drives me for another 45 minutes on bumpy roads to a poor, poor village, where a whole bunch of food has just arrived - I ended up volunteering all morning giving out food for the Red Cross (I guess the Cambodian Red Cross has been helping out Rotary so much, so it's time for me to help them out a little :-)....it was truly a fantastic experience....the food program they have directly gets the food to the very poor!!!....a donor can provide a box of food staples for a family for $12/month. Contact me if you would like to support this food program for the many landmine-affected families in Koas Krala.

Cambodian Red Cross prepares food for distribution

They also provide enough seeds for garden for a family for $25!!!! I told Sopheany that I would try to find her more funding for this and the food program...she says she has so many more poor that she just does not have funding for. One of our landmine victims who got chickens also got seeds for his whole garden that he had just tilled by hand. He was so, so proud to show me his fantastic chickens...his new coop and his garden ready to be seeded.

After that, we visited 4 more landmine survivors who received businesses, lunch and then THREE of us (Red Cross volunteer Mr. Loeung drove)went on the moto,( because roads were so bad and Sopheany was too scared to drive), to her parent's place, where we spent the rest of the afternoon eating pineapples from her father's garden and then back to Battambang - filthy as usual, bones hurting from the moto, but with three lovely pineapples and and feeling wonderful of the many cherished village visits here so far.

To view more photos from the past two village days CLICK HERE

A Future 'Muskoka School' in Remote Laos

2011-01-18T18:44:00.000-08:00

The children in the remote village of Hat Kham in northern Laung Prabang province have lost their only small bamboo-structure school to monsoon rains and wind. . They are in dire need of a cement two-room primary school that will teach grades one to three. US$10,000 will build this school equipped with desks, fencing, blackboard and teacher.

The building site has been cleared of landmines. This is important, as in Laos there is a landmine casualty everday.

Your garage sale donations and monetary donations can help build this school and provide valuable education for these remote children! This summer, A Mine Free World Foundation will focus their annual Gaint Garage Sale on raising funds for a Muskoka School in Laos!

Call 705-687-8538 to donate. Email: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com . Donations accepted by A Mine Free World Foundation for this Adopt a Village in Laos project. For examples of government standard schools visit Steve's blog at: http://adoptavillageinlaos.blogspot.com/

To make your donation by mail, please click on the 'To Donate' tab at the top of this page. Please write 'Muskoka School' in the memo field of your cheque.

Donors who wish, will have their name, or company name listed on the official 'Muskoka School' sign, which will hang proudly on the school's facade.

Muskoka has provided a school in rural Cambodia and has given the children at this school shoes, school uniforms and 100 bicycles.

Steve Rutledge, Ontario friends Kate Mills, Sammy Minc and I have just come back from our visit to this village. Getting to Hat Kham involes a three hour journey on winding mountain roads to the Nam Ou river docks at Nong Khiaw. Then, it's an hour and a half journey by boat north to the small village of Hat Kham.

Hat Kham is a small isolated village comprised of 53 families. Total population around 491. In Laos, villages are a tight-knit community with huts in close proximity of each other. When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by village people and children. Steve Rutledge from Adopt a village in Laos had been here before, so there was a lot of excitement surrounding his arrival.

We were invited to the village chief's house to meet with all the village elders where Steve introduced us and discussed future school-building, water and hygienic toilet projects.

Inside Village Chief's House with Elders

Upon leaving the chief's house, we had a chance to give out bags of crackers that we had brought along for the children.

Then , we were taken to the proposed building site for the school. Nearby, was the village's community hall, where the children are presently attending school. It is an open building - not suitable as a school, and oftentimes the building is used for village council meetings.

Aterwards, there was a chance for some fun and games with the children - as you'll see in the video below!

The children then led us through the village, back to the chief's house, where a fresh fish and other delicacies were cooked up for us. We took part in another Bacci Ceremony - cotten strings accompanied by verbal blessings were attached to our wrists.

There is no end to the kindness villagers express to visitors.

View the full photo album of our trip to Hat Kham and the future Muskoka School site: CLICK HERE

Muskoka -Let's help another developing country and provide vital education to remote children.

Cluster Munitions and Bombs - Laos' Deadly UXO

2011-01-10T22:08:00.000-08:00

The other day, Steve Rutledge and I had the opportunity to visit the UXO LAO Visitor Centre here in Luang Prabang, Laos.

We were saddened to learn that Laos is recognized as being the world’s most heavily bombed and cluster munitions affected nation on the earth.

The Laos government recognizes this serious problem and the challenge it poses to the safety and development of their country.

At the Visitor Centre, there is a very informative display and video presentation that really gives one a clear picture of the impact of UXOs (unexploded ordnance – bombs, landmines, shells, grenades, etc) in the developing country of Laos.

30% of Laos’ population of 6.8 million lives below the poverty level with 43% of those living in the rural areas. The presence of dangerous UXO directly impacts those at the bottom of the poverty scale who depend on the land to survive.

According to the Lao National UXO Programme ( http://www.uxolao.org/ ), over 2 million tons of explosive ordnance was dropped over Lao from 1964 to 1973 based on US bombing records.

The site goes on to state that more than 580,000 bombing missions flew over Lao during those years dropping more than 270 million cluster munitions. 30% of these have failed to explode – 80,000,000!

A cluster munition, or cluster bomb, is an air-launched or ground-dropped explosive weapon that ejects smaller submunitions: a cluster of bomblets!

Since 1973, there have been 12,000 recorded UXO-related accidents in Laos. Data indicates that over 50% of the victims are children who find the ‘Bombies’ an attractive play toy to toss back and forth.

The Larger bombs and rockets will bring in a small sum of ‘Kip’ (local currency) in the scrap metal trade, so people and children will risk their lives to unearth them.

In Cambodia, the countryside is plagued with anti-personnel and anti-tank mines. Here in Laos, it is these cluster munitions, or ‘Bombies’ which litter the countryside and cause food shortages because their presence limits agricultural production, resulting in villagers unable to conduct sustainable livelihoods.

School-building projects, road building and tourism are all affected by these deadly remnants of war.

For Laos, as many-other mine-affected countries around the world, it will take endless decades of demining to recover from the tragedy of war.

More Village Visits in Laos!

2011-01-06T23:04:00.000-08:00

We've taken a few days to rest and recuperate from a few minor ailments here at Steve's house in Luang Prabang - so a good time to try and catch up on the numerous village trips Steve has taken us on.

It was amazing to see the two schools Adopt a Village in Laos has built in Had Chan and Pha Yong villages. Click here to see Steve Rutledge's blog: Adopt a Village in Laos

Adopt a Village in Laos has provided water filters for every village home and has plans underway to install hygienic toilets throughout both villages. Here are three photos from Pha Yong:

The trip from Luang Prabang to Had Chan and Pha Yong villages is one of the most scenic I have ever experienced. We left Luang Prabang by van early in the morning to arrive at the Nong Khiaw boat docks 2 hours later. The 40-minute boat ride up the river Ou was filled with breathtaking scenes and areas which took us through small rapids.

Below is a photo of the Nong Khiaw boat docks:

We spent the first night in the village of Had Chan and on the second morning we took the boat to Soupkhan village from which we hopped on a tractor taxi for the hour-long, bumpy trip through the hills to Pha Yong. Below is a taste of some of the astounding scenery along the way.

To give you an idea of the area we covered, below is a map of Luang Prabang province showing the Road 13 route from Luang Prabang to Pak Mong and Road 1 to the docks at Nong Khiaw. The area in the square indicates the village areas along the Ou river (but you won't find many small villages like Had Chan or Pha Yong named on any map!)

We spent Khmu New Year in the Khmu village of Had Chan. Here I had my first Bacci Ceremony experience. This ceremony is held for many occasions - births, deaths, special village guests, etc. - when we arrived in Had Chan, they were just about to start. This Bacci ceremony was being held outside under a makeshift awning. Food was laid out on a low, round table with guests and village elders sitting on mats around the table. As part of the ceremony, white cotten bracelets are tied around each other's wrists with an accompanying Buddhist blessing. Food, music, dance and Lao-Lao follow. Here are photos of Steve and I at the Bacci Ceremony.

That was the pleasure part of our villages escapades - now on to the projects!

Steve has a wonderful rapport with villagers everywhere. His easygoing manner wins over everyone in the villages and they know from past experience that he is there to make a positive improvement in the quality of their lives and their village.

He may venture into a village with a water or school-building project, but it never ends there - he truly does 'adopt' a village, and revisits it to monitor and evaluate existing projects and then implements the next step toward improvement. These two villages had schools built by Adopt a Village in Laos. Steve was now back to show these villages the benefits of hygienic toilets and to start the process of implementing a project that would provide both Had Chan and Pha Yong villages with such toilets.

I'm watching Steve's every move - it will be wonderful to bring this knowledge of hygienic toilet systems back to the rural areas of Cambodia!

Had Chan Village - Steve Discusses Hygienic Toilets with Villagers

I had a great time in Had Chan village. We slept comfortably at Oudom's family home in the village. Everywhere we went we were offered big meals which included village delicacies such as water buffalo meat, dried seaweed, sticky rice, chicken and all the local Lao fare. It is customary for people to eat from communal bowls using their hands.

A few days ago, Pauline Johns, Steve and I went with our Lao friend Somnuek to visit another village area - a 'New Village'.

Ban Nong Buekhon - name of the new village - is comprised of four relocated villages. The people were moved for developmental reasons. This new area will give these people better future access to education and transportation. 330 families had been relocated to this area with an anticipated total of 375 families once all have been relocated.

Throughout the 48 hectares of this new village, families were busy rebuilding their homes and starting anew alongside the Mekong river. There are many future needs for this village which include a secondary school, clean water sources and bicycles for these children and the children in the nearby village 5km away.

Much to my surprise our convoy to this New Village was accompanied by the Governor, Deputy Governor, Minister of Agriculture and other officials from Luang Prabang Province. Our truck was filled with 80 mosquito nets and 100 blankets which were presented to the villagers in a special ceremony. The Governor presented the four of us with framed certificates thanking us for our kind donation.

Pauline, Lisa, Governor of Luang Prabang Province, Owner of Bel Air Resort, Steve

All these trips to villages and seeing the need for schools has got me really inspired to get a small A Mine Free World Foundation supported 'Muskoka School' project going in one of the Adopt a Village in Laos targeted villages. Once we all get over our colds, we'll be heading back to more villages in the northern part of the province.

On the way back from Ban Nong Buekhon we made a final stop at the village of Nong Hepe where we came along some students walking home from secondary school. Each day these students spend 3 hours walking to and from school. As in Cambodia, many families can't afford the cost of a bicycle for their children, let alone the secondary school enrolment cost of over $10/year. As in most developing countries, bicycles provide this vital link to transportation for education.

Nong Hepe Village Boys who walk 5km Each Way to Attend School

Off the Plane and Into Northern Laos Villages

2010-12-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

It's been four years since my last visit to Laos, and I must say I have been eager to get back ever since...and thanks to Steve Rutlege, a fellow-Rotarian from Ontario - there are reasons to be back here that can get some beneficial projects going for the small villages in the remote Northern hill villages of Laos!

Before you read on - check out Steve's Blog at: http://adoptavillageinlaos.blogspot.com/

Adopt a Village in Laos is a non-profit Canadian organization building wonderful schools and providing vital clean water to these small remote villages. We'll be seeing many of these projects and intended future projects - one of them being a VERY exciting prospect - A Muskoka School site in the village of Hat Kham, by the Ou river near the northern boundry line between Phongsali and Luang Prabang provinces. More on that project in future postings.

Pauline Johns and I spent a very special Christmas Day. We took a flight to Luang Prabang which saw us arrive there at 6pm. We were met by Steve and Mike and a host of friendly Laos friends who wisked us away to Steve's lovely house (The 'Hilton' compared to some of the villages we stayed at in Cambodia)here in Luang Prabang.

After a toast to the season, it was time to enjoy a restaurant celebatory meal. We all caught up on projects at hand in Laos and Cambodia, and it was about midnight until my mind settled down enough to sleep...I was just so wound up with all the plans ahead that could transpire into such meaningful projects for the children here.

Next morning, Steve had the day planned with our first trips into the villages. Laos has got to be one of the most beautiful countries on earth - these hills in the north are lush, water is abundant, and a climate that is much more bearable than Cambodia.

Rich in beauty, but unfortunately that's where the weath ends. Laos is a struggling developing country seeing far less organizations at work in the rural areas than it's surrounding countries. There is a serious lack of schools and many that are operating are unsafe for the children attending.

Our first visit was to Xieng Nguen District School. Over 1300 students attend there 3 wooden structures that have main beams so badly infested with termites, it will soon pose a danger to the students attending. Four of the classrooms have been 'added on' under the floor beams resulting in 4 dungeon classrooms where children can barely see the blackboard at the front of the school. Steve's got a great plan that will save these students from there presently over-crowded, unsafe classrooms.

Next, it was off to Na Dad village where Steve is investigating a possible solution for a clean water source for the families there. At the top of the mountain, water flows down the mountain into a generating station and then continues into a river which flows through small villages alongside the water. Halfway down the river, there is a pig farm! Every bacteria you can think of from that pig farm is flowing down that river and is the water source for the people living alongside!

Some of the villagers have dug rusty steel wells right beside the river. We suppose that they think that that is a clean source of water, but it really is only the same river water that is a few feet away!

Last stop of the day has been recorded on video, which I'll have linked up to this site soon. A visit to a thoroughly neglected district clinic.

Many challenges, most that can be solved through the provision of education, schools and provision of clean water.

So many children here need bicycles to get to school. Steve and I will be investigating the logistics to provide some future Rotary Wheels for Learning bicycles to the rural children here.

A Mine Free World Foundation Board Members, Pauline and I are here to also investigate the needs of landmine victims here. There is apparently a whole village of landmine survivors living together that we'll be visiting.

We are off to more nearby villages tomorrow, and then after that we'll be making a 3-day trek by land, water and foot into some more remote areas up the Ou river.

A Mine Free World Foundation: Canadian Landmine Foundation Funds Businesses for Landmine Survivors

2010-12-24T17:21:00.000-08:00

Cambodian 'Muskoka School' Children Receive Bicycles

2010-12-22T08:07:00.000-08:00

On December, 22nd here in Ta Trav village,Siem Reap district, 20 students receive bicycles funded by the volunteer endeavors and donations by the citizens and Rotarians in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. US$3,500 was raised through A Mine Free World Foundation's Giant Garage Sale in Muskoka towards 100 bicycles for rural children in this area lacking transportation to get to school. The Trailblazer Foundation, here on the ground in Cambodia is conducting this vital project. For info:schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

THANK YOU MUSKOKA

Cambodian ‘Muskoka School’ Students Receive Bicycles

2010-12-22T00:07:00.000-08:00

Christmas has come two days early to 20 students here in Ta Trav village in rural Siem Reap province.

This past summer, a Giant Garage Sale was held at the Curling Club in Gravenhurst, resulting in US$3,500.00 raised for 100 bicycles for area children at the Muskoka School in Cambodia.

Thanks to the generosity of Muskoka citizens and Rotary Clubs, a bicycle project is now in place for 100 area children who lack the transportation to get to school.

The project saw funds raised through A Mine Free World Foundation http://www.aminefreeworld.org/ . The organization on the ground here in Cambodia handling the distribution program is the US Charity ‘The Trailblazer Foundation’ http://www.thetrailblazerfoundation.org/

Many Thanks to Scott and Chris Coats and Ung Rattana of the Trailblazer Foundation for the implementation of the project here in Cambodia.

Today saw the second lot of twenty bicycles distributed to students at the school here. Most of the students who received bicycles were those that will be going to a secondary school next year. At the Bicycle Distribution Ceremony, the Commune Chief urged them to use these bicycles to continue and further their education.

The ‘Muskoka School’ was built by the Trailblazer Foundation in 2009. Muskoka residents and Rotary Clubs raised over US$20,000 towards this school-building project.

Two more days to go until Christmas Day – when Pauline and I will be on a flight to Luang Prabang in Laos to meet fellow-Rotarian Steve Rutledge from Ontario who is building schools and providing clean water to the villages in the hills there. I’ll be there one month. Check Steve’s blog: http://adoptavillageinlaos.blogspot.com/

A Mine Free World Foundation - Etobicoke Rotary Meal Plan

2010-12-15T06:18:00.000-08:00

A four month Meal Plan at Big Love School in Trapeang Thum village, Takeo province, Cambodia sponsored by the Rotary Club of Etobicoke Ontario. 70-80 children receive a nutritious hot meal of rice, meat, and vegetables six days a week. The children's weight has increased since the induction of the Meal Plan. Cost is aprox. $20/day to feed the children, plus start-up costs. After today's meal these children will receive Dental Hygiene education from Cambodian Dentist Dr. Khom Pisal, plus tubes of toothpaste and toothbrushes sponsored by funds raised by Rotarians in Gravenhurst and Huntsville, Ontario. Projects conducted by A Mine Free World Foundation, Canada.

For information on supporting a meal plan for impoverished rural children in Cambodia, contact: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com.

Business Support for Landmine Survivors in Cambodia - Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Etobicoke

2010-12-12T23:36:00.000-08:00

Click on above photo to view 13 Landmine Survivors who were provided with occupational and vocational support funded by the Rotary Club of Etobicoke.

11 businesses and 2 vocational courses were supplied to Landmine-affected families in Koas Krala district, Battambang province on November 19th, 2010. Total Project Cost for these 11 businesses and 2 courses was US$2,038.00. This was part of 'A Mine Free World Foundation's' PROJECT BATTAMBANG, which saw 32 businesses implemented, 2 vocational courses provided, educational support for 14 students provided and bicycles distributed by A Mine Free World Foundation and Rotary Wheels for Learning. To help support a landmine-affected family please email: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

Educational Support for 14 Students from Landmine-affected Families in Cambodia

2010-12-09T02:03:00.000-08:00

Click on above photo to view 14-students from landmine-affected families supported by the Canadian Landmine Foundation

Over the past three weeks A Mine Free World Foundation board members Pauline Johns, Lisa McCoy and Un Vanthon have been busy implementing projects in Battambang and Takeo provinces here in Cambodia. There are many updates to post!

The first stage of educational, vocational and occupational support has been implemented in Battambang province for landmine-affected families. This undertaking is supported by the Canadian Landmine Foundation and the Rotary Club of Etobicoke.

In Takeo province, we've visited Big Love School where the Rotary Club of Etobicoke has sponsored a four month meal plan for over 70 children. We've also spent the past couple of days with Dr. Khom Pisal visiting area schools where she teaches the children Dental Hygiene and where we have distributed about 1,500 tubes of toothpaste and toothbrushes. Thanks to Rotarians from Huntville and Gravenhurst for supporting this ongoing successful program.

All our team members have experienced great joy as we travel about Cambodia providing bicycles for children, self-sustainability to families affected by landmines, and educational support to students in need.

Keep tuned to this blog as I try to update all these continuing projects. November was a busy month:

On November 20th, 2010, landmine-affected families received educational, occupational and vocational support. Funded by the Canadian Landmine Foundation, these 14 students in Koas Krala district, Battambang province have received bicycles, 2 sets of school uniforms, school supplies, school bag and a meal a day for two years. This is a part of 'Project Battambang', conducted on the ground here in Cambodia by 'A Mine Free World Foundation' www.aminefreeworld.org/ board and volunteers. Thanks to the Koas Krala District Office of the Cambodian Red Cross who helped identify these students in need, and is continuing to monitor their needs in the area.

Dental Hygiene Education and Supplies for Hundreds of Cambodian Children

2010-11-23T07:29:00.000-08:00

Dr. Khom Pisal from the Angkor Dental Association in Siem Reap teaches valuable dental hygiene to over 300 children at a rural school location in Koas Krala district, Battambang province, Cambodia. This A Mine Free World Foundation project was realized thanks to generous help and support from Bill & Dora Rathbun and Cathy Jordan and members of the Rotary Club of Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. Our team went to 2 more village locations where hundreds more were taught and received toothbrushes and toothpaste. Help us do more! We want to help 300 children at a dump in Phnom Penh receive this help. To donate, please see: http://dentalhygieneforcambodianchildren.blogspot.com/

Cambodian Landmine Families Receive Support and Learn Dental Hygiene

2010-11-23T06:04:00.000-08:00

On November 20, 2010 vital support was provided for 52 landmine-affected families in Koas Krala District, Battambang province, Cambodia. Dr. Khom Pisal from the Angkor Dental Association teaches dental hygiene and dental supplies provided to all through generous support from the Rotary Club of Huntsville. 34 businesses provided to families and educational support for children funded by the Canadian Landmine Foundation and the Rotary Club of Etobicoke. Projects conducted by A Mine Free World Foundation. Rotary Wheels for Learning provided 24 of these bicycles to children of landmine survivors. This has been the first self-sustainable support many of these people have received.

You small donation of $5 could provide dozens of toothbrushes and toothpaste for rural families in Cambodia....dental education is vital and non-existant in the rural areas of Cambodia.

A Mine Free World Foundation,
906 Fung Pl.
Kitchener, ON
N2A 4M3

‘Project Battambang’ Plans Underway Here in Cambodia

2010-11-08T01:46:00.000-08:00

Greetings to all from Phnom Penh! It certainly is good to be back here and involved in project plans that will be of benefit to landmine-affected families and impoverished children throughout Cambodia.

The monsoon floods have subsided, but there are still days where a raincoat is needed. When living in a hot, humid country of 80 to over 90 degree temperatures; cloudy days with a little rain are a welcome break.

Plans are underway for several projects that will take us into the remote areas of Takeo and Battambang districts.

With generous support from the Canadian Landmine Foundation and the Rotary Club of Etobicoke, 50 landmine-affected families will each be provided with educational, vocational or business support.

A Mine Free World Foundation (AMFWF) board member, Pauline Johns arrived from Australia earlier this week. Along with Un Vanthon and family and assisted by Red Cross worker Sophany in Koas Krala district in Battambang province, plans are well underway for our trip to Battambang on November 19th to provide this vital support for these 50 families.

You can view an album of these 50 landmine survivors and their families at this link:
Photos of 50 Landmine-Affected Families

On this 291km road trip from Phnom Penh, our vanload of volunteers will be accompanied by a truck carrying supplies for 32 businesses, 29 bicycles and school supplies for 14 students. The same local team of volunteers who conduct the AMFWF and Rotary bicycle distributions will conduct the first stage of this project along with 3 volunteers in Koas Krala.

A special volunteer will be also coming along – Dr. Khom Pisal from Siem Reap. She has had years of experience in teaching dental hygiene to rural families throughout Cambodia. She will be volunteering for Project Battambang as well as teaching dental hygiene at at least two scheduled sessions in Koas Krala – one for the 50 landmine-affected families on November 20th and another at a local school location. Thanks to generous funds raised through the efforts of Rotarians Bill Rathbun, Cathy Jordan and members of the Rotary Club of Huntsville, over 2,700 tubes of toothpaste and toothbrushes will be distributed to rural families in Koas Krala and Takeo province districts. For more details, click here:
Dental Hygiene for Cambodian Children

In August of this year, AMFWF board member and local project coordinator, Un Vanthon made a trip to this remote area of Battambang province to identify 50 families in need of assistance. Working with district, commune, village officials and Sophany, Vanthon and a team of three local volunteers visited the homes of these landmine survivors to conduct an initial needs assessment. Care was taken to investigate each family’s distinct needs. Families without any sustainable income were interviewed to assess skills and personal interests to determine which village-level businesses could bring improvements to their lives. Families which already had an operating small business were assessed for business needs that would improve their existing businesses.

Each of these families lived in conditions that you and I cannot imagine. Most rural people live far below the poverty level, but landmine survivors are at the very bottom. Most are treated as outcasts in their villages as there still remains a strong, superstitious belief among rural people that landmine victims have befallen their fate due to bad luck associated with them.

Landmine survivors deal with social, psychological and physical hardships. But for these 50 families, there will be a marked improvement in the quality of their lives through the provision of education and self-sustainability.

32 families will receive supplies and start-up capital to implement a small business, or, supplies and capital to make improvements to their existing business.

Two landmine survivors will receive a year-long motorcycle repair course which will enable them to acquire a job at local shop, or with some help, eventually open their own small enterprise.

The following 20 businesses will be supported through grant funding from the Canadian Landmine Foundation:

9 Chicken Rearing Businesses

1 Barber Business

4 Bicycle Repair Businesses

1 Carpentry Business

5 Small Food Stall Businesses

The following 13 businesses and courses are sponsored by the Rotary Club of Etobicoke:

6 Bicycle Repair Businesses

1 Watch Repair Business

1 Television Repair Business

2 Small Food Stall Businesses

2 Motorcycle Repair Courses

1 Barber Business

The ladies of Daphne’s Drop In at the Women’s Resource Center in Bracebridge are sponsoring a Sewing Business for a landmine survivor.

Costs for these small businesses cost between US$100-150 each, and include capital. For example: each $125 Chicken rearing business will receive 10kg of small chickens, a chicken basket and capital to buy more chickens and build a wooden chicken house on their property. Chickens are free-range in Cambodia, so there is no need to buy feed.

Please consider sponsoring one of the 16 remaining landmine-affected families in a small business that will lift them out of poverty. For more information you can contact me at: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com . You will receive biographical information on your sponsored family and will receive a photo of them with their new business.

Pauline, Vanthon and I will be revisiting the current 34 recipients in a few weeks after they receive their supplies and support to document the improvements these vital businesses have made in their lives. We’d be so happy to be able to supply more businesses to the remaining families at that time!

Give the Gift of Self-Sustainability to a landmine-affected family this holiday season.

Cheques can be made out to ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ and please write ‘Small Business Support’ in the memo field.

MAIL TO:

A Mine Free World Foundation
906 Fung Place,
Kitchener, On, Canada
N2A 4M3

Many Thanks Everyone!

Phnom Penh Monsoon Video

2010-10-13T05:41:00.000-07:00

Just got out of Kandal Province in Cambodia which has been under over one-meter high floodwaters for over 3 days. It is the worst flooding my friend Vanthon has seen in his 50 year lifetime.
I have never experienced such rain and the after affects of the severe flooding. It is quite an experience to sit helplessly and watch hour-after-hour for the flooodwaters to recede.
After three days, I've watched everything go into the water that you have no choice but to walk in.
No electricity. No drainage. No functioning toilets. No way to safely wash.
I now have small insight into what long-term flood victims must go through.

$15,000 For Cambodian Landmine-Affected Families From Canadian Landmine Foundation

2010-10-08T03:43:00.000-07:00

A Mine Free World Foundation would like to thank the Canadian Landmine Foundation (CLMF) http://www.clearlandmines.com/ for its recent approval of a grant of $15,000 that will go a long way to help landmine-affected families in Battambang province, Cambodia.

Plans are underway to provide a number of the 50 identified families in Koas Krala district (see previous blog entry) with small self-sustainable businesses and educational support for their children.

Through the support of this grant along with funding from the Rotary Club of Etobicoke, up to 30 of these families will be provided with rural small businesses such as bicycle repairs, vegetable farming, noodle-making, sugar cane drink stalls, clock & watch repairs, chicken farming, barber and hairdressing shops – just to name a few.

Amongst the 50 of these families, 14 children will receive bicycles, two sets of school uniforms, school supplies and fees and breakfast daily for 2 years.

Another 8 children from these families will receive bicycles from the support of generous individual donors of A Mine Free World Foundation.

A trip to Battambang is planned for the first part of November to distribute this support to these identified landmine affected families.

Through the Rotary Wheels for Learning http://rotarywheelsforlearning.blogspot.com/ program of the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst, donations are currently being sought for 75 bicycles for children of these families and other impoverished children in this rural area.

I arrived in Phnom Penh 3 days ago to begin 6 months of volunteer work here. Local volunteers Un Vanthon and family and myself have been busy getting plans in place for next weekend’s Rotary Wheels for Learning bicycle distribution of 75 bicycles for rural children in Trapeang Tasome village in Takeo district.

Buy A Silk Scarf for $20 – Support Dental Hygiene for Rural Children!

Our Team will be making numerous trips to Battambang and Takeo districts this winter and accompanying us on some of these trips will be Cambodian Dentist Dr. Khom Pisal.

Please visit: http://dentalhygieneforcambodianchildren.blogspot.com/ .

Your purchase of a pure silk Cambodian scarf can provide dental hygiene education, toothbrushes and toothpaste for countless rural children and their families.

Help Support A Mine Free World Foundation’s work for rural landmine-affected children and their families. Your donations can go a long way to help these rural families out of their life of poverty.

To Donate, send your cheque to:

A Mine Free World Foundation

906 Fung Place,

Kitchener, On, Canada

N2A 4M3

A Mine Free World Foundation/Rotary Club of Etobicoke Sponsored Meal Plan in Trapeng Tasome Village,

2010-09-05T10:58:00.000-07:00

Click on this photo to view full picasa web album, or click on the link below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/schoolsforcambodia/AMineFreeWorldFoundationRotaryClubOfEtobicokeSponsoredMealPlanInTrapengTasomeVillage#

Approximately 75 children (sometimes more!) are receiving a warm meal a day for 4 months at
Big Love School #2 in a rural village in Takeo province, Cambodia. Rice, vegetables and meat are eagerly gobbled down by
children who don't aways have a nutritous meal at their poor homes. It's the rainy season now, and this warm meal will give
them the strength to ward off disease and to study at school.

Thanks to A Mine Free World Foundation Board Member Un Vanthon and local teacher Ban Ven for all their work to implement
this successful program.

The Meal Plan is funded by the Rotary Club of Etobicoke, District 7070.

ROTARY WHEELS FOR LEARNING

To help support bicycles for the children at the two Big Love Schools, please see:

http://rotarywheelsforlearning.blogspot.com/

Rotary Wheels for Learning is an international program of the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst, Ontario.

Your donation of ANY amount is tax-receiptable in Canada.
Give a rural child much-needed transportation for Education!

Our target is to provide 75 children at these schools with bicycles this October.

Project Battambang - Educational/Vocational Support for Rural Landmine Survivors & Their Families

2010-09-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

A long-term project to assist 50 identified impoverished landmine-affected families living in the villages surrounding Koas Krala in Battambang province -
one of the most heavily mined areas in Cambodia. A Mine Free World Foundation (AMFWF), with initial funds provided by the Rotary Club of Etobicoke,
will provide small business enterprises for these families as well as educational support and supplies for their children's needs.
Lisa McCoy, Pauline Johns and Un Vanthon of AMFWF will be making their way into this area in November 2010 to implement this project.

View full picasa web album with information on each project recipient and their families at this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/schoolsforcambodia/ProjectBattambangEducationalVocationalSupportForRuralLandmineSurvivorsTheirFamilies

Day-to-day life is an endless struggle for families eking out a meager existence in the rural areas of developing countries. Of tantamount difficulty, is to manage this existence amongst a myriad of landmines below your feet – That is what families in rural Cambodia face, and will continue to face for many years, as Cambodia is one the world’s heaviest mined countries.

Over 4,000,000 million Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) and landmines lay hidden beneath the ground in the rural areas of Cambodia, lying in wait for a hapless child playing to step upon.

The following information was found on the Landmine Cluster and Munition Monitor :

http://www.the-monitor.org/index.php/publications/display?url=lm/2008/countries/cambodia.html

‘About 40% of all casualties occurred in just two provinces: Battambang and Banteay Meanchey.’

‘Many governmental and NGO VA services in Cambodia are urban-based and do not fully reach persons with disabilities in rural areas. Although there were substantial improvements in the government’s treatment and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, NGOs provided most of the VA during the reporting period, in cooperation with relevant authorities. Mine/ERW survivors remain a significant proportion of the total number of persons with disabilities in Cambodia and are among the poorest of the poor; Cambodia admits that much remains to be done to “ensure that appropriate mechanisms” exist to meet the needs of survivors and other persons with disabilities.’

‘Cambodia has no legislation to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. The government continues to prohibit persons with disabilities from being teachers in public schools.[139] However, the draft Law for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of People with Disabilities was submitted to the government in December 2006 and approved by the Council of Ministers in February 2008; the law has yet to be approved by the National Assembly.[140] Cambodia signed both the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol on 1 October 2007, but as of 31 July 2008 neither had been ratified.’

A Mine Free World Foundation (AMFWF) is dedicated and determined to reach these disabled families- ‘the poorest of the poor’ - in their rural areas.

Thanks to the support of the Rotary Club of Etobicoke, ‘Project Battambang’ has been launched. AMFWF Board Member and Cambodian Project Coordinator, Un Vanthon has just returned from a ten day mission from Phonm Penh into the rural area of Koas Krala in Battambang province. He went with a small team of volunteers, which included 2 local Koas Krala guides and a member of the Red Cross.

In just this one area, 50 landmine-affected families were found, interviewed and a needs assessment was conducted. These 50 families can be viewed at the above picasa web album link.

Along with Vanthon and local guides, we will make our way back into that area in November to assess and provide the best self-sustainable help for these families. Many can be helped by just providing them with a small business - $100 can provide a chicken business, $125 a sewing business, $75 a small food business – the list is endless.

Their children can be provided with scholarship support or perhaps a bicycle, school bag and uniforms.

It will take time to assess the best needs and solutions for each family. Time that we happily give to see the end result for these families – a way out of poverty – a way to education.

NAMES OF LANDMINE SURVIVORS AND THEIR NEEDS AS SHOWN IN THE ABOVE PICASA WEB ALBUM LINK:

Hean hon "Moung District, A civil now, 57 year old
" "Was a army in 1979. have no right leg
Fought in 15 01,1991" "wife: Yim Mert 55 year old, 3
children" want to be fix the bicycle

Aeng Chun "Prey Parpal village, Kah kralor district,
a civil now, 45 Year old" "Was a army in 1982, Check the area
and stepped on mine and lost leg in
K.S Province" "Wife: Ngan pisey 42 year old, 2
son" want to be fix the bicycle

Leam Chunly "Prey Parpal village, Kah kralor district.
A civil now, 52 year old" "Was a army in 1772, Fought on 29 04
1984, in Mokol bory district, Lost two leg" "Wife: Ann yern 33 year old, 4
children " Want to be fix the clock

Heang saret "Kah Kralor village, Koh kralor district
49 year old, a civil now" "Was a army in 1979, in Beylin and
Lost right leg in september 1998" "wife: Yang Sopous 41, 5 children,
2 daughter and 3 son " "Now is a fix of Tv & radio,
want to have fund"

Khom Khang "Spean village, Kah kralor commune,
Koh kralor district, 68 year old, a cilvil" "Was a army in 1964, have accident in
8 1998 " "Wife: Mon Ann 61 year old, no
children" Want to raise animals

Kog koum "Kah kralor village, Koh kralor commune
Koh kralor district, 16 year old" "Cause by played with mine in 2004,
Lost right arm" "Father: Jonh Kog, 48. Mother:
Jonh mon 53. 7 sibling "

Ngern Kouy "Kah kralor village, Koh kralor commune
Koh kralor district, 41 year old" "Was a army in 1975, Lost eye in 1988
" "Wife: Phal rert 43, 3 daughter
" "A famer now, and want to be
a seller"

Rerng sovann "Tebhady commune, Koh kralor district
45 year old, a civil" "Was a army in 1979 in Soroung village
Lost left leg in 1991" "Wife: Choum Seak, 43. 3
children" "want to do the agriculture,
grow mashroom"

Plet Hing "Female, 48. a widower
Tebhady commune, Koh kralor district" "Stepped on mine and lost right leg in
Tatok village" 2 daughter "want to sell water of
sugarcane"

Choun nget "Male, 52 year old. Chay village Tebhady
commune, Koh kralor district." "Was a army in 1982 and lost right leg
in 1982" "Wife: Neng samin, 55. 1
daughter"

Ho vearn "Tebhady commune, Koh kralor district,
79 year old" "Was a army, and lost right leg in1992
cause by stepped on mine" Wife: Yart chout, 69. 1 daughter want to be a seller

Harge saret "Tebhady commune, Koh kralor district,
48 year old" "Was a army 1979 and lost one leg in
01 07, 1995" Wife: Vey Chot, 51. 6 children Want to raise animals

Tep kosal "Tebhady commune, Koh kralor district,
48 year old, " " disability body in 1998 in Toul methes
Village" "Wife: Ren sopone, 33. 4
children ( study)" want to do the agriculture

Mouv Cheat "Tebhady commune, Koh kralor district,
55 year old, female" "Lose eye, when have war,
Cause by mine in1988" Wife: Sem eearn. 7 children

Rien Youm "Tebhady commune, Koh kralor district,
32 year old" Lost twos Leg Live with mother 68 year old want to be a cut hair

Phech one "Tebhady commune, Koh kralor district,
48 year old" Was a army, and lost two leg "Wife: Ket nong. 4 daughter
(study)" "now is a carpenter. And
need some meterial"

Sourn Yoen "Tebhady commune, Koh kralor district,
79 year old" "Lost left leg in 1972 before Pol Pot
regime" Wife: Harm rain, 80. No children want to have fund

Kege Kouy "Tebhady commune, Koh kralor district,
48 year old" Lost left leg in 1996 "Wife: dead. Mother, 98 year old
4 children" Want to raise animals

Keg Man "Tebhady commune, Koh kralor district,
55 year old " Lost leg in 1982, in Sok San Area "Wife: Vern Von, 45. 5 children
( 1 is study)" want to be a seller

Vit Thoun "Koun Prom village Tebhady commune,
Koh kralor district. 47 year old" "Was a army and Lost right leg in 1992
in Boung Reang" "Wife: Koge kog, 44. 5 children
(3 is study)" "a cut hair now. Want to have
material of cut hair"

Rim Choum "Tebhady commune, Koh kralor district,
53 year old" "Was a army and lost left leg 31 12,
1982 in Kah kralor" "Wife: Peou Puge, 50. 6 children
(3 is study)" want to do agriculture

Kouy Vuth "Kontout village, tebhady commune, 49
year old" "Was a army and lost right leg in1986
in Koh kralor village" "Wife: Douk seoum, 59. 1
daughter"

Chok Chup "Kontout village, tebhady commune,
78 year old" Broken hip, cause by bullet in 1979 No wife raise animals

Son Sang "Kontout village, tebhady commune, 46
year old" Lost left leg in 1999 in Somlot. Wife: Choat Poug, 37. 1 son want to raise animals

Kheng herng "Kontout village, tebhady commune, Koh
Kralor district. 84 year old" "Lost right leg, deaf cause by mine in
Kah kralor district in 1983" Wife: Yill Loum, 65. 2 children raise animals and seller

Ney Cham "Toul baloung village, Koh kralor
commune. 48 year old" "Was a army in Beylin province, lost
right leg in 1989" Wife: Chea Touh, 48. 3 children Want to learn to fix Moto

Hum Chreug "Toul baloung village, Koh kralor
commune. 54 year old" "Was a army and lost left leg in 06 06,
1986 in Beylin province" "Wife: Ma sophone, 56. 1
daughter ( study)" Want to learn to fix Moto

Meum Haeng "Bong Preah village, Preah phous
commune, 40 year old" "was a army in 1991 at Tabon, and
disability body" Wife: Ngerm Ngar, 36. 4 chidren "want to make cake, or raise
animals or make wine"

Pun Bin "Toul baloung village, Koh kralor district
43 year old" was a army and lost left eye in 1986 "Wife: Kae savann, 31. 6 children
( 5 is study)" raise animal Seller

Het Heuy "Takour village, Preah phous commune,
Koh kralor district, 48 year old" "was a army and lost eyes in Beylin
in 12 03, 1989" "Wife: Hern Rous, 51. 3 children
1 is study" want to raise animals

Nil noy "Such harb village, Preah pous
commune, koh kralor district, 46 y" "Was a army and lost right leg in 1988
in Tebhady district" "Wife: Touy rom, 45. 6 children
(3 is study)" Seller: Gasoline, fix moto

Khev sareun "Such harb village, Preah pous
commune, koh kralor district, 64 y" "Lost left leg cause by dig land in Koh
kralor district in 12 04, 2003" "Wife: Hong Chern, 53. 1
daughter." raise animals do the farming

Phev ponlok "Boung Chenas village, Koh kralor
commune, 42 year old" "Lost left hand by mine in 1984 in
Somlot District" "Wife: Leang Sokha, 32. 3
children" want to be a seller

Hun Therm "Krang Svart village, Koh kralor
commune. 54 year old" Was a army and Lost left leg in 1985 Wife: Pok bong 56. no children raise animals do the faming

Hearm Ngon "Krang Svart Village, Chenal Moune
commune, Koh kralor District, 47
year old" "Was a army and Lost right leg in
Banon" "Wife: Chearl Khvean, 51. 7
children" raise animals

Keo Phel "Krang Svart Village, Chenal Moune
commune, Koh kralor District, 48
year old" "Was a army and lost right leg in
Komping Pouy" "Wife: Moum Nat, 41. 5 children.
(No study)" "Want to have bicycle to take
vegetable to sell ( No land to
live)"

Sern Chey "Krang Svart Village, Chenal Moune
commune, Koh kralor District, 53
year old" "Lost left leg, cause by Mine in 1997
in Chenal Moune, when he was cut tree " "Wife: Chen Hern, 49 year old.
9 children( 2 is study)" raise animals

Terng yeark "Krang Svart Village, Chenal Moune
commune, Koh kralor District, 56
year old" Lost left leg in 1991 No wife: 2 children raise animals

Meas dos "Banteay Char village, Koh kralor district
45 year old
" "Lost left leg in 1995 in Kompot Phonm
Voer" "Wife: Heang Chanthea, 38. 4
children (study)" raise animals

Arn Nann "Rersey Preah village, Koh kralor district
35 year old" "Was a army, Lost eye, cause by mine
in Marlay district" "Wife: Kom Kern, 38. 4 children
(study)" Sell fish, and need fund

Soun Sout "Prey Sern village, Koh kralor District,
47 year old" "Was a army and lost left leg in 1980,
in Sok San camp" "Wife: Reat Begn, 33. 9 children
( 3 is study)" "Want to fix Bicycle and
motor or raise animal "

Yaan sarert "Prey Sern village, Koh kralor District,
44 year old" "Lost left arm in 1988 cause by mine
" No wife. 6 children. (5 is study) "raise animal and support
children to school"

Cheang sareoun "Prey Sern village, Koh kralor District,
52 year old" "Was a army in 1978 and lost left eye
in 1988 in Porvil." "Wife: Keo Phern, 47. 1 children
(study)" raise animals

Choum Sovaan Prey Sern village, Koh kralor District, 20 year old Lost left leg in 2004 in Sompeou Lon "Mother: mern Touk 52, Father:
Sreir Choum, 53. 8 sibling" "Want to fix Bicycle and
motor or raise animal "

Haerm Buntheoun "Prey Sern village, Kok Kralor district,
50 year old" Lost Leg raise animal

Koun khan "Prey chok village, Preah Pous
commune, 54 year old" "Was a army, Lost twos Leg in 2001 in
Poypet " "Wife: Park Veang, 46 children
3 children (study)" raise animals

Heang Sareoun "Koy Veang village, Preah pous
commune, Koh kralor district,
55 year old" Lost right arm in 1987 "Wife: Srash Moush, 55. 4
children ( 3 is study)" raise animal & agiculture

Kak Kob "Sorong village Koh kralor District,
38 year old" Lost left leg in 1996 in Krawine Wife: Kom Touh, 21. 3 children raise animal and fix bicycle

Lauy chart "Sorong village Koh kralor District,
75 year old " Lost left leg in 1993 "Wife: Yom Hugn, 66. no
children" want to do agriculture

Cheang In "Samkhey village, Koh krolar district
46 Year old" Lost right leg in 1985 "Wife: Lon Chout, 50. 4 choildren
" raise animals & agriculture

Consider helping or sponsoring one of the above families!

Your donation - any amount will help toward this big undertaking - can be sent to:

A Mine Free World Foundation
906 Fung Place,
Kitchener, ON, N2A 4M3

In Memo Field, please write:

‘Project Battambang’
Many Thanks for your Support,
Maria van Santen, Pauline Johns, Lisa McCoy
A Mine Free World Foundation

Etobicoke Rotary Club Sponsors Children from Landmine-Affected Families in Rural Cambodia

2010-08-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

A Mine Free World Foundation (AMFWF), www.aminefreeworld.org , would like to thank the Rotary Club Of Etobicoke, District 7070, for their generous educational/vocational support for rural landmine-affected families in Cambodia. Their total donation of $5,000 ($2,500 earlier this year and another $2,500 this past week) for landmine survivors, and another donation of $2,781 for a Four-Month Meal Plan for 76 children in Cambodia will provide much-needed support that rural familes in Cambodia cannot afford. Three more children received Bicycles, School Uniforms and Supplies this past week.

The Rotary Club of Etobicoke has now supported 5 children on the outskirts of Phnom Penh with bicycles, uniforms, books, school bags and supplies. They are also supporting 2 sisters from a landmine-affected family in Siem Reap - Theary, age 17 and Sampous Jouen, age 7who are living and learning under the care of AMFWF Khmer Team Member Chea Socheat and family in a house provided by AMFWF board member Pauline Johns. Thank you Khemra for your help too!

The Rotary Club of Etobicoke is supporting Theary and Sampous with meals, clothes, bicycles and school supplies. They have provided Theary with a sewing machine and supplies, and a professional sewing course at a local seamstress shop which Theary is enjoying immensely!

You too can provide a sewing machine business for a rural woman in Cambodia for a donation of $125 to AMFWF.

Of Special Note to Rotarians - On August 23rd, Chris Snyder of the Rotary Club of Toronto will be the special guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst Meeting. He's participated in and led 'Sweat Equity' trips into many developing countries. He'll be showing a DVD on this past winter's trip of 20 Rotarian's and friends to Cambodia and will tell you about a return trip in the making for the fall of 2011.

Chris is also on the board of the Canadian Landmine Foundation, and will speak a little about the work this organization does. The meeting begins at noon at the Regatta Restaurant down at Muskoka Wharf in Gravenhurst.

Many thanks again to the ladies of Daphne's Drop In at the Women's Resource Center in Bracebridge, Ontario for providing such a business to a rural woman. I'll be happily giving out that donation personally when I head to Cambodia the beginning of October.

A BIG PERSONAL THANK YOU to Jay and Linda Harrison of Gravenhurst, Ontario who surprised me this past week by donating $1,010 to pay for my airfare to Cambodia! They had just finished a work project for Don and Mimi Gillies of Gravenhurst and had decided to donate their work efforts towards my airfare.

My on-the-ground transportation in Cambodia will be my sturdy new STRIDA bicycle donated by Steve Inniss at Saved By Bikes. Check out his blog at: http://savedbybikes.com/blog/ .

Being a self-funded volunteer, I appreciate and am thankful for the support I receive.

Director Om Chamnap of AMFWF supported school - Banyan Learning Tree - on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, is shown in 2 of the picasa web albums giving the donations to children living in 3 surrounding villages. Your Donation of $85 can supply a child with these needed items for school. Contact schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com for information on how you can support the child of a landmine survivor in Cambodia through A Mine Free World Foundation.

To view all three picasa web albums of Etobicoke Rotary sponsored students please see:

http://picasaweb.google.com/schoolsforcambodia/EtobicokeRotaryClubSponsoredChildrenFromLandmineAffectedFamiliesInRuralCambodia#

http://picasaweb.google.com/schoolsforcambodia/RotaryHelpForLandmineAffectedStudentsInCambodia#

http://picasaweb.google.com/schoolsforcambodia/EtobicokeRotaryClubSponsoredStudents#

More updates on the Rotary-sponsored Meal Plan In the Takeo village of Trapeang Tum Tbong in my next blog posting. AMFWF Team Member Un Vanthon is on his way there now to implement the project with local teacher Ban Ven.

A big AMFWF Etobicoke Rotary sponsored project is on the horizon for Battambang Province - the most heavily mined area in Cambodia. This province has the most landmine casulties in Cambodia and the greatest need for educational/vocational support for landmine survivors and their families. The project will be implemented in November when Pauline Johns arrives in Cambodia to volunteer with me. Un Vanthon is laying the groundwork for this project now.

October is fast approaching and I am looking for donations of good used LAPTOPS, DIGITAL CAMERAS and READING GLASSES.

To donate, please contact me at: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

Thank you Everyone!

Lisa McCoy - Executive Director, AMFWF
Maria van Santen - President, AMFWF

Garage Sale Funds Making a Difference in Cambodia

2010-08-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

It’s been a month since we held the Giant Garage Sale at the Curling Club here in Gravenhurst, Ontario which raised $4,740 for children in Cambodia through A Mine Free World Foundation (AMFWF).

These funds have been sent to Cambodia and are slowly making improvements for the education of children there.

US$3,500 was sent to the Trailblazer Foundation to conduct a 100-Bicycle Distribution Project for children requiring this necessary transportation to get to the ‘Muskoka School’ in Siem Reap province. The Trailblazer Foundation, www.thetrailblazerfoundation.org , is the US registered charity that spearheaded the building of the Muskoka School. They conduct numerous school building and water projects throughout the area.

They will be slowly disbursing the 100 bicycles to children who have to walk miles, or cannot get to the Muskoka School and surrounding schools. They’ll be sending along photos and a list of all the children who get this valuable means to get to school.

It’s the rainy season over there now. Some roads are impassable during this time of the year, so getting the bicycles to the children may take a while. Incidentally, schools are closed during July and August because it rains so hard.

But, there are some schools that stay open year-round there. These are the small ‘free-education’ schools. They are usually supported by outside organizations and depend on their funding to operate, since there is inadequate government support for any schools in Cambodia, as in most developing countries.

Free education schools provide Khmer and English literacy education, math and other subjects free of charge to any child, any age, who wants to learn. It does not matter if they attend a government school or not, and many can’t attend the government schools. Some children, especially in the rural areas, are needed to work the farm or the family business. Some can’t afford the few pennies it costs to attend most government schools. But here, at these ‘free-education’ schools, a child can attend one, or several of the usually one-hour long classes that are offered throughout the day.

Earlier this year, my dear friend Pauline Johns from Australia, put the funds in place to register such a ‘free-education’ school and organization in Cambodia – just on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

It is run by Director Om Chamnap, a qualified teacher who has background experience in operating a non-government organization (NGO). Over 50 children are attending the one-room school – Banyan Learning Tree.

A Mine Free World Foundation sent US$435 to Banyan Learning Tree School for desperately-needed school-desks, notebooks, pens, pencils and rulers. – plus 3 signs that will help visitors, volunteers and prospective students find the school! More funds are needed for some English/Khmer books, and other supplies for this new school. If you can help out, please contact me at: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

There are other ways you can help this school – if you are in Phnom Penh, drop by and sit in with one of the classes. Help the children learn to read English. Or, volunteer on a longer basis. Groups are also welcome to visit. There is a huge sign on the highway to Takeo now indicating precisely where the school is. If you telephone tuk-tuk driver Vanthon in Phnom Penh, he will take you right to the school: 012 906 793.

To volunteer or visit you can contact me or Director Om Chamnap. I will be in Cambodia from the beginning October to the beginning of April.

Banyan Learning Tree School

House #70, Street Chamcardong, Kvar Village,

Sangkat Dangkor, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Phone: (+055) 012 590 009 Email: chamnap.kethya@gmail.com

Another ‘free-education’ school which received AMFWF Garage Sale funding is ‘Big Love School’ in the rural Takeo village of Trapeang Tum Tbong. They received US$250 for much-needed school supplies there. This rural village will be the main station for Pauline and I this winter. Pauline has rented a house where we will live and conduct many of our projects and volunteer at the school. A big Thank You to Vanthon for finding us this house. We hope to get a one-room clinic operating in this house, as the impoverished people in this area lack the money for basic medical attention or the transportation money required to get to a local free clinic.

There’s lots more news to tell and photos to share, but I’ll leave that for my next posting.

In the meantime, there are some items that are on the NEEDS LIST for Cambodia, that I would like to take over with me the beginning of October. Please contact me if you can donate any of the items below in good-used or new condition:

DIGITAL CAMERAS

LAPTOPS operating on Windows

READING GLASSES

Many Thanks,

Lisa McCoy

$4,740 RAISED AT GIANT GARAGE SALE FOR CAMBODIAN CHILDREN

2010-07-15T04:46:00.000-07:00

$4,740 RAISED AT GIANT GARAGE SALE

Many thanks to all those who helped raise this monumental amount at our 5th Annual Giant Garage Sale in aid of needy rural children in Cambodia. Our goal to raise US$3,500 for 100 bicycles for the ‘Muskoka School’ in Siem Reap province was far exceeded thanks to the hard work and generosity of Muskokans far and wide.

A big thank you goes to the Gravenhurst Curling Club for allowing us to hold our July 10th & 11th sale in their arena – which we filled with four garages worth of donated items. Sincere thanks to fellow Cambodia travelers Jay and Linda Harrison, who helped coordinate the event. Our dedicated volunteer’s energy levels were replenished thanks to delicious sandwiches provided by Blondie’s Restaurant and Catering. Bill & Dora Rathbun kept us going with fresh perked coffee all weekend.

Thanks to Friday trucking and muscle power provided by Jay & Linda Harrison, Enno Hoekstra, Pat Bongers, Leslie Chamberlain, Steve Hayhurst, Andy McCoy and our crew of movers. Thanks to all who manned the sale over the weekend and helped to clean up. A special thanks to all those from the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst for their volunteer efforts.

Dan Blix Ad Services provided the graphic design for all our posters and handouts. Many thanks to Muskoka area publications for their support and promotion of the sale. Thanks also goes to Dan for designing the bright new header on this blog site.

Because of your donations and efforts, rural children in Cambodia who do not have the means by which to attend the ‘Muskoka School’ there, or have to walk kilometers to attend, will be provided with a bicycle. This is a collaborative project of ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ in Canada and ‘The Trailblazer Foundation’ in the US. Excess funds will go to provide school desks and supplies for two small rural schools and educational support for needy children. You can follow the progress of these projects at: http://schoolsforcambodia.blogspot.com/

On Monday, July 12th, I visited one of my fovorite group of ladies in Bracebridge at 'Daphne's Drop In' to give them a presentation of my past winter's volunteer efforts. Last year, these wonderful women donated $150 for food for flood victims in Cambodia after Typoon Ketsana left many homeless and in great need there.

This year, they donated $125 for a sewing machine and supplies for a rural Cambodian woman to have her own clothesmaking and mending business. One of the women also donated a good used laptop that is desperately needed by teachers and students there.

My good friend, Maria Duncalf, organizies Daphne's Drop In, which is a fun weekly drop in for ALL women - every Monday, from 9:30 - 12:00 at the Women's Resource Centre in Bracebridge. For more info, contact: Daphne@muskoka.com

Speaking of laptops - I head back to Cambodia the beginning of October and am in need of more good used LAPTOPS to take with me - also some used educational CD-ROMS. Contact me at 705-687-8538 or schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com if you can help out with this need.

Having fun riding my new STRIDA bicycle - getting it warmed up for Cambodia action - check out Steve Inniss' Saved By Bikes blog at: http://savedbybikes.com/blog/.

Lisa McCoy,

Executive Director

A Mine Free World Foundation

Rotary Help For Landmine-Affected Students in Cambodia

2010-07-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

Etobicoke Rotary Club Sponsored Students

2010-07-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

DONATIONS & VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR 5TH ANNUAL GIANT GARAGE SALE FOR CAMBODIAN CHILDREN

2010-06-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

PASS THIS ON FRIENDS!

We Need Donations of New/Used Items - Volunteers Also!
Rent a Table to Sell Your Own Items - for a minimun Donation of $25

5th Annual Giant Garage Sale and Flea Market For Cambodian Children
Saturday July 10, 7:30am & Sunday July 11, 9am
Gravenhurst Curling Club

Help us raise money for 100 bicycles for the ‘Muskoka School’ Children in Cambodia!
Contact: Lisa & Carl 687-8538 or Jay & Linda 687-7679 or: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

'A Mine Free World Foundation' Fundraiser!
www.aminefreeworld.orgDetails:

Our annual garage sales have raised funds to help build the 6-room rural government ‘Muskoka School’ in Cambodia, and last year we raised US$2,000 for 400 school uniforms and shoes for the students attending the school.

This year, Gravenhurst residents Carl and Lisa McCoy and Jay and Linda Harrison are hoping to raise US$3,500 for 100 bicycles for ‘Muskoka School’ area children who lack this necessary transportation to get to school. This is a collaborative project of the non-profit organizations ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ and by the ‘Trailblazer Foundation’, who pulled their efforts together to get the ‘Muskoka School’ built.

The giant sale will take place on Saturday and Sunday, July 10th and 11th, doors open at 7:30am, at the Gravenhurst Curling Club. Your donations of new or good, used items are needed. Volunteers are needed for sale dates and ambitious volunteers are needed to help us move items into the Curling Club on Friday, July 9th.

This year, we are adding a flea market component to the sale. For a minimum donation of $25, you can have a table and floor space to sell your own items!

Many Thanks to the artistic talents of Dan Blix for creating our A Mine Free Wolrd Foundation logo pictured on our header. It is of the 'Rumdul' - the national flower of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Dan's graphic talents have also created all our AMFWF posters and handouts. See more of his artistry at:

Dan's Advertising Design:

http://dansadvertisingdesign.blogspot.com./

Dan's Pet Portraits:

http://danspetportraits.blogspot.com/

To donate items, volunteer or have some space to sell your own goodies contact Carl and Lisa McCoy at 687-8538 or Jay and Linda Harrison at 687-7679, or email schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com I's also like to take this opportunity to welcome Pauline Johns of Bowral, NSW, Australia to the Board of 'A Mine Free World Foundation'.(AMFWF) Pauline has given her heart and soul to help the impoverished children of Cambodia for several years now.

I've had the priviledge to work along side her in Cambodia for 2 years now. She has been an invaluable 'on the ground' help in all the bicycle distributions.

Providing much-needed local volunteer help with bicycle distributions, are AMFWF Team Members Un Vanthon and family from Phnom Penh and Socheat Chea and family of Siem Reap. They act as facilitators, interpreters and monitors of all bike distributions. They are all committed to making a difference to the lives of the rural children and landmine victims of Cambodia.

Next posting will highlight some amazing contributions from the Rotary Club of Etobicoke that have funded a Meal Plan for 76 rural children in rural Takeo province, and their Night Of A Thousand Dinners event which raised $5,000 for the support of landmine survivors in rural Cambodia.

For $50 - you can provide a bicycle for a rural child in Cambodia! This bicycle will provide the child with transportation to school. You will receive a photo and biographical information of your sponsored bicycle recipient. Contact me at: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com for more info.

Many Thanks,
Maria van Santen & Lisa McCoy
A Mine Free World Foundation

Lisa Will be Cycling Around Cambodia!

2010-06-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

As a self-funded volunteer, it's always nice to get a little help. I can't thank Steve and Catharine Inniss enough for their most generous donation that will provide ME with this valuable mode of transportation while traveling in the cities and rural areas of Cambodia this October to April! Now, I'll be cycling in style on this new Strida bicycle - along with my Cambodian students. I know that they will all want to try out this bike, as it is like nothing that they have ever seen before.

www.savedbybikes.com

Check out the above link to see all the details on this marvelous bike! It folds up in a snap, and I'll be able to take it along on any plane, bus or car! I can easily carry it - as it weighs only 22lbs, but don't let the weight fool you - it is the sturdiest bike that I have ever rode. I really like the disc brakes.

It will get a good workout in Cambodia this winter!

Give Steve a call at 705-345-3307 if you want to give the Strida bike a ride.

Inspiring Sounds & Huntsville Students Raise Funds for Bicycles!

2010-06-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

I was delighted and honored to be the guest speaker at the May 29th Concert put on by Muskoka area talented young musicians at the Inspiring Sounds Music Studio Annual Spring Concert .

These fabulous students entertained a large audience at the Bracebridge United Church with voice and piano, under the expert direction of their talented teacher, Wing Chow.

Featured Guest performers for the show were 'Just 8' - vocal ensemble under the direction of pianist and arranger, George Kadwell.

All put their talents and efforts together to help those less fortunate in a small country on the other side of the world! At this concert, $577.50 was raised towards 100 Bicycles for the Muskoka School Children in Cambodia - a project of A Mine Free World Foundation www.aminefreeworld.org

Many thanks to Wing Chow, 'Just 8' and all the talented performers who are providing less fortunate children with this valuable transportation to school.

I will certainly be attending their next concert - I have never had such an entertaining afternoon!

Inspiring Sounds Music Studio
705-646-9791
Inspiringsounds@gmail.com
inspiringsounds.tripod.com

These aren't the only students who have done some wonderful fundraising for the cause. The 2008-09 students at Huntsville Public School raised $150 for Muskoka School Bicycles through their fundraising efforts under the direction of teacher Alana Hall.

Students helping students a half a world away!

'A Mine Free World Foundation' - Update, Fundraisers & Events for Cambodia

2010-04-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Time has gone by quickly since my April 1st return from six months in Cambodia!

On Monday, April 12th, I was pleased to give my first presentation to The Rotary Club of Gravenhurst. The presentation was covered by COGECO and focused on the Muskoka School Official Inauguration Ceremony in Cambodia, the 276 bicycles that were distributed to poor rural children, two small rural school-building projects, Ketsana flood relief, educational support for student landmine survivors and many of the other projects and programs implemented there.

Friday, April 9th, I was interviewed by the ‘A Channel’, who was also interested to hear all about the Muskoka School Inauguration and the bicycles that were distributed in Cambodia.

Sunday, April 25th, I attended the Rotary District 7010 PETS & Assembly and Youth Exchange Training in North Bay. I gave a presentation there encompassing all the projects that were implemented in Cambodia this past winter.

I am always happy to give a presentation to any groups interested in hearing about volunteer efforts, projects and programs of benefit to the impoverished in the developing country of Cambodia. I have a PowerPoint presentation that introduces the country, its gentle smiling people and children, and accounts of the many resulting rewarding experiences that can be had by getting involved through volunteerism ‘on-the-ground’ in the rural areas of this small SE Asian country.

To arrange a presentation for your group, please contact me at 705-687-8538, or email: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com . Or – Perhaps I’ll see you at one of the following events and fundraisers planned:

Rotary Club of Etobicoke
Night of 1000 Dinners Event
Friday, May 7, 2010 6:00 PM
At: Active Green and Ross Headquarters
580 Evans Avenue, Toronto
To RSVP: contact Hugh Williams 416-738-9583

The Event
The Rotary Club of Etobicoke is having a social, fundraising “Night of 1000 Dinners” event on Friday, May 7 starting at 6:00 to raise money for landmine eradication.
Our guest speakers, Maria Almudevar-van Santen and Lisa McCoy of A Mine Free World Foundation (www.aminefreeworld.org) will provide a unique and powerful view into this issue and their work in Cambodia.
Dinner and wine are being provided and prepared by Ralph Chiodo and family.
Cost for dinner is only $60 per person. Receipts will be provided.
The Need
The global landmine crisis is one of the most pervasive problems facing the world today. There are many millions of landmines in the ground in at least 70 countries. Landmines reportedly maim or kill 10,000 civilians every year. Those victims that survive endure a lifetime of physical, psychological, and economic hardship.
The Menu !

1. Antipasto

o Parmigiano Reggiano

o Friuliano

o Salami, Capicolla

o Articokes

o Olives

2. Prima pasta:

o Pasta Faggioli (Pasta & Bean Soup)

3. Seconda Pasta

o Penne Rigate in a meat sauce

4. Terza Pasta

o Fusilli Tre Colori (Three Colour Pasta with Peas and Shrimp)

5. Salciccia alla Pizzaiola

6. Insalata Mista (Mixed Green Salad)

7. Dolci (Dessert)

8. Caffe (coffee)

9. Frutta (Fruit)

Vino Bianco (White Wine)
Vino Rosso (Red Wine)

Inspiring Sounds Music Studio - Annual Spring Concert 2010 – May 29, 2pm Bracebridge United Church
Children in Muskoka Perform to Raise funds for Children in Cambodia

Young musicians from across Muskoka are set to go on stage in the sixth annual spring concert hosted by Inspiring Sounds Music Studio. The concert takes place at Bracebridge United Church on May 29th (Sat) at 2 p.m. It will feature performances by young musicians under the direction of music specialist Wing Chow.

Pianists and vocalists will treat the audience to a variety of pieces from different musical styles in solo, duet and ensembles. The concert will include a wide variety of selections designed for the entire family. Performances will include children’s songs, classic favourites, Broadway tunes and popular music repertoires such as Star War, Beauty and the Beast, Thank You for the Music (ABBA), Ode to Joy (Beethoven), Entertainer (Joplin) and much more.

Students will also perform pieces that earned them gold medals and scholarships from the Kiwanis Music Festival in April, including their very own composition works. This year, there are 30 students attended the Kiwanis Music Festival for both piano and vocal classes. They have received total 34 Gold medals, 2 trophies and 2 scholarships. They will be attending the Stars of Festival on May 31 at Orillia Opera House to receive the awards and scholarships.

At the end of the concert, the guest performers from “Just 8” vocal group will perform some Jazz tunes to audiences.

Tickets can be purchased at the door starting at 1:00 p.m. The tickets are Adult $10.00, Student $5.00 and Children under 6 years of age are Free. Any excess profit from the ticket sales will be donated to the non-profit organization, A Mine Free World Foundation, for helping children in Cambodia.

Inspiring Sounds Music Studio will continue to offer private piano and vocal instructions for all ages and small group classes for young children. Call the director for details of the Early Bird registration and other special discounts for group classes. The next Fall registration will start in June. Call 705-646-9791 or visit inspiringsounds.tripod.com.

I’ll be attending this concert and will give a short presentation at the beginning. Many thanks to Wing Chow, director of Inspiring Sounds Music Studio, pianist and arranger, George Kadwell and the rest of my friends with ‘Just 8’ who have generously donated their time and talents for this event. It is always a delight to watch our talented young performers in Muskoka.

Rotary Club Of Aurora - Monday June 14th

Many Thanks to fellow Rotarians down at The Rotary Club of Aurora for their invitation to attend their meeting. I'll be giving my 'Projects in Cambodia' presentation to their members. They meet 6:15 at Gabriel's Cafe, south of Wellington St. on Yonge St.

Inviting All Women!

Womyn’s Way Drop In – Tuesday, June 8th – 10am to noon - Huntsville - at 494 Muskoka Road #3 North (about 1/2 km past the hospital, on the left hand side, across from the cemetery, beside Tebby Heating. I’ll be giving my visual presentation ‘Winter in Cambodia’ there. This program is open to all women and I hope to see you there!

Daphne’s Drop In – Monday, July 12th – 9:30am to noon. That’s the day I’ll be giving my ‘Winter in Cambodia’ presentation to my friends up there. This program is open to all women, so come and meet us there. ********* REFRESHMENTS AND SNACKS AVAILABLE *********Learn to make new friends. Learn new skills. Laugh. Enjoy life. Located at the Women’s Resource Centre 29 Manitoba St. Bracebridge. For information call ******* 646-2122 ******* maria@daphnewymn.com or www.daphnewymn.com

The above ‘Drop Ins’ are open to all women and have fantastic weekly meetings covering many interesting topics. Be sure to Drop In any week!

Giant Garage Sale in July—You can Donate Items Now!

Everyone has been asking me if there will be a ‘Giant Garage Sale’ again this summer – YES! It will be held in July in Gravenhurst, and donations are coming in already. This year, money raised will go towards bicycles for children at the ‘Muskoka School’, and towards supplies for two small rural schools in Cambodia. Please contact me if you would like to volunteer or if you have some new or gently-used items that you would like to donate.

There are many more ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ events planned to provide bicycles, educational support, school support and support for landmine survivors. Become a follower of this blogsite! In the meantime, here are ways YOU can help a child in Cambodia:

How you can help:

- Provide educational support for a landmine survivor

- Donate a Bicycle for a needy rural student - $50

- Support a rural School Project

- Provide a Sewing business for a rural woman - $125 – we need 2 machines for Beng Donpa village in Siem Reap District.

- Come and Volunteer in rural schools and/or Distribute Bicycles in Cambodia. I am now looking for interested Rotarians and Friends who may want to get involved in joining me in some rewarding volunteer work this winter in Cambodia – contact me now. I can help arrange your, or your group’s transportation, accommodation and volunteer efforts on the ground in Cambodia!

- Your donation of even $5 can go a long way in providing toothbrushes and toothpaste for rural Cambodian children in the new 'Rural Dental Hygiene Education Project' to be implemented this October in Cambodia. Siem Reap Dentist, Dr. Khom Pisal will be accompanying our team into rural areas during bicyle distributions to provide this valuable hygiene education and dental supplies to rural children and adults.

- Hold a Fundraising Event for ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ projects in Cambodia

- Donate Items to our ‘Annual Giant Garage Sale’ (Call 705-687-8538)

- Donate a good used laptop for a Cambodian student

- Please send a Donation to:

‘A Mine Free World Foundation’
906 Fung Place
Kitchener, OntarioN2A 4M3

Gravenhurst Rotary Bikes and YWCA Women In Business Sewing Machines

2010-03-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

The sixth, and last month of my volunteer work here in Cambodia has been the busiest yet, with yet a couple of small projects to implement before I head back to Canada in 3 days!

On March 20th, 37 Rotary Club of Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada (District 7010) bicycles, and 5 ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ (AMFW) donor-sponsored bicycles were picked up from the wholesaler in Phnom Penh. That same afternoon, the 5 AMFW bicycles were distributed to 5 needy students living on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. These students lived considerable distances away from their homes, and these bikes will make their daily trip to school more quicker. It will also ensure their regular attendance.

That afternoon Khmer volunteer Un Vanthon and his family loaded and secured the 37 bikes that would head down to rural Takeo province the next morning. Also loaded on the truck were 2 sewing machines, tables and sewing supplies that were donated by the Muskoka YWCA Women in Business Group and Leslie Chamberlain. Their donation of $200 empowered two rural impoverished women! They now have their own self-sustainable home-based sewing and clothes repair businesses. Both these recipients had past sewing experience, but lacked a machine and supplies. Both recipients are also receiving free ‘brush-up’ sewing lessons from another qualified local seamstress. Thanks to local teacher, Ban Ven who will be monitoring this project for me while I am in Canada.

Also, loaded on the truck was a water pump and lengths of hose that were donated to the monks by my good volunteer friend Pauline Johns of Australia. Pauline has volunteered for almost all the bike distributions this past winter and has been an invaluable help.

Water is scarce in the dry season in the rural areas. Many people’s ponds are dried up for months, which means water for home and cattle are a one or two kilometer walk away. A water pump was a good solution for these elderly monks. They now can pump the water from the pond close to their pagoda. I found out that the reason that many of these ponds are dried up is because they have not been dug to the 3 meter required depth. Poor people in these villages just don’t have the money to have the equipment come in to dig them deeper.

5 am Sunday morning, the truck loaded with bikes, sewing machines, pumps and hose headed down to the village of Trapeang Ta Soam, about 25km west of Takeo city. Our minivan of volunteers left at 7am, arriving in Trapeang Ta Soam about 9am. When we arrived at the bicycle distribution site - Trapeang Thum primary school - all the bike recipients, parents, monks, area teachers, officials and monks were waiting for us! A loudspeaker and mike had been set-up and Pauline and I were ushered to a make-shift head table where we enjoyed a fresh coconut drink.

In Cambodia, most projects are received with such a ceremony. Permission from village and commune officials must be acquired before conducting or implementing a project. Doing this, also facilitates further projects that would be conducted in that same area. By having followed this protocol, that names of ’Rotary’ and ’A Mine Free World Foundation’ are welcomed help in this rural area.

The ceremony began with us kneeling in front of the local monks and receiving their blessings for us and our gifts. Cambodia is 95% Theravada Buddhist and Buddhism is an important part of their daily life.

Next came the speeches, by the local officials (pictured on right), by Un Vanthon, our ‘Rotary’ volunteer, translator and facilitator, and then by me.

This was followed by the bike distribution. Each student and bike were numbered, and one by one, the children were called to the head table, where their personal info was recorded onto the ‘Bike Application Form’ . then they signed the form, and proceeded to the bike distribution area, where they were photographed receiving their bike. Pauline, Vanthon and I have streamlined this mass bike distribution process down to a fine art. It couldn’t have gone smoother.

We were done about noon, and then had a quick lunch in the village before heading off to our next project for the day - delivering the two sewing machines.

Both area sewing machine recipients lived in poor bamboo huts. The one woman was a widow with two children. The other was a mother with 4 children. Her husband was a poor farmer (as most are in the rural areas), and only receives an income of maybe $1/day when a neighboring rice farm is looking for some help for the harvest. These small rural self-sustainable businesses are a godsend for these women. They could not thank us enough. The one recipient offered us 5 mangoes and one cucumber as a thank you gift.

There are many small rural business ventures that can improve the lives of rural people. They include chicken and duck raising, fish farming, Bike and Motto repair, barbering, weaving and crafts, carpentry, vegetable and mushroom growing, noodle and home-based food businesses…just to name a few. Businesses along this line provide a quick income, as opposed to pig and cow raising, where income takes time to generate. Anyone interested in sponsoring a small business for a rural person can contact me at: http://schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com .

In October, our team of volunteers will be heading into Battambang province, the most heavily mined province in Cambodia, and through ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ we want to implement some rural-based businesses for landmine survivors. More businesses are needed for the poor in rural Takeo as well.

Later that afternoon, we stopped at our next wonderful project: ‘Big Love’ Free Education school.
This school has been the dream of qualified rural teacher, Ban Ven for quite some years. The local government school is quite some distance away from ‘Big Love’ school at the foothills of the western area hills. Some of the children, who now have bikes, can attend both the government and ‘Big Love’ school’. But for many children and illiterate adults (women in particular), this is their only available school.

A few months ago, a neighboring widow donated some of her land for this school building. The village adults and children had all worked together to build his simple bamboo-structured school. Ban Ven already has 56 children that he and his niece are teaching. More are arriving daily. Area women have asked for a literacy class. There are many women in the area whose husbands have left them, and who live by very poor means. Many other women are abused by husbands suffering from alcoholism. Ben Van would like to start a support group for them there. Many of the people lack basic knowledge of sanitation and first aid. So much basic education is needed in that area.

Teacher Ban Ven is qualified to handle the rural educational needs here. He recently returned from a rural improvement training course in Japan that was partially sponsored by Rotary International! Ven grew up in this area and has 15 brothers and sisters. His only income is that what he makes as a farmer.

Pauline Johns’ family has donated money for desks and school supplies for this school and it’s students. Jim Goodwin has donated a bicycle for this teacher. The Rotary Club of Gravenhurst has donated US$87 towards the cost of the 51 student books the children are now learning from. This tiny school, built on the dream of one man with the help of the villagers themselves, is well on its way to providing basic education for these rural people.

July will see a Giant Garage Sale in Muskoka that will go towards the continuing needs of this rural school which is supported by ‘ A Mine Free World Foundation’. Money raised will go towards a concrete floor for this school to ease conditions in the rainy season. More bikes, sandals, clothes and school bags are needed for these children. I am looking for a Gravenhurst location to hold this sale…please contact me if you can help.

It was an immense joy to see the eagerness of the children to learn at this tiny school.

In Cambodian culture, it is not polite to visit an area, give out gifts, and then leave. The rest of he afternoon was spent visiting and eating with rural families.

It was a long but happy day, and by late afternoon our team of volunteers headed to Takeo city where we spent the night in a small guesthouse to rest up for the next days events…going back to Phnom Penh with 5 local blind and diseased children. They, and their parents were coming back to Phnom Penh with us to seek medical attention for their various conditions. Vanthon and I had identified them when we were doing the home-interviews for the bike applicants during our last visit there. Pauline Johns is now sponsoring their medical treatment. More on this in my next blog entry.

Rotary Club of Gravenhurst Donates $1,500 for 'Rotary Bikes' in Cambodia

2010-03-10T19:52:00.000-08:00

37 MORE 'Rotary Bicycles' will be distributed to needy rural students here in Cambodia on March 21st - thanks to the generosity of the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst,Ontario, Canada (District 7010).

This Rotary Club project will be conducted here on the ground with the help of Khmer volunteers/translators and rural teachers. Good friend and volunteer, Mr. Un Vanthon and family will be accompanying me back into the this area (see previous posting on 'Phnom Penh's only Rotary Tuk Tuk'). Also accompanying me and helping with the distribution is good friend and volunteer Pauline Johns from Australia. The target area will be villages around Trapeng Tasom in rural Takeo province (see map on this page).

The Bike Recipients have already been identified and home-interviewed, and the bulk bike order has been placed with the wholesaler in Phnom Penh.

On Sunday, March 21st, the bike recipients will gather at a local government school to receive their Rotary bicycles in a small bike distribution ceremony with village chief and teachers present. A total iof 40 bikes will be given out - 37 from the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst and 3 from 'A Mine Free World Foundation' (AMFW)donors.

This is the third large Rotary Bicycle Distribution to occur in Cambodia this winter. The Rotary Club of Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes had donated 118 bicycles and the Rotary Club of Orillia had contributed 42. 2 other large disributions funded by AMFW donors which brought the total to 230 bicycles that were donated to rural children in the provinces of Takeo, Kep, Siem Reap, and the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

The distribution on March 21st will be the last one conducted until my return to Cambodia the beginning of October 2010.

Recently, I have been in discussion with the Trailblazer Foundation ( www.thetrailblazerfoundation.org ) here in Cambodia. They are the organization that implemented The 'Muskoka School' Project here on the ground in Cambodia. In a collaborative effort, we would like to conduct a large Rotary Bike Distribution for the 'Muskoka School' children in Ta Trav village, Siem Reap district area next winter!

Any Rotary Club wishing to support this future Bike Distribution Project can contact me at 705-687-8538 or at http://schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com . Let's get 'Rotary Wheels For Learning' to our 'Muskoka School' kids in need here in Cambodia.

Individual donors can make their contribution through www.aminefreeworld.org

Thanks Rotary for the difference made towards the educational needs of children in rural Cambodia. I will be back in Canada on April first, but am already itching to get back and give out more bicycles out to the rural children here!

MPP Miller Congratulates Lisa McCoy on the Inauguration of ‘The Muskoka School’ in Cambodia

2010-03-03T18:48:00.000-08:00

NEWS

Norm Miller, MPP for Parry Sound-Muskoka, took the opportunity today to congratulate Lisa McCoy for her tireless efforts in raising funds for ‘The Muskoka School’ constructed in the Siem Reap District of Cambodia.

Mr. Miller also thanked the Rotary Clubs of Muskoka, the Ontario-based Cambodian Landmine Museum Relief Fund, the Trailblazer Foundation, and the generous contributions by the people of Muskoka, who raised over $20,000. This money allowed 400 Cambodian children to have the opportunity to continue their education in a brand new school.

In addition to the construction of the school, funds were raised for the purchase of new uniforms for all 400 students, and over 140 bicycles that were distributed in the most rural regions of Cambodia.

Ms. McCoy, a resident of Gravenhurst and a former librarian, was compelled to help the children and youth of Cambodia and Burma after her travels to the region.
QUOTES

“Education is the key to prosperity for so many children across the world. Lisa McCoy’s efforts in helping to get this school constructed is an inspiration to our communities, and we are all proud of what she has accomplished.”
--Norm Miller, MPP Parry Sound – Muskoka

“I want to extend my appreciation to all those who donated their time or their talents. The people of Parry Sound-Muskoka and all the groups that contributed to this great cause deserve to be commended.”
--Norm Miller, MPP Parry Sound – Muskoka

-30-

To view statement the go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8-vvUQweXc

CONTACT:
Norm Miller, MPP
705-645-8538 or 416-325-1012

From Lisa McCoy, Executive Director and Maria van Santen, Founder of 'A Mine Free World Foundation', a registered non-profit in Canada:

Our sincerest thanks to the Citizens and Rotary Clubs of Muskoka for their generous hearts, for volunteering all their time and talents, and for funding school projects, scholarships and bicycles for the impoverished children and landmine survivors in rural Cambodia.

Many children in rural Cambodia still need your help! To make a donation, please send your cheque, big or small, to:

A Mine Free World Foundation
906 Fung Place,
Kitchener, ON, Canada
N2A 4M3

I am still here in Cambodia one more month, and will be distributing more bicycles in the rural villages of Takeo Province, Cambodia. So far, over 250 bicycles have been distributed to rural children in need this winter. You can help a child receive this valuable transportation for education with a donation of $50. Or, you can provide educational support for a child landmine survivor, or help fund a rural school-building project.

Once I'm back in Canada, I'd be happy to give any group a visual presentation of Muskoka's efforts here in Cambodia. You can contact me at: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

Way To Go Muskoka! You have made 'The Muskoka School' a reality here in rural Cambodia!

‘Muskoka School’ Official Inauguration Ceremony!

2010-02-18T00:52:00.000-08:00

A Grand Day for all those here in Cambodia and back in Muskoka District in Canada, who contributed funding of over US$20,000 towards the ‘Muskoka School Project’ in rural Siem Reap District.

The February 18th, 2010 morning ceremony was presided over by His Excellency Mao Vuthy, Personal Advisor to Samdech Ponthea Chakrei Heng Sam Rin Chairman of the National Assembly. Also in attendance were Scott and Chris Coates of ‘The Trailblazer Foundation’ ( www.thetrailblazerfoundation.org ) and other staff of this organization, Rotary President Sandy Seitz of the Jackson (J.H.) Rotary Supper Club, and Rotary past-president Pat Butts of the Teton Valley Rotary Club. Many other special guests were in attendance.

The event was recorded by Cambodian television and village families and children came from far and wide to celebrate the official inauguration of this large six-room concrete school building located in Ta Trav village, about 20km north of Siem Reap city.

Excitement and anticipation were in the air as celebrations began with a line-up of Cambodia’s first official Scout group, who awaited the arrival of the dignitaries. Scott and Chris Coates have implemented the first official Scout group in Cambodia - so far, there are 120 Scouts in their group! A monumental first! - and Scott and Chris are to be commended for beginning this beneficial organization for youth here in Cambodia.

At 8am, speeches were given by the Cambodian dignitaries, school students and by Scott Coates of the Trailblazer Foundation. In Scott’s speech, he thanked the Rotary Clubs and citizens of Muskoka for their generous contribution toward making this school a reality for the 400 rural children attending this school. He also read a letter of congratulations from Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norm Miller. Special thanks was also given to the Cambodian Landmine Museum Relief Fund in Ontario and the British School of Beijing, who also contributed funds for this project.

Muskoka was thanked yet once again for their generous contribution of US$2,000 for 400 new school uniforms and sandals for the children of this school. They were distributed by myself and a team of District 7070 Ontario Rotarians this past November.

Speeches were followed by a special ribbon-cutting ceremony where dignitaries and contributors took turns cutting the celebratory red ribbon. A special plaque was given to the Cambodian dignitaries officially donating the school to the government of Cambodia.

This was followed by a fresh noodle curry lunch in the old Ta Trav wooden school house. I had the pleasure of getting to know a couple of fellow-Rotarians from the United States who are supporters of Trailblazer’s past and present projects. The Trailblazer Foundation has built a few schools in Siem Reap District and also provide countless rural families with wells and water filters. They are making a huge difference in the quality of life for the impoverished rural families and children of this district.

It was a morning that I will never forget. There is a school in Cambodia that now proudly bears the name of Muskoka on it. It will provide valuable education for countless generations of rural Cambodian children! Previous blog postings show photos of the construction of this school which began in February 2009 and was completed in May 2009.

I’m on my way to Phnom Penh tomorrow. Then I’m heading to Takeo villages to spend a few days staying with some rural village families. Then, it’s back down to Kep province to continue with the implementation of a ‘free education’ school project there - Banyan Learning Tree - http://banyanlearningtree.blogspot.com , and a possible secondary location for this school! Pauline Johns and I will give more exciting updates on that project soon!

Your donation to ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ (AMFWF) can provide education to children in Cambodia - a country still plagued with millions of landmines scattered throughout the countryside. You can help to fund a school, a bicycle, or even choose to provide scholarship support for a student who’s life has been affected by these remnants of war. Please email me for further details: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

A Mine Free World Foundation, 906 Fung Place, Kitchener, On, Canada N2A 4M3, is a registered non-profit organization.

The Only ‘Rotary Tuk-Tuk’ in Phnom Penh - A First!

2010-02-14T23:38:00.000-08:00

There is a unique Tuk-tuk operating on the congested streets of Phnom Penh, and if you are a Rotarian this tuk-tuk and its special driver will represent some astounding humanitarian efforts that have taken place for the rural people in Cambodia.

The tuk-tuk, or auto-rickshaw, is a popular mode of transportation throughout SE Asia. Its style varies from country to country, but here in Cambodia it takes the form of a two-wheeled covered wagon attached to a small two-stroke motorcycle (or ‘moto’, as it is called here). They are the Asian equivalent of a taxi, and for a small fee, they will take you anywhere you want to go. It’s a lovely way to see the sites and rural areas of Cambodia. The charm of tuk-tuk travel has delighted tourists for years.

Phnom Penh tuk-tuk driver, Un Vanthon has taken his recent volunteer work of Rotary bicycle distribution in the rural villages of Takeo quite seriously. He has worked hard to organize the on-the-ground distribution of 56 Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes Rotary bicycles throughout 3 villages around Takeo. He has also seen the difference that Rotary makes for the students in these areas. A ‘Rotary Bicycle’ has given many students the opportunity to attend school through the provision of this valuable transportation.

Vanthon is proud to be a part of Rotary projects…so proud that he has now put Rotary decals all over his tuk-tuk and moto! He has the only tuk-tuk in Phnom Penh with the Rotary International symbol on it. He already has had some visiting Rotarians on holidays in Phnom Penh stop and ask him what his involvement with Rotary is - he proudly tells him that he has volunteered for Rotary projects!

Vanthon lived through tremendous hardships during the Khmer Rouge era. I wrote about him before in a recent blog posting. During this difficult period in Cambodia‘s history, Vanthon often helped fellow Cambodians with some food or clothing during these desperate times of need. Vanthon has never stopped - he keeps on giving to this day.

So, if you are in Phnom Penh, and need a good tuk-tuk driver that has ‘Gone Miles for Rotary’, be sure to give this special humanitarian a call at 012 906 793. Out of the 4,000 tuk-tuks presently servicing Phnom Penh, there is only one special tuk-tuk with the Rotary symbol on it!

‘Banyan Learning Tree’ - Free Rural Literacy Education in Kep Province, Cambodia

2010-02-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

http://banyanlearningtree.blogspot.com
Located 176 km from Phnom Penh, the province of Kep had a population of 34,000
- 4,000 of which are children. Very few organizations are at work in this remote corner of Cambodia, near the border of Viet Nam. My friend, Pauline Johns from Australia, and I have been drawn to this area because of this lack.

The need for more teachers and educational facilities in rural Cambodia is great. Poverty is the biggest obstacle to education for the children and adults in the rural areas. Many children don’t attend school for various reasons. It’s either too far to get there and they lack the transportation, and in many instances, children are needed at home to do the chores, or they are in the work field earning money to help the family survive.

Education has been difficult to attain for adults also. During the Khmer Rouge years, all education had been eradicated. As a result, the rural adult population remains highly illiterate. Only 55.6% of the women and 65.9% of the men are somewhat literate in the countryside. 82% of these people have not gone past the primary school level.

Pauline and I wanted to provide a lasting source of education for both the eager young students and the adult rural population that want to attain literacy.

Last year Pauline and I had both volunteered for a few months at the ‘Voluntary Development Poverty Children’s School’ (VDPCS) in Siem Reap. That model ‘free education’ school provided English education to all ages five days a week. Hundreds of children attend faithfully and are provided with free workbooks, notebooks and pencils. There is a small lending library there also. It is a registered organization in Cambodia and is sponsored by various organizations from around the world.

For the people here in Kep province, we also wanted to address the prevalent problem of adult illiteracy. While volunteering at ‘Cambodia World Family-Krong Kep School’, we saw the many families who came to their outreach Khmer literacy classes, where adults learn to read, write and some basic mathematics. That inspired our decision to also provide this at a school.

Our next step was to figure out how we could put a school in a lacking rural area without the high cost of a ‘school-building project’. We went back to that role model of VDPCS, and after some investigating, found out that it was very cheap to rent an empty house here. We found the perfect house in a rural area lacking this valuable education. The rent is only $100/month!

Pauline and I did not do this all alone, and we still have some steps to go before out little new school, ’Banyan Learning Tree’ is fully operational.

Lots of credit and thanks go to Om Chamnap, who will be the director and teacher of this new ’free education’ school. Mr. Om comes with a background of ngo experience attained during his years is Phnom Penh. He is also a registered teacher. Mr. Nob Sokhom will be the second teacher at ’Banyan Learning Tree’.

Mr. Om is now going through the necessary procedures to register the school as an organization with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) here in Cambodia. Approval has to be granted by village, commune and district levels before the application can even proceed to the MOI. ‘Banyan Learning Tree’ will be registered with the MOI in March.

Why go through all this work with registering here with the MOI? We found out the important reason ‘why’. If it isn’t registered as an organization with the MOI, then Cambodian law considers it a business, and we are bound by law to charge the students for their education. In other words - it’s considered a business.

In the meantime, while we wait for the registration process to go through, there’s lots to do to get the school ready to go the moment it receives its official papers. Some mats and chairs, a couple of tables and all the school supplies have to be purchased. There is a small room for an office. Our start-up budget is small, but thanks to Pauline’s generous support, we have enough funds to get it off and running.

The monthly operational budget including teacher’s salaries, rent, and other necessary expenses amount to about US$430/month.

It’s a new experience for both Pauline and I, but one which will provide much-needed free education for the people in rural Kep Province. We have visited the school site twice (about 6-7km away from Kep town), and already many area children and adults are getting excited about the opening of this new free education school - Bayan Learning Tree!

The name for this school was chosen from a story contained in the children’s book ‘Vanna’s Dance’, written by author and founder of ‘A Mine Free World Foundation‘. You can read the story (book excerpt) of the Banyan Tree at this link - you’ll understand why we chose this special name for the school: http://www.vannasdance.com/vanna3.htmlA Mine Free World Foundation in Canada will be raising funds to support this school.

Used laptops and educational CD-ROMS are also needed, which I can bring back to the school next October. Any donations, big or small, will help this new school continue to reach the illiterate and education-hungry of Kep province:

US and Canadian donations can be mailed to:

A Mine Free World Foundation
906 Fung Place
Kitchener, ON, Canada, N2A 4M3

Please write: 'Banyan School' on the memo field of your cheque.

I'm still in Cambodia a while yet, and ready to give out more bicycles to anyone wanting to sponsor a child's education for transportation!

140 Rotary Bicycles Distributed - Rotary Repairs 19 Sewing Machines!

2010-01-27T19:39:00.000-08:00

Another few weeks have gone by quickly here in Cambodia. Many days were filled with the smiles of countless rural children as they proudly accepted their very first bicycle!

Since the ‘Cambodia World Family - Krong Kep’ school distribution, my friend Pauline Johns from Australia and I had traveled to Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, where we met with my dear Khmer friend, Un Vanthon and his family.

For the month previous to our arrival in Phnom Penh, Vanthon and his family were busy preparing for 2 bicycle distributions amounting to 56 bicycles which were donated by the Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes Rotary Club in Ontario, Canada. These bicycles were destined for rural villages in Takeo province, and some for students on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

Vanthon earns his living as a tuk-tuk taxi driver in Phnom Penh, and when he’s not busy working to support his wife and four children, he and his family get involved in volunteer humanitarian efforts that help out those less fortunate than themselves. Vanthon lived through the horrors of the Pol Pot regime and he literally has the scars to show for it. Now, this determined man living on a meager salary is making a difference in the lives of many. Whether it’s giving out some cheaply-bought clothes to those in need, or providing a room and a meal in their house to a hungry person, Vanthon and family demonstrate the true spirit of compassion.

During the Khmer Rouge years, Vanthon and his family had spent time in the rural villages in Takeo province, and have since then revisited the area many times. These rural villages are similar to those in Kep province where one rarely sees any NGO (non-governmental organization) activity. Even government schools are far and few between and sadly lacking in classroom space and supplies.

On January 16th, we went to Vanthon’s house in Kampong Saming, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh and distributed 11 bicycles to students that had come from the surrounding area to receive a bike. One boy came from quite a distance away. His hands were scarred and blistered from his strenuous occupation of foresting wood in the jungles. His small salary is all that his very ill mother and himself live on in the jungle. We sent him away with his precious bicycle, and few clothes and a pair of shoes that Vanthon’s family donated.

Each bicycle recipient has a story of challenge and hardship, but their overwhelming desire to attain an education gives them their hope for the future.

January 17th, saw us all heading by mini-van to Takem village in Takeo province. We arrived in the morning to the school there were children and parents had congregated to await the arrival of our van and the truckload of 45 bikes in tow. This small school has 400 students with 70 to a class. Grades one to six are taught there. We were warmly greeted by the school director and village chief. A small ceremony with speeches was held, where Vanthon announced to all that these bicycles were donated by Rotary for their education. Each bicycle has a Rotary decal on the frame. Vanthon and his family all proudly bore the Rotary emblem on their shirts for the day! I think that Vanthon has now put the Rotary decal on his tuk-tuk in Phnom Penh - so look for him next time you are there!

There was a great need for bikes at this school. Children came from three surrounding villages to get their bikes. Many rose early in the morning, and walked for miles to get this first bike.

One boy arrived obviously very ill. His father supported him as he slowly staggered forward to sign the bike form and then accept his bike. Some of the younger children, who never had had much interaction with foreigners, came forward quite apprehensively to sign the form. But in each instance, it is more than evident that receiving a bicycle is one of the most momentous experiences in their young lives.

It was a grand occasion which was followed by a home-cooked meal in a nearby rural village. We sat on the eating platform and enjoyed an afternoon of wonderful Khmer country-side cooking and some good laughs as we tried to communicate to each other despite the language barrier. I love getting out to the rural homes and visiting with the Khmer folk in the countryside. These warm and welcoming people have left me with precious memories of pleasant times spent together in their humble homes.

We spent the night in Takeo - a lovely, peaceful town by a small lake - surprisingly not much visited by tourists. Then, it was back to Phnom Penh for a few rainy days there, and now we’re in Siem Reap, where last night we gave out a few more bicycles to some of the children living in a deplorable shanty town hidden in the heart of the city.

My friend Pauline Johns, has made an impact in the lives of these 53 families living in this cramped little shanty town. Earlier this week, with the help of our dear friend Sokha, who is manager of Indochina Explorer here in Siem Reap, Pauline funded bikes, rice, mosquito nets, shoes and school uniforms to many of the families in this shanty town. Last night, I gave out a few ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ sponsored bikes for students there.

There are always children in need of a bike, that don’t get one. There are many more children who desperately need this valuable ’transportation for education’.

A donation of $50 to ’A Mine Free World Foundation’, will provide a child with a bike equipped with a carrier, basket, lamp, lock and key. Your welcomed donation can be sent to: 906 Fung Place, Kitchener, ON, Canada, N2A 4M3.

Each donor receives a photo of their sponsored student with their bicycle and some short biographical info on their recipient.

My deepest gratitude to fellow Rotarians from the following clubs who donated a total of 160 bicycles here in Cambodia:

The Rotary Club of Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes, Ontario Canada - 118 bicycles
The Rotary Club of Orillia, Ontario, Canada - 42 bicycles

I am happy to coordinate any Rotary Club bicycle distribution donations here on the ground in Cambodia. I will be here another 2 months and back again in October for another winter of volunteer work.

Rotary in action is seen in many places throughout Cambodia! Many water filters, wells and even schools can be seen with the familiar blue and yellow Rotary wheel emblem.

Now, thanks to the generosity of the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada (my home club), there are 19 sewing machines at remote ‘Cambodia World Family-Krong Kep’ school ablaze with this emblem.

Thanks to Gravenhurst Rotarians for funding the repairs to these 19 sewing machines and tables - the first important step to reviving their sewing class program for impoverished rural women.

Pauline and I are committed to helping those in the rural areas where education is sadly lacking.

As reported in the ‘Cambodian Daily’ - Cambodia is amongst the lowest educated countries in the world. Among 129 countries, Cambodia ranked 104 on UNESCO’s Education Development Index. Out of a score of 1-10, Cambodia ranks 0-1 in adult literacy, school enrolment and quality of education. There is a desperate need for more schools and teachers in the rural areas. Out of every 100 students entering primary school, 60 leave before graduating. This is mainly due to the fact that most families live below the poverty level and once children are old enough to work, they enter the work field to help support the family income.

Most children come from large families, and parents cannot afford the few cents it costs to send all their children to school. Teachers in Cambodia are paid a very low salary, hence the extra cost to the children. ‘Free Education’ Schools sponsored by NGOs are a solution to this problem, but very few are found in the provinces of Kep or Takeo.
With all these facts in mind, Pauline and I have teamed up to open a small ‘free education’ school in Kep province. It will be the fourth such school in this province, which has an extremely high rate of illiteracy. It will provide Khmer and English literacy education to children and adults. We are in the process of registering it here with the Ministry of the Interior in Cambodia.

We’ll be heading back down to Kep in a few days to get plans underway for this school. I'll spend those two months helping out at Cambodia World Family-Krong Kep School.

Many thanks to all the generous ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ donors who have contributed towards bicycles and to all our projects and programs. www.amninefreeworld.org

A special thanks to all the musicians and performers who contributed their talents to the fundraising ‘Muskoka Talent Festival’, which raised funds for the commencement of construction of a bike bank building at the rural Bakong Technical College site in Siem Reap province.

Another special belated thanks to a very special musician and Khmer friend in Weimar, Germany - Dan McCoy and Bonita No, who held a fundraising concert there for ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ bicycles. The following is a press release of their concert:

Art for Cambodia in Germany

On Monday, June 8th, 19-year-old Bonita No (recent prize-winner of the "Young Women in Public Affairs Award" from the Zonta Foundation) spoke about her country, Cambodia, at a benefit concert in Weimar, Germany. The young student described her numerous experiences with various projects by non-profit organisations, such as the Thuringian-Cambodian Association, in order to help her struggling country, which was destroyed economically and culturally during the Pol Pot regime in the 1970s.

A silent auction was also held with art donated by local Weimar artists and galleries. The proceeds of the benefit went to The Bike Bank Project, an initiative helping young Cambodian girls receive an education. Poor, rural families in Cambodia cannot often afford to send their kids to school, let alone provide transportation. A student must walk up to 2 hours each way to get to class, if they can afford to attend school at all; a bike will cut this travel time from 2 hours to 20 minutes. Financial contributions provide a student with a refurbished and sturdy bike equipped with a basket, carrier, and lamp to help improve not only the student’s life but also their family’s economic situation.

The evening was accompanied by music performed by Erik Warkenthin, theorbo, Johanna Krüger, recorder, Anne Schneider, soprano, and Mikhail Yarzhembovskiy, Gothic harp and the event was organised by Gravenhurst resident, Dan McCoy, now living in Germany.

Dan found out about the present situation in Cambodia through the work of his cousin, Lisa McCoy, who helped build the recently finished Muskoka School in the Siem Reap district. By coincidence, Dan met Cambodian-born Bonita in an elevator in Weimar, and they eventually decided to work together to raise awareness for her country. Bonita has just graduated from the International Baccalaureate Programme in Weimar and will soon be returning to Cambodia to volunteer for one year; she plans to pursue a business degree in Florida in 2010.

‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ and Rotary Support Rural Women’s Literacy

2010-01-03T02:52:00.000-08:00

It’s been a busy week here at ‘Cambodia World Family - Krong Kep (CWF-Kep) ‘Grace Landing’ School.

This was the week that we held a 4-morning ‘Bracelet & Pen String Weaving Course’ at the school. 12 women, who partake in CWF-Kep literacy classes were chosen for this craft course.

Thanks goes to the Rotary Club of Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes for providing the initial skeins of string for this project. Pauline Johns from Australia donated all the pens! At the end of the course, each woman received a US$5 private donation for her efforts.

This new project, run under ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ in collaboration with CWF-Kep will help support further literacy education for many rural women here in Kep Province. The pens and bracelets will be sold at locations throughout Ontario, Canada and in Australia. The money raised will be donated back to CWF-Kep school and its wonderful outreach literacy courses.

These 12 women are being taught how to read and write in Khmer - some math too!

It was such a delight to befriend these 12 women, who could not speak English, but we had many laughs trying to communicate! They did pick up a few words in English from me.

The string-weaving of bracelets and pens is no easy craft to master, but after the first morning, they could all design a beautiful bracelet. I gave them some string to take home that first day, and the next morning each woman came back to class with various creative bracelets.

Even the small schoolchildren were running around us while we wove, picking up bits of string from the ground, and then they started making bracelets too - it’s really an infectious and fun craft - but more than that, it can now help support literacy here in Cambodia.

These 12 women are from Koh Soam, Audong and Phnom Lieve villages - areas where lots of the Rotary bicycle recipients are from. They range from ages 18-42. Project participant, Ung Sophea will act as the coordinator for the women and will make sure to keep them all in supply. She will also report to school Director, Mr. Om Chamnap on project progress.

What many don’t realize, is that up until 1998 the Khmer Rouge had a strong hold in this province of Kep. Formal education was not allowed, and the Khmer Rouge would frequently barge into schools and disband classes. As a result, there is a high rate of illiteracy throughout this province, and very few organizations operating in the area to provide this most basic of education - how to read and write in their own language!

CWF-Kep teaches Khmer literacy classes in 6 villages. They all are 6km or more away from the school, and are monitored weekly by CWF-Kep teachers. There are 20 or more in each class, and they are held daily. Each class lasts one or two hours, depending on location. All ages attend!

These classes are presently being funded by ‘Pro Literacy Worldwide’, and the workbooks are provided free by the government of Cambodia. Three levels of workbooks must be completed before literacy is attained. Once people become literate in Khmer, then there are opportunities for them to learn English, sewing or even basic computer skills provided free by CWF-Kep. But, all these programs are presently in need of support. See www.cwf-kep.org for further details on their projects here.

Thanks to Om Chamnap and teacher Tep Chien for taking me out to 2 of these rural classes - at Ampeang and at Chamcarbei villages - pictured on right. The second village had a class primarily made up of young people. Chamnap explained to me that many of these students work on the fishing boats all day, come to this Khmer literacy class for 2 hours, and then go back out on the boats all night!

The next day, we headed out to a third rural village class - but we never made it there. I was on a moto with teacher Chien, and teacher Sokhom was on a second moto behind us. Sokhom was hit head-on by an oncoming moto in the wrong lane. Sokhom suffered some minor injuries, but I gave him some money and sent him off to the local clinic for x-rays to be sure. He’s recovering nicely, but still sore. His helmut was destroyed - it saved him for sure! The bike needed the whole from wheel replaced.
So, there’s the news from another week here in Kep Cambodia.

Thanks to Dr. Pat Blachford and Bill Rathbun and family for supporting 11 more bicycles which will be added onto the final Rotary distribution of 55 more bikes scheduled for this month - 66 more bikes still to give out!

A big thanks to volunteer friend, Pauline Johns, who will be coming back from Australia to help me and Mr. Un Vanthon in Phnom Penh with this final distribution.

More bikes are still needed. A donation to ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ of $50 can provide this rural means of transportation to a child here in Cambodia immediately, and can also be added on to this next distribution. Your donation can be sent to: A Mine Free World Foundation, 906 Fung Place, Kitchener, ON, N2A 4M3.
Many thanks to Linda Harrison and Dan Blix of Muskoka, Ontario, who are keeping the 'Embracelets' project going back home while I'm over here.

Many Thanks to the following Ontario locations that sell the bracelets and pens which help support women’s literacy here in Cambodia:

Ditchburn House, Gravenhurst (seasonally)

YWCA International Boutique, St. Clair Sve, E.,Toronto

I’ll also have them available for sale at future presentations again. Please email me at: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com if your business is interested in selling these bracelets and pens in support of women’s literacy here in Cambodia.

Celebrating Rotary Bicycles at Cambodia World Family-Krong Kep School

2009-12-20T17:55:00.000-08:00

76 students had their dreams realized when they received a Rotary sponsored bicycle at a huge distribution ceremony at ‘Cambodia World Famly - Krong Kep School’ (CWF-Kep) on December 18th, 2009.

50 bicycles were sponsored by the Rotary Club of Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes, Ontario, Canada and 22 by the Rotary Club of Orillia, Ontario, Canada. 4 more were sponsored by Pauline Johns, who helped me throughout this whole distribution here in Kep, Cambodia.

All of the recipients were students of CWF-Kep school who live miles away from this ‘Free English’ school, and from the nearest government school.

In Cambodia, children go to school six days a week. They usually attend the government school for part of their day, and then, if available, they attend extracurricular classes in English or other beneficial subjects. It costs some children a few cents a day to attend government school. Many can’t afford that, therefore many rely on these ‘Free English’ schools that are supported by organizations.

Here, in Kep Province, these ‘Free English’ schools are almost non-existent. The CWF-Kep school is the only one like it around for miles and miles. Kep district was still under the thumb of the Khmer Rouge until a few short years ago. This area sadly lacks the wealth of organizations which are seen operating throughout the province of Siem Reap. I couldn’t have been happier to see this wealth of bicycles go to such needy rural children. Now these children will have the necessary means to attend the Khmer, English, Sanitation and Computer classes that are available for free at this small, rural 3-room school. They’ll be able to come to its small Library and borrow one of its few books, take it home, and share literacy with their rural family.

The 76 bicycle recipients came from the villages of Phnom Lev, Chamkabei, Domnak Chang Aer, Oudong, Rones, Ampeang, Koh Soum, Kantal Toul and Prey Takov; all in Domnak Chang Aer District in Kep Province.

So - Big Reasons for a Big Celebration!

There was a huge audience in attendance - friends and family came from miles around to attend the 8:30am Ceremony. Many, Cambodian Commune and district officials also attended, including His Excellency Sam Sarin, Chief of the Kep Provincial Council. His moving speech gratefully acknowledged and thanked Rotary for its contribution to education in this impoverished province.

CWF-Kep director, Mr. Om Chamnap, outlined the many in-school and community outreach programs that the school provides. I’ll be filling you in on more of these as the weeks go by. This week Mr. Chamnap will be taking me with him to the rural village Khmer Literacy classes that he conducts - I will finally get some good Khmer Language lessons!

CWF-Kep also has 15 families on it’s waiting list for its Micro-Credit program. You can provide a poor rural family with a self-sustaining business for as little as US$100!

The last week of December will find me implementing the ‘Embracelets’ program for women and girls in rural Kep villages. More information on this ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ sponsored project at http://embraceletsforbooks.blogspot.com

‘Cambodia World Family - Krong Kep’ is more than just a school for children. It also provides community outreach programs with a strong focus on bringing education and self-sustaining skills to rural women and girls. At present, there is a desperate need to have a few of its sewing machines fixed so it can reinstate its sewing classes for women. This beneficial program is presently suspended due to lack of funding. The library urgently needs both Khmer and English books, which can be bought here in Cambodia for a fraction of the cost in other countries. More bicycles are needed throughout this district!
Please visit the CWF-Kep website at www.cwf-kep.org to find out more and how you can donate to this school.

I’ll be here for many more weeks yet. Anyone in Canada who wishes to make a contribution towards this schools needs, can easily do so by sending your donation to ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’, 906 Fung Place, Kitchener, ON, Canada, N2A 4M3. Please indicate that your donation is for ‘CWF-Kep’. Your donation can be easily accessed by me in Cambodia, and 100% of your donation will go quickly into action here on-the-ground in Cambodia.

Many thanks to my fellow Rotarians in Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes and Orillia…the Rotary International Emblem can now be proudly seen on the frames of many bicycles throughout this province as the children ride smiling to school!

Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes and Orillia Rotary Bikes Arrive at CWF-Kep School!

2009-12-16T17:22:00.000-08:00

Two days ago, 76 bicycles arrived from Phnom Penh...5 hours away from here!

Thanks to the generosity of The Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes and Orillia Rotary Clubs, 72 children will have a way to get to school. 4 more bikes had been donated by Pauline Johns of Australia.

All bikes arrived 'sandwiched' in the back of a large truck. Children were estatic when the truck arrived.

Cambodia World Family - Krong Kep School (CWF-Kep)had 15 new students enrol that day! News about this bicycle shipment travels quickly - I'm sure the school will get more students as news of 'bikes for the students' travels through the villages!

Handlebars, lamps, pedals, baskets all had to be attached upon arrival...Rotary Stickers as well! That took two days in itself!

Teachers had to take turns staying overnight at the school to 'guard' this precious shipment until the big 'Bike Distribution Ceremony' tomorrow... Kep District officials in Attendance!

So, stay tuned...in a couple more days, I'll report in on the biggest ceremony a school around here has seen in a long time!

Dreams Made Real for Cambodian Children

2009-12-13T03:21:00.000-08:00

The generosity of Rotary Clubs and ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ donors have kept me busy since my arrival in Cambodia on October 13th. There have been numerous highlights including the 20 Rotarians from Ontario district 7070 who came over for a 2-week ’Sweat Equity Trip’, food relief distribution to Cambodian villages in the aftermath of Cyclone Ketsana, the Bakong Technical College Ceremony where 35 bicycles were distributed, a distribution of 20 bicycles 25km north of Kralanh, a school uniform and shoe distribution ceremony at the ’Muskoka School’ in Ta Trav village, the commencement of preparing building materials for the ‘Bakong Technical College’ project, making ’Embracelets’ on Sundays with Cambodian students at school and my present volunteer endeavor here in Krong Kep, Cambodia, at the ‘Cambodia World Family - Krong Kep School‘ (CWF-Kep), where on December 18th, 76 more bicycles will be given to children here at the school’s big bicycle distribution ceremony.

Here in Cambodia, generous gifts to schools and villages don’t go unnoticed! It is quite usual to invite the village, commune and district chiefs to come and say a few words of thanks and make a small ceremony out of the whole affair of gift-giving. I’ll be asked to say a few words on behalf of the Rotary Clubs who donated the bulk of these 76 bikes here in Kep.

I’m also busy preparing for a third, large 53-bicycle distribution which will occur the last week in January for the rural villages surrounding Takeo, Cambodia. So, in total, 184 bicycles will have been distributed in rural villages while I’m here - but the need is great, and more funding for bicycles is always welcomed. For $50 (Canadian funds), a child receives a sturdy bike with carrier, basket, lamp, lock and key, therefore giving a child the transportation with which to get to rural schools, which can be up to 10km away in some instances!

In Canada, a donation to the bike bank project can be made by sending your $50 donation to ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’, 906 Fung Place, Kitchener, ON, N2A 4M3. In the US, your donation can be made to ‘Project Enlighten’ - for donation details, visit their website at www.projectenlighten.org

But I don’t do this bicycle distribution all on my own. I rely heavily on trusted Cambodian volunteers, who include: ‘Project Enighten’ scholarship students, Mr. Un Vanthon and family in Phnom Penh, and here in Kep - CWF-Kep school director Mr. Om Chamnap and teachers Pen Ravuth and Tep Chien. All these Cambodian volunteers are most happy to give their time to help impoverished rural children by giving them the necessary transportation to get to school.

A huge thanks go to dear friend, Pauline Johns from Australia, who just spent a week getting sweaty, dusty and dirty as we made our way to 76 rural bike applicant’s homes on the backs of motos over the bumpy roads (sometimes not even a road!), through the rice paddy villages of Cambodia. There is no better dirt-biking to be had! At times, we’d have to get off the bikes to climb a hill, or slog through a muddy, water irrigation route. This part of the country is also famous for its Natural Salt Fields - some bikes will be given to poor children living there.

Two district 7010 Ontario Rotary Clubs are responsible for ‘Making Dreams Real’ through the distribution of bicycles here in Cambodia. With the help of a Matching Simplified Grant, the Rotary Club of Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes has donated 118 bicycles so far, and the Rotary Club of Orillia has donated 42. The remaining bikes were sponsored by ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ donors and Pauline Johns.

A very special thank you goes to John Chow of Toronto, who this past year contributed $1,000 to The Bike Bank Project in Cambodia!

It will take me a few blog entries to catch up on all that’s gone on here in Cambodia, but I’ll fill you in on one more ‘Muskoka’ highlight before posting this…incidentally - this is the first time that I’m in a location with limited access to internet, and sometimes there’s just no service to be had. Krong Kep is a small town about 6km away from the Viet Nam border. It is the closest town to the CWF-Kep school, (which is 20km away to the east!), that has a guesthouse. There is no ATM, no pharmacy, no newspaper!….I have to go about 15km north to Kampot for those services. I have a small television in my room. I get 4 channels - 3 in Khmer and one in Vietnamese (I think!)…so, I really am shut off from what’s going on in the rest of the world….

Thanks to the continuing generosity of Muskoka, the US$2,000 that was raised at our annual ‘Giant Garage Sale’ in Gravenhurst, transformed itself into school uniforms and shoes for the close to 400 children attending the ‘Muskoka School’ in Ta Trav village, Siem Reap district. A special thanks to all the garage sale volunteers, who worked so hard to raise this!

The ‘Trailbazer Foundation’ in the United States, was the organization who made the ‘Muskoka School’ a reality here on the ground in Cambodia, and readily took on the task of sourcing out the best price in Cambodia for these school uniforms and shoes. There was even money left over to buy a couple of water filters!

On November 24th, there was a special gift distribution ceremony at the school, where area officials, Scott Coates from Trailblazers and myself gave speeches recognizing the importance of these uniforms for the students attending this school. For most children, these school uniforms are the only good set clothes these children own. The many that were barefoot, and at risk of getting hookworms, now have shoes. Thanks to Rattana from Trailblazers for arranging the transportation that took several of our Rotarians, friends, Pauline and I out to Ta Trav. The only feasible way for us to get out there was in the back of a utility truck…a little jostling at times in places where the road had suffered some damage during the floods brought on by Cyclone Ketsana, but, it was an event we would not have missed for the world! We have wonderful memories and photos of smiles as we distributed the uniforms and shoes personally to every child. Thanks again to the Trailblazer Foundation!

Rotarians, Bicycles, Muskoka School & Cambodia World Family - Krong Kep School

2009-12-12T03:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy, busy first 2 months...I'm well on the way to distributing over 145 bicycles that have been generouly donated by the Rotary Clubs of Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes and Orillia in Ontario, and some sponsored by private donors...more news on this, The Muskoka School Uniform Gift Distribution Ceremony, the District 7070 Rotary Sweat Equity Trip to Cambodia, and my present volunteer endeavors at the Cambodia World Family School - Krong Kep (CWF-KEP)will be posted here in a day or two. In the meantime - enjoy the newly posted photos....

Many thanks to volunteer and dear friend, Pauline Johns from Australia for her support the past three weeks, and all the wonderful projects that she has implemened here in Cambodia. She just finished accompanying me and two CWF-Kep teachers for days as we home-interviewed 76 student bike recipients in rural Kep villages.

I’ve been here in Cambodia for 2 months now, and have home-interviewed, documented and distributed 111 bicycles so far. For the past week and a half, I’ve been situated in Kep, Cambodia, where I had the opportunity to see the dire need in the surrounding rural villages. Families here survive on next to nothing. The only income they may get is the $1/day they make when they are hired to hand-harvest a rice crop in the sweltering sun.

Schools are sometimes up to 10km away, so many children don’t have the opportunity to go to school - you have given these children the valuable gift of education.

As the Christmas season approaches, consider telling your friends about the benefits that a gift of a bicycle can give to a rural child in the developing country of Cambodia.

A special Christmas gift card has been designed for this purpose. A donation of $50 provides a child with a sturdy bicycle equipped with a carrier, basket, generator-powered lamp, lock and key. I will be in Cambodia for several weeks yet to distribute more bicycles. Bicycle donations can be made to:

A Mine Free World Foundation
906 Fung Place,
Kitchener, ON, Canada
N2A 4M3

'A Mine Free World' Provides Aid to Ketsana-Flooded Villages in Cambodia

2009-10-21T05:11:00.000-07:00

$400 Food Aid Distributed to Flooded Village Homes in Roluos and Beng Donpa

Typhoon Ketsana, which affected 17 provinces in Cambodia, has left 36 people dead and an estimated US41 million dollars in damages. The National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) in Cambodia reports that these figures will rise. This US$41 million dollars only represents the damage to rice fields, homes and domestic animals. There are an estimated 1,000 schools damaged or destroyed. Roads to the ‘Muskoka School’ in rural Siem Reap district remained impassable for 2 weeks - some places flooded a meter or more. Damage to these roads are still under repair.

27,933 hectares of rice were damaged and hundreds of homes were destroyed with tens of thousands of families displaced - countless homes and villages still remain flooded presenting a serious threat of water-borne disease from the remaining stagnant water. 60,000 children in Cambodia die each year - many from waterborne diseases.

Yesterday, one of the children that I had visited in flooded Roluos village just this past weekend had died.

I arrived in Siem Reap on Tuesday, November 13th, and 2 days later, we made our first visit to flooded, impoverished homes in Roluos village in Bakong district. We went with a group of 11 people from the US - members of the Cambodian-American Community of Oregon (CACO). This group was led by friend, and Project Enlighten co-team member Chanly Bob. Chanly and his group had funded numerous bicycles for villages, orphanges, etc. They brought along some of these bicycles to Roluos to donate to the flooded families there. Our ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ in Canada had raised $400 towards food for flooded families. So, in a wonderful, collaborative effort by both organizations - we heaped bicycles with food and presented them to these families.

A big thank you to CACO for donating 10 bikes to our very own Bike Bank Project (www.thebikebankproject.blogspot.com ) .

Over the weekend, we went out to Beng Donpa village, Slorkram Commune in Siem Reap district. This village consists of 5,735 people representing 1,180 families. Roads there were still flooded, as were many homes. “A Mine Free World Foundation’ gave out food to over 100 of the poorest and most affected by flooding.

All this could not have been done without the help of ‘Project Enlighten’ university scholarship recipient Khemra Horm and her family. Khemra and her family had gone out and purchased all the food, divided it up into grocery-bag portions facilitating distribution. Khemra had pre-assessed and interviewed the most needy families. All families were given rice, tinned fish, soya sauce (staple for making soups) and packaged instant noodles. A portion of the money was also used to buy used clothing for some of the poorest.

Many thanks for the support of those who supplied the funds for this relief. A special thanks to the women from Daphne’s Drop-in at the Women’s Resource Center in Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada, who raised $150 for these direct relief efforts.

There are many more in these, and similar villages, who still need your help coping with the aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana. Details are in the blog entry below on how you can support these direct relief efforts through ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’, a registered non-profit organization in Canada - for details see: www.aminefreeworld.org .

Let me take a moment and tell you about two families in particular in Beng Donpa village. Our distribution efforts throughout this village were authorized by village leader Meak Chan Monyrom, who accompanied us as we trekked on foot from home to home via flooded village roads.

One family - the large Joeun family - lives in a small, flooded hut pieced together by bamboo and tarp fragments. The family, and their home are pictured at the right. As you can see, the father is a landmine victim. The family survives by selling recyclable garbage that they collect. They had barely any belongings in their small, flooded home. None of the children go to school. They don’t have the small ‘fee’ it costs to enroll, nor do they have the money for the required school uniform, pencils, notebooks, etc. Whatever money they scrape together goes for food to feed the family.

At the center of the Joeun family photo, you will see little 11-year-old Sampeos (in the red shirt). She has not started school yet. “A Mine Free World Foundation’ is dedicated to providing assistance to landmine victims and their families. To get little Sampeos started in school for the year would only cost US$30 - $10 for 2 school uniforms, $5 for teacher ‘fee’ and $15 for a school bag and school supplies. Sampeos has already been designated to receive a bicycle through the Bike Bank Project. She just needs a sponsor to get her started in school. Please consider supporting her education.The two charming Joeun identical twins are too young to start school this year, but will be able to next year.

‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ has a special program called ‘Vanna’s Fund’, which provides financial assistance towards the education expenses for landmine victims and their families. It is named after Vanna, who lost her leg to a landmine at the age of eight. Maria van Santen, author and founder of ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’, was touched by Vanna;s story and wrote the children’s book ‘Vanna’s Dance’. Vanna is now 17 and resides here in Siem Reap, Cambodia where she is enrolled in grade 11. Her education and living expenses are supported through ‘Vanna’s Fund’. Vanna will now also be helping other young landmine victims who are supported through ‘Vanna’s Fund’.

Cambodia is a mine-infested country plagued by an estimated 5 million landmines. The Cambodian Mine/UXO Victim Information System (CMVIS) reports 199 deaths from landmines for the period of January to September 2009. Most victims are farmers working the fields or children playing in the fields. Many more are maimed by these explosive remnants of war.

The second family depicted in this blog entry is that of 9-yr-old Peon and his grandmother. Peon lives in a small, flooded bamboo hut. Peon has just started grade one. When I met this bright, friendly boy, I was immediately concerned with what were large, swollen glands or ducts under his eyes. There was also an infected discharge coming out of the corners of his eyes. Through translation, I found out that Peon was born with this large swelling under the eyes and that he also had been taken to the Angkor Children’s Hospital where he had received free treatment. The hospital here has referred him for free specialized treatment in Phnom Penh, but Peon’s family lacks the money for transportation to Phnom Penh and the possible need for accompanying family accommodation as well. This is so, so often the case in Cambodia. There are excellent hospitals providing free expert treatment for children in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, but most often the case rural families lack the money for transportation to the hospital. So, often children suffer with debilitating conditions, or worse yet, die from lack of medical attention.

Volunteer work in Cambodia is often an emotional struggle of mixed feelings. There are many rewarding instances where a smile can be brought to a child’s face with the smallest gesture of kindness, hope or offer of help. But, there are also the times where you are unable to help, and walking away is a difficult thing.

On the horizon, there are yet many more rewarding moments to come here in Cambodia! There are many more Bicycles to be given out to needy students - thanks in big part to the generosity of fellow-Rotarians from the Orillia Rotary Club in Ontario, Canada, who recently donated $2,000 to ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ for the Bike Bank Project in Cambodia - that will mean 40 bikes for needy kids in the districts of Siem Reap and Kep, Cambodia. More exciting news soon regarding the Bike Bank Project, the Bakong Technical School Project, the ‘Embracelets’ Project, and a visit by 20 district 7070 Rotarians from Canada!

Donate Now to Help Cambodian Typhoon Victims

2009-10-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

Help us provide direct relief supplies - Please Donate now!

On September 29th, powerful Typhoon Ketsana, which ravaged the Philippines, raged through central Cambodia killing at least 15 people and injuring many others.
Authorities in Cambodia reported that thousands have been evacuated from their homes as the torrential rains and winds up to 145km (90 miles) an hour swept through Cambodia. First reports indicate that the Kampong Thom and Rattanakiri provinces were the hardest hit. Hundreds of homes in these areas have been damaged or destroyed.

Eastern areas of Siem Reap province have also been hard hit and are still flooded. Roads to the 'Muskoka School' are presently seeing water over a metre high in places.

In response to the urgent need to supply aid to those affected by this disaster, ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’ (AMFW) (www.aminefreeworld.org), a registered non-profit organization in Canada, is putting in place an Immediate Action Plan.

We are asking you to Donate Now to provide aid to those children and their families in Cambodia affected by this natural catastrophe.

AMFW Executive Director, and Rotarian, Lisa McCoy will be arriving in central Cambodia on October 10th to oversee direct distribution of much-needed food and supplies to those in rural typhoon-affected areas.
Any amount that you can give will go directly to assisting these victims.

So far, $400 has been raised but we need more to buy dried noodles, rice, canned food, water for many. Areas devastated are important rice growing areas and thousand have lost this precious food supply. In the coming months, these families will need food to see them through.

River levels are still on the rise in Cambodia.

Donations can be made through:

PayPal at aminefreeworld@yahoo.com,
or
by cheque to ‘A Mine Free World Foundation’,
906 Fung Place, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, N2A 4M3

More information and footage of the devastation in Cambodia can be viewed at this BBC link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asiapacific/8281950.stm

A Mine Free World Foundation provides educational and humanitarian assistance to those in mine-infested countries. and help us help those affected by Typhoon Ketsana....Please GIVE NOW

Thank you for your support.

Maria van Santen – Founder & Lisa McCoy – Executive Director
A Mine Free World Foundation
http://schoolsforcambodia.blogspot.com/ http://projectenlightenburma.blogspot.com/
http://thebikebankproject.blogspot.com/ http://embraceletsforbooks.blogspot.com/

MUSKOKA TALENT FESTIVAL - Gravenhurst Opera House - Saturday September 26 - 7pm

2009-08-05T06:09:00.000-07:00

Mark SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH, - 7pm on your calendars! Location – on stage at the GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE. Don’t miss the ‘MUSKOKA TALENT FESTIVAL’ featuring VINCE GRITTANI - THE WEEKEND GUY – a fundraising variety show with all proceeds going to The ‘MUSKOKA BIKE BANK WORKSHOP’ project at the Bakong Technical College project site in rural Siem Reap province in Cambodia. Get your tickets soon – they are only $15 each and can be obtained through the Gravenhurst Opera House at 705-687-5550 or from Lisa McCoy at 705-687-8538, email: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

Headlining this fabulous evening is Vince Grittani - 'The Weekend Guy' http://www.weekendguy.com/AboutVince.htm Award winning Playwright, author, illustrator and TV personality (Weekend Guy, Cottage Life TV), Vince is sure to make this evening an entertaining highlight of the year that you won't want to miss!

Fabulous theatrical and musical performers from throughout Muskoka have donated their talents for the spectacular 'Muskoka Talent Festival' variety show, including TIM SULLIVAN & DOUG BANWELL, THE MUSKOKA BIG BAND, IAN & PRU DONALSON, THE PEPPERMILL PLAYERS,The MUSKOKA SAXOPHONE CHOIR, THE MERRY WINDS Clarinet Quartet, Award-winning Students from INSPIRING SOUNDS MUSIC STUDIO, ‘JUST 8’ the popular Jazz Vocal Ensemble, The GRAVENHURST SAXOPHONE QUARTET, GEORGE KADWELL & KATHY KILBOURNE, …just to name a FEW...and various COMEDY ACTS in-between to keep you laughing! Keep watching this site for further updates. We have a few surprise spectacular performers participating!

Doors open at 6pm that evening with surprises, cash bar, and entertainment in the Trillium Court pre-show. Refreshments will be served after the show as well!

A Mine Free World Foundation!

The 'Muskoka Bike Bank Workshop' is a $6,000US project that will see a much-needed bicycle depot and repair shop built in rural Cambodia. This workshop will also teach bicycle repair to rural students. So far, close to $2,000 has been donated towards the purchase of bicycles, with another promised $6,000 coming from area Rotary clubs. We need a rural depot center in Cambodia to distribute and repair these bikes!

The 'Muskoka Bike Bank Workshop' is one of the many projects under the Canadian registered non-profit organization 'A Mine Free World Foundation'(AMFW) www.aminefreeworld.org - an organization providing educational and beneficial projects and programs for students and landmine victims in developing countries. This organization, founded by Kitchener, Ontario author and publicist, Maria van Santen, is pleased to announce Lisa McCoy, as the new Exectutive Director. We welcome on board Muskoka AMFW Team Members Doug Banwell from Huntsville and Dan Blix from Gravenhurst.

Thanks to Dan Blix of Gravenhurst for designing the fabulous 'Muskoka Talent Festival' poster. For great graphic desogn or Ad work, you can contact Dan at:
Dan Blix Ad Services,705 687-4555 or dblix@sympatico.ca Dan's Advertising Design: http://dansadvertisingdesign.blogspot.com./

Also, new to the Board of A Mine Free World, is Ronnie Yimsut, a landscape architect, author, activist and Khmer Rouge genocide survivor. Ronnie is also the Project Manager of the Bakong Technical College project - a college providing academic and vocational education in rural impoverished Siem Reap province in Cambodia. Ronnie, along with Lisa co-manage The Bike Bank Project here in Canada and the US. See: http://thebikebankproject.blogspot.com

To make a donation towards 'The Muskoka Bike Bank Workshop', please send your cheque, made out to 'A Mine Free World Foundation' to Box 53, Gravenhurst, ON, Canada, P!P 1T5.

Rotarians and Friends from District 7070, and beyond, are joining Chris Synder, Dr. Nina Cole, and myself on a two-week Sweat Equity Trip to Cambodia this November. We will be building the first 2 buildings at the Bakong Technical College site - The dining/Community hall and the 'Muskoka Bike Bank Workshop'! We have a couple of spots still open to anyone wishing to get involved in this exciting mission of work mixed with fun- all the while enjoying the culural wonders of Cambodia and its people! Contact Lisa for details!

I'll be heading back to Cambodia and the Thai-Burma border in mid-October for another 5 months of volunteer work, and would be most happy to give your group a presentation on the countries, people and projects of SE Asia.

$3,900 Raised for Cambodian and Burmese Refugee Children!

A HUGE Thanks to all of those from far and wide who made the fourth annual ‘Muskoka School Kids Giant Garage Sale’ such a resounding success!

Thanks to the generosity of those who donated items, volunteered their time, trucks and muscles and made financial contributions at the sale; Jay and Linda Harrison and Carl and I are happy to report that we have met all our goals, and more!

From the sale proceeds, we will be able to purchase the 500 flip-flops and school uniforms for the children at the newly completed ‘Muskoka School’, now in use in rural Siem Reap province in Cambodia! Theses clothes may be the only good set of new clothes that these children have ever had! http://schoolsforcambodia.blogspot.com

$205 was raised in ‘Embracelets’ donations at the sale. This project sponsors Cambodian student girls to attend English school in Cambodia through the sale of bracelets that they make themselves. Your donation of $7 towards a bracelet provides a month of school! http://embraceletsforbooks.blogspot.com

Through the generosity of John Chow of Toronto, who arrived at the sale and contributed $1,000, we can now provide 20 bicycles for rural students in Cambodia who have no way to get to school. http://thebikebankproject.blogspot.com

Also, $400 from sale proceeds will be given towards computer training courses and educational supplies for Burmese refugee students on the Thai-Burma border. http://projectenlightenburma.blogspot.com

Thank you to ‘Muskoka Party Rentals’ of Bracebridge for their use of tents, Father Joe Moran and St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church for their loan of tables, and to superwoman and owner of ‘New Stuff’, Gravenhurst, Mary Woodall for her efforts and contributions!

Many thanks to the following volunteers and contributors who made a big difference in the lives of many children in South East Asia:

Bill and Dora Rathbun, Dan and Linda Blix, Denise Falko, Sue Gibson and her trailer, the Rotary Clubs of Muskoka and Orillia, Marlyn Goodwin, Dr. Nina Cole of Toronto, Dan Crawley of Washago, Ditchburn House, Pam Dunlop, Sue Stockdale, Steve and Eva McCoy for site use, Bill Kinghorn, David Bryce, Kim Barlow, Inge Fritz, Steve Thomas, Andy and Georgie McCoy, Mike and Darlene, Sue and Jon Gurr of Moonview Gallery in Bala, Frank and Penny Prazak, Barb Trimble and to the countless others who contributed in one way or another.

Thanks also goes to Muskoka's fine press for their continuing support: Muskoka Today, What's Up Muskoka, Muskoka Magazine, The Gravenhurst Banner and the Bracebridge Examiner!

Thanks again Muskoka for your enthusiasm and big hearts!

Proud to Be Awarded a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow!

I'm proud and priviledged to be a member of the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada, and humbled and honored to have received a Paul Harris Fellow last month at our annual Rotary President's Night Gala at the New Muskoka Bay Clubhouse.

'Muskoka School Kids' Giant Garage Sale - A Week Away!

2009-07-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

“Muskoka School Kids” Giant Garage Sale

Saturday July 11th and/or Sunday, July 12th (raindate) – Dawn to Dusk

270 John St. North – Gravenhurst - Across from Bethune House

Proceeds for flip-flops and school uniforms for our Muskoka School Kids, The Bike Bank Project and scholarships for Burmese Refugee Students.

We Need Your Help to make this sale a Success!

WE NEED:

-Donations of new or good used items.

-Volunteers

-Tarps (to borrow)

- Donations of some take-out pizzas for our volunteer’s lunch

- Donations of Donuts, cookies, a can of coffee, sugar cubes, coffee whitener

- Plastic bags

If you can provide any of the above, please contact Lisa McCoy at 687-8538 or schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com
Gravenhurst Drop-Off location for garage sale items: 960 First St. South – ANYTIME!

For Pick-up of items please contact Lisa McCoy or Jay Harrison at 687-7679
Hundreds of ‘Embracelets’ made by students in Cambodia available at the sale – see http://embraceletsforbooks.blogspot.com/

See photos of kids now using the ‘Muskoka School’ in Cambodia at: http://schoolsforcambodia.blogspot.com/

Thanks for helping our Muskoka School Kids! Tell Everyone about the sale and See You There!

‘Muskoka School’ in Cambodia Completed!

2009-06-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

Over two years of fundraising, donations and volunteering has resulted in the completion of the ‘Muskoka School’ Project in Cambodia, a six-room government elementary school for 500 children in the impoverished village of Ta Trav in Siem Reap district.

Big-hearted Muskoka citizens, Rotary Clubs, area businesses and churches rallied to the cause of these children - half a world away – and raised over US$20,000 toward this school building project! Now, this school will proudly bear the name of Muskoka and its generosity for generations to come.

In the mid-seventies, Cambodia lost a third of its population in a mass genocide led by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. During those years, up to 2,500,000 innocent, precious lives came to unimaginable brutal ends, leaving Cambodia with a young and struggling population.

Not only do these people struggle with poverty, disease and lack of clean water - they suffer these devastating obstacles amidst the over 5,000,000 landmines that still plague the Cambodian countryside.

Recovery for the people of Cambodia is slowly progressing, thanks to organizations such as The Trailblazer Foundation http://thetrailblazerfoundation.org/ and the Ontario-founded Cambodia Landmine Museum Relief Fund (CLMMRF) http://www.cambodialandminemuseum.org/ . The ‘Muskoka School’ is a Community Outreach project of the CLMMRF in collaboration with the Trailblazer Foundation; who managed the project on the ground in Cambodia. This project not only benefits the 500 children who will utilize it, but it also gave some much-needed employment to men and women in this rural area.

As a Rotarian, I am proud of the support that area clubs gave to this project. I am also overwhelmed and humbled by the many ways that Muskokans from all walks of life gave to this project. Some volunteered their time and donated items to our ‘Giant Garage Sales’. Others attended the fundraising evenings generously sponsored by the Boston Pizza Restaurants in Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, and at ‘Upstairs at Regatta’ at Muskoka Wharf. Many people gave in so many ways.

A special thanks to MPP Norm Miller for his support of this project.

Very sincere thanks to the staff and editors of Muskoka Today, Muskoka Magazine, What’s Up Muskoka, Gravenhurst Banner and Bracebridge Examiner.

There was a Muskoka Team behind this project – none of it could have been done without them - so be sure to give each one of them a big pat on the back. Dan Blix, area graphic designer, has been behind this project since Day One, and has put hours of time into it. Likewise, Bill Rathbun, fellow Rotarian – countless hours. Jay and Linda Harrison put their hearts, souls and muscles into this project, and saw the birth of this school for themselves when they came to Cambodia this winter for their 3-week ‘sweat equity’ trip. Rotarians Jim Goodwin and Pat Bongers also worked for the cause. Scott Aitchison and Tim Cantelon of Huntsville also made their way over to Cambodia to visit the Muskoka School children, and generously supported this project.

So, so many people to thank. They are all mentioned in previous posts on this blog. Be sure to read about all those who have contributed.

A special thanks of support to ‘Project Enlighten’ – http://projectenlighten.org/ . Each winter, all of our organizations head over to Cambodia, self-funded, and get involved with scholarship programs, school-building projects, cow and bike bank projects and numerous other projects to benefit the children and people of Cambodia, Burma and Laos.

This November members of the Rotary Club of Toronto (and I) will be heading over to Cambodia to fund and build the initial buildings of a wonderful vocational college project in another poor area of Siem Reap District – The Bakong Technical College http://www.bakongtechcollege.org/ . I’m hoping to get some area Rotary members to join along on this trip. More news on how you can support this project soon. Information on making Canadian tax-deductible donations to this project can be obtained by emailing me at schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com

Many children in Cambodia will now have a chance at their Future Dreams Made Real through the opportunity of education at the Muskoka School.

The official Inauguration Ceremony for the school will be held late this fall. I’ll be there to represent the kindness of those in Muskoka who gave in so many ways for these children.

In the meantime; please read on and see how you can further help these 500 children. They need flip-flops and school uniforms. Please donate your items to our Giant Garage Sale on July 11 in Gravenhurst, across from Bethune House. Call us now to have your items picked up – Jay Harrison 705-687-7679 or Lisa McCoy 705-687-7679.

Many Thanks Muskoka!

‘Muskoka School’ Progress! – Giant Garage Sale July 11th…And MORE!

2009-04-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

The citizens and Rotary Clubs of Muskoka have lots to be proud of – a government elementary school is being built in their honor for hundreds of impoverished children in rural Siem Reap province, Cambodia.

This school presently has over 350 children in attendance at the dilapidated wooden structure on the Ta Trav school site. With the completion of the new six-room cement school building, the attendance is expected to rise to 500 students.
I’ve been back from Cambodia over 3 weeks now, and have received numerous updates from the Trailblazer Foundation (www.trailblazerfoundation.org), the US-based organization on the ground in Cambodia implementing this wonderful school project. The Trailblazer Foundation is building this school in collaboration with the Canadian-founded ‘Cambodian Landmine Museum Relief Fund’ (http://cambodialandminemuseum.org/). This blog entry shows a couple of photos from the April 7th and April 21st progress updates which I have received. To see more photos, please visit my Picasa Web Album Site at: http://picasaweb.google.com/schoolsforcambodia/ .

As I write, the signs are being made for the school, and soon they will be ready to put the roof on the school. There is a second new latrine being built beside the school. This project will be finished sometime late in May, at which time the students will start to have classes in the new building.

The official inauguration for the ‘Muskoka School’ Project will occur in November or December 2009 and I’ll be there in person for that grand event.
During my visits to the school site, I encountered a couple of needs that the ‘Muskoka School’ kids have. First, and most important – they need shoes! The majority don’t have any of the standard Cambodian footwear – the flip-flop. This results in the children becoming susceptible to hookworm infestation – a nasty parasite that enters through the soles of the feet, and work their way up to the intestinal tract causing severe illness. For US$300, five hundred flip flops can be purchased at a local market in Siem Reap. Secondly, many of the children don’t have the standard government blue-and-white school uniforms. They can be purchased locally for US$3-$6, depending on size.

Mark Saturday, July 11th on your calendars – that’s the day we’re having the Annual Giant Garage Sale for the ‘Muskoka School’ children. We’re asking everyone to donate good-used items for this sale, which will raise money for shoes and uniforms for the children. Please consider volunteering for the day – we’ll need lots of manpower. Call or email me with goods to donate, or to volunteer at 705-687-8538 or schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com . Thanks Carol Fraser and Jay & Linda Harrison for volunteering!

Money raised from this sale will also go toward some bikes for some needy students. US35 will see a bicycle, complete with carrier, lamp and basket go to needy rural students who otherwise have no way to get to school. This is done through the new Bike Bank Project – Cambodia: http://thebikebankproject.blogspot.com/ . It is with huge delight that I report to you on the fundraising efforts of a grade eight class at Huntsville Public School. They are presently fundraising for a bicycle for needy student in Cambodia! Take on the challenge, and have your class or group consider this small fundraising endeavor that can result in a huge change in the life of a Cambodian child.

As many of you know, I am as equally compelled to help the Burmese refugee students, as I am the Khmer students. All of us at ‘Project Enlighten’ (www.projectenlighten.org) have dedicated ourselves to a new project: Information and Technology Computer training scholarships (CICT Program) for the Burmese refugee students that I taught this past winter at ‘The All Burma Student’s I.T. Union’ in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border (ABITSU – www.abitsu.org ). For US $300 you can sponsor a student in a four-month intensive computer training course which will enable a student to further their education in this field. The course is done through internationally recognized ‘Brainbench.com’ . More information on the ‘Project Enlighten’ sponsored CICT Program can be found at http://projectenlightenburma.blogspot.com/ . Some of the proceeds from the Giant Garage Sale will go to this cause and the cause mentioned below.

Likewise, I have personally challenged myself to provide help for the ‘Kayan Women’s Organization’, a group of young Kayan women from Shan state in Burma. As a recipient of the Muskoka YWCA’s Women of Distinction Exceptional Achievements Award, I am a strong believer of women and human rights. Women in military-controlled and heavily censored Burma know little of the outside world and suffer constant violence and suppression by the military. I spent a month teaching English to these young women. Project Enlighten funded the repair of their computers, and purchased a television for them. Two of my students have recently gone back inside Burma for a few months to teach other women in their remote state. You can read more about these young Christian women on my Project Enlighten – Burma blog site.

Please visit my new blog site announcing a very special project: ‘Embracelets For Books’. I came back with 440 beautiful hand-woven bracelets made by elementary students in Siem Reap. No two bracelets are alike! The sale of these bracelets ( $6 - $8 ) goes towards further education for the students who made them. Naret Duk, our Project Enlighten Scholarship recipient in Cambodia is founder of this marvelous project, with Dan Blix and I acting as her Canadian Project Managers. I am pleased to announce that so far $80 in bracelet sales has been raised. Read more at: http://embraceletsforbooks.blogspot.com/

The month of May will see co-Rotarian Bill Rathbun and I busy giving presentations to Rotary Clubs throughout Muskoka. Please contact me if your group or service club would like a presentation.

On a sad note:
BOU SENG HOURT1981 - 2009

With a very heavy heart and profound sadness we at the Cambodian Landmine Museum Relief Fund announce the passing of Bou Seng Hourt.
Hourt was the wife of Aki Ra, the gentle mother of Amatak, Mine, Meta and dozens of children who called the Cambodia Landmine Museum their home.
She made all our lives richer for having known her.
We will miss her.

In tribute to Hourt, I include the last photos I took of her this winter. Hourt was a champion of women who dedicated her life to landmine removal and the young victims of these remnants of war. She spent her days beside Akira in the minefields, was mother to countless child landmine survivors and spent hours in the running of the museum and facility in Siem Reap.

Last of all, a very special thanks to Gravenhurst supporters Bill Rathbun and Dan Blix who spend hours doing their part to help the children of Cambodia and the young refugees from Burma. They kept me going this winter while I was in SE Asia.

Search for me on Facebook, and become a friend of mine. This past winter, my Burmese English Class students intoduced me to Facebook - now help me make it grow!

Final March ‘Muskoka School’ Visit

2009-04-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

More final March Muskoka School photos can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/schoolsforcambodia/MuskokaSchoolFinalMarch2009Visit#
I arrived back in Siem Reap the day before yesterday and the following morning made my final visit to the ‘Muskoka School’ Project Site before heading back to Canada tomorrow.

In total, I’ve made five visits to this school-building project site in Ta Trav village, Siem Reap province this winter, and was utterly amazed at the progress each time. I have to admit that this last visit was the most exciting because I can clearly envision now what the school will look like upon completion. Muskoka citizens and area Rotary Clubs can be very proud of what they accomplished through all their hard fundraising efforts!

Windows are in place, cement is covering most of the walls, floors are being flooded and beautiful balustrades are being made for the front porch railing. Soon, the metal roof will go on, front porch will be finished and then the last step will be pouring the floors. I found out yesterday that the school will also be handicap accessible with a cement wheelchair ramp in place. A recent request for a second latrine to be built beside the school will also be implemented shortly. Project completion should occur sometime late May, just before the beginning of the rainy season, and then the children will begin taking classes in their new six-room school.
The school’s grand opening will take place in late fall, so I’ll be able to attend and record this momentous celebration.

There are smiles on all the workers faces – these village workers are so proud of what they are accomplishing. Project and site managers have done an excellent job! The big congratulations goes to The Trailblazer Foundation, the registered charity from the United States, that has implemented so many beneficial projects in Siem Reap Province ( www.trailblazerfoundation.org ). This is their biggest school-building project yet. They are in the early stages of planning a building project next winter that will see a large three-room kindergarten facility built for the education of ninety 3-5 year-old children, so their mothers can go out and work or receive training in job related skills at their women’s center. Trailblazers has installed many water filtration systems in this province and also installs hand-pull water pumps.

Many thanks go to Scott and Chris Coates, who volunteer for months here every winter to oversee these wonderful projects, and who have arranged the site visits for myself, and for the volunteers from Muskoka who visited here this past winter.

The ‘Muskoka School’ children have a couple of needs that I have discussed with Chris. First of all – they all need sandals (flip-flops). $300US will buy about 500 pairs. Chris has a market supplier that gives them this very good price. Not only do the kids wear these shoes, they also play a type of curling/tossing game with them at recess!

Also, some of the children need the mandatory blue and white school government school uniforms. The two-piece uniform costs about $3-$5US each for small sizes, and about $6US for large sizes. Chris will look into the exact pricing of these uniforms for me.

It would certainly be wonderful to come back in the fall and supply our ‘Muskoka School’ children with these items. Some of my upcoming fundraising efforts will go towards this. When I get back home to Gravenhurst, I will begin plans for our ‘Giant Garage Sale’, which will take place in June this year. Money raised from this sale will go towards shoes and uniforms for the ‘Muskoka School’ children, bicycles for needy rural students ($35US each), and for the Information and Technology Computer training scholarships (CICT Program) for the Burmese refugee students that I taught this past winter at ‘The All Burma Student’s I.T. Union’ in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border (ABITSU – www.abitsu.org ).

More information on the ‘Project Enlighten’ sponsored CICT Program can be found at http://projectenlightenburma.blogspot.com/ . More about ‘The Bike Bank Project – Cambodia’ can be obtained at: http://thebikebankproject.blogspot.com/ .

You can contribute to these worthwhile projects by donating your used items to the ‘Giant Garage Sale’ by calling me at 705-687-8538, or emailing me at: schoolsforcambodia@gmail.com . I am also available to give visual presentations regarding these projects and my past winter’s endeavors to any group.
I have more exciting news coming soon about another Rotary Club sponsored educational facility that will be built this coming winter. So, please keep your eye on this blog for further details as they come.

'Muskoka School' Walls, Windows and Doors take Shape!

2009-03-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

Posted now are photos of the Ta Trav school construction from March 10th and March 12th. Rattana, the ‘Muskoka School’ Project Manager from The Trailblazer Foundation
( www.trailblazerfoundation.org ) reports that the construction is 40-50% complete. It is anticipated that in June the entire project should be complete! This will hopefully include the proposed addition of a second 2-stall toilet.
Last week, Trailblazer’s Scott and Chris Coates had a meeting with But Kari, Angkor Thom District Chief, to discuss options on when the inauguration could occur. Kari said that the school must be completely finished before the inauguration could be held. He also noted that May was a busy month with elections, so the inauguration cannot be planned then. It would have to be either the end of April or later in the year. It could well be that the inauguration will take place near the end of the year, in which case members from the Trailblazer Foundation and myself could be in attendance!
The photos are truly amazing, aren’t they!? You can see more of them at: http://picasaweb.google.com/schoolsforcambodia
I’ll be heading back to Siem Reap on March 30th, which will leave me with three days in which to make a final visit to the ‘Muskoka School’ Site.

Also, I'll be checking up on a new project that Ronnie Yimsut and I are working on. Be sure to visit the new Blog for this project at: http://thebikebankproject.blogspot.com/
Since the beginning of March, I’ve been busy teaching English classes here in the Thai-Burma border town of Mae Sot. I’m teaching 10 students at the Kayan Women’s Organization. In this class there are also 3 Pao ethnic boys. The Kayan and Pao ethnic minorities are included in the group of ethnic groups that comprise 10%, or less of the population of Burma.
The Kayan women are characteristically known as the long-necked women of Burma which elongate their necks with the practice of adding metal coils to the neck. My Kayan students do not participate in this practice, in fact, they are here on the border, taking various courses in women’s leadership training, IT courses and human and women’s rights courses. They reside in a safe house here while taking their training, and eventually will take their knowledge back into Burma to teach others.

During the day, I also teach a three-hour English class at The All Burma IT Students’ Union (ABITSU - www.abitsu.org ). I taught at this Burmese organization for 2 months last winter, and am happy to be back to teach their new group of students. ‘Project Enlighten’ ( www.projectenlighten.org ) is proud to be supporting the IT courses for over 10 of their students. As a team member of ‘Project Enlighten’, I was here in May working with ABITSU in getting emergency relief aid into Burma via Burmese registered citizens. Trucks were loaded up here and aid was distributed to over 44,000. ‘Project Enlighten’ was one of many western organizations here during that time, which worked with Burmese organizations to get aid into Burma.
The present situation inside Burma is still one that sees most of the population living in dire poverty and suppression inflicted upon them by an irrepressible military dictatorship. The military uses children and people in forced labor. The junta periodically raids innocent villages and destroys them. The education system is sub-standard. There is no adequate health care for the general population. The military spends over 80% of the national budget on itself. The military is holding over 2,000 political prisoners, some who are sentenced to over 150 years in prison. Honorary Canadian Citizen and Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest despite cries from around the world for her release. She is due to be released in May, but it is very unlikely that she will be.

Many Burmese risk their lives daily to escape these harsh brutalities by crossing illegally into the countries of Thailand and India, where they live their lives in limbo either in the jungles, or in a safe house or refugee camp on the borders. It is these people that I come here to try and help, as education is a key to the future for many of these refugees.

Walls Go Up at ‘Muskoka School’ Site! -- Phnom Penh, Elephants, Tarantulas, Snakes and Bicycles!

2009-02-27T02:36:00.000-08:00

It’s been a busy 2 weeks for Muskoka residents Jay and Linda Harrison and I. We’ve been out to the ‘Muskoka School’ site twice, spend afternoons teaching at the Voluntary Development Poverty Children School – Jay & Linda rebuilt the library shelves there, spent 3 days in Phnom Penh, failed at our attempt to climb Mount Chi So, gave out 5 bicycles to needy students, and had our first encounter with a large unidentified Cambodian snake out in the countryside of Bakong district.

Last Tuesday’s visit to the ‘Muskoka School’ construction site at the school grounds in rural Ta Trav village found progress well ahead of schedule. The cement is pouring and the walls are going up! The school children are pitching in during their free time and they’re having a great time working together shoveling and hauling fill. We found out the hard way, when we started to pitch in, that the work these kids were doing is not that easy. It’s hot work too, as now temperatures are daily between 35-40 degrees Celsius.

Thanks to Chris Coates from the Trailblazer Foundation, Contractor Von Rotha, and Trailblazer Project Manager Ung Chanrattana for giving us the ride out to the ‘Muskoka School’ Site with them. Khmer men and women from the surrounding villages are working hard and fast to get this school built. I’m sure that when I return to Siem Reap the last week in March that I’ll be walking into classrooms with a roof overhead!

Back in Siem Reap, Jay, Linda and I have been going out 5 days a week to the Voluntary Development Poverty Children School (VDPCS). There’s lots of happy news to report from there! Jay and Linda have successfully and cost-effectively revamped the existing library shelving resulting in double the shelf space! The books all have cards and pockets in place, and 3 days ago, the first students borrowed books to take home. They are allowed to borrow one book each, with a lending period of three days. A few students looked at us in disbelief when we explained this to them – they could not believe they could actually take one of these precious books home! Thanks again Robena Kirton!

Jay and Linda have also continued teaching several more classes in health, first-aid, electricity and engineering. As well as giving these kids valuable education, they have also widened their scope by introducing them to some different professions to choose from for their future. They’ve given these kids some real inspiration.

We took a three day respite to go visit Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. My dear friend Un Vanthon, and his family took good care of all of us. Vanthon is a tuk tuk driver who was a victim who survived the harsh brutality that the Pol Pot regime inflicted on so many Khmer people his age. He took Jay and Linda to the Killing Fields, Camp S-21, Wat Phnom, the Royal Palace and the markets. Jay and Linda also rode on Phnom Penh’s most famous resident – 47 year-old Sambo the Elephant! Not only had Sambo survived the Khmer Rouge era, but one can see her bravely plod through morning and evening Phnom Penh city rush hour traffic on her way to her place of employment at Wat Phom, where she daily gives many joyous elephant rides to tourists, who in return feed her bunches of bananas and many other treats!

Phnom Penh is a city with many beggars on the streets. We encountered numerous beggars every time we walked out the front door of our hotel. Many are victims of landmines or disfigured by disease. There are many mothers with children who sleep all night with their naked babies on the sidewalks. Some are begging because they honestly have no other way to make money, and there are some that you wonder about…and I have encountered many beggars during my past 4 winters over here, but none left more an ‘impression’ on me than the following young ingenious little entrepreneur: This young, maybe 11 year-old boy, was walking up and down the streets with two huge live tarantulas climbing all over his face and body. He would walk up to an unsuspecting tourist and grab him/her by the shirt sleeve, pull him into the nearest shop, and ask the tourist to buy him something to eat or drink. I watched him for a while. Finally one tourist bought him a can of ‘Red Bull’ (that’s what the kid pointed at!). Then the kid put one tarantula in his pocket, opened his mouth and placed other one on his lips. The tourist snapped numerous photos of the tarantula crawling into his mouth! Lucky for Linda she was not with me at the time… we’ve had a few Huge Spider Encounters at the school where we volunteer, and one night there was a huge one in my room!

On our last day there, we made a 2 hour tuk tuk ride south of Phnom Penh to Mount Chi So. It was our goal to climb the 412 steps to the top to see the fabulous temple up there. It was a sweltering day, and we tried our best, but just couldn’t make it to the top – just too hot! So we came back down, sought some shade, and happily ate a wonderful Khmer picnic lunch that Vanthon’s wife and daughter prepared for us.

A few days ago we also made a trek out to Bakong district where the first few Bicycles were given out to some very needy students and families. Three of the bikes were purchased by generous Muskoka donors, and two were purchased by Peg and Keith Wheeler. There is enough money now to buy a sixth bike from the money left over, and through a donation by my dear student friend Khemra! They are the first five bikes given out under a new ‘Bicycle Loan Program’ that Project Enlighten Team Member Ronnie Yimsut and I are working on. Ronnie is a professional landscape architect, author and survivor of the Khmer Rouge era. He commandeered the successful cow bank and micro-loan projects in Bakong, and is now in the early stages of building a huge technical college for the rural people there – the Bakong Technical College. We had an informative day visiting these projects.

In the past, Ronnie had implemented a bicycle project which resulted in hundreds of rural students receiving bicycles. With his expert help, I know that we’ll be able to help hundreds more! The fabulous bikes that you see pictured here were only $32US each, and will provide life-changing opportunities for the kids (and families!!) that get them. Giving out those first five bikes has inspired me to dedicate a couple of thousand dollars from this year’s annual Giant Muskoka Garage Sale towards providing more bicycles for students here. I should add that all this could not have been done without the help of my good friends and ‘Khmer Family’ here – Naret, Yarann and his wife Saeng. Saeng and Naret work tirelessly out in Bakong running the micro-loan project for the rural people there. Currently there are 84 families in the program. Yarann and Saeng know well the needs of this district and were quick to identify families in need of a bicycle. Two of the bicycles were given to a couple of university students in Siem Reap. The one girl will be able to attend VDPCS now for free supplementary English Classes, and will have a chance to get a job too. The other girl desperately needed the bicycle to get to school. Successful Bicycle Programs have been implemented in many developing countries – resulting in a way to gain education and employment.

I’m writing this in Bangkok, as tomorrow I make my way up to the border town of Mae Sot on the northwest border of Thailand. There is lots of great volunteer work awaiting me there. I’ll be teaching English classes to the new IT students at the All Burma I. T. Student’s Union (ABITSU). As a Team Member of Project Enlighten ( www.projectenlighten.org ) we are in the first stages, along with ABITSU, in fundraising for, and implementing a Capacity Building Program for these students which will result in Certification In Information and Communication Technology (CICT) . This I.T. Scholarship Program will give many Burmese Refugee students the certification required toward a future job in the field of computer technology. More about this program in my next blog update. I’ll also be teaching English to young women from the Kayan Women’s Organization, and I’ll spend a short time in Camp Nu Po as well. It will be good to see my dear Burmese friends again, and to make some new ones too!

Oh Yes! - I forgot to tell you about the Cambodian Snake Encounter!...During our visit out to Bakong, at Yarann’s family homestead, we saw some men furiously shoveling away around the bottom of a tree. They had seen a snake, and were in the process of unearthing it before it got away. There are numerous species of poisonous snakes in Cambodia, so it’s not too nice knowing that one is living right beside your house! Sure enough the men unearthed it, and one of the men picked it up so he could have his photo taken with it! The men then proceeded to do it in, and then left it out in the sun…to be eaten for dinner later that day…yes…this is true!

Let me know if you can identify this 4-5 foot snake species!

‘Muskoka School’ Progress! Rotarians Making a Difference!

2009-02-21T00:15:00.000-08:00

It’s been a busy week since Rotarians Jay and Linda Harrison arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia! There is so much exciting news to report that I really don’t know where to begin!

Jay and Linda arrived exactly a week ago after a tiring few days of airports and air travel. Due to a cancellation of one of their flights, they spent an over 20-hour wait at Seoul airport. But that did not stop them from getting right into active volunteering here in Siem Reap!

Peg and Keith Wheeler, Project Enlighten supporters from California, also arrived the same evening. I can’t tell you how thankful I am to have volunteers here helping out with the numerous projects on the go right now.

First, let me report on the astounding progress at the ‘Muskoka School’ Project Site. What a difference a week makes. Many Thanks to the Trailblazer Foundation, www.trailblazerfoundation.org for providing us with another visit to the site – this time inside a comfortable pick-up truck. When we arrived at the site, our jaws literally dropped – we could not believe how far along the project is at present! Have a look at last week’s photos compared to this blog entry’s photos! By now, they’ll be busy pouring cement, and beginning to construct the walls for this enormous six-room Cambodian Ministry of Education certified public school. There is another site visit planned for Jay, Linda and I on Tuesday, February 23rd. I’ll make one more visit to the school site during the last week of March when I return from the Thai-Burma border. I’ll be making that 24 hour land journey to the border on Thursday to do some Project Enlighten work there.

Since Jay and Linda arrived, we’ve pretty well spent 5-6 hours everyday at the Project Enlighten, ( www.projectenlighten.org ) supported Voluntary Development Poverty Children School on the outskirts of Siem Reap city. Jay and Linda came loaded with donations for this school which provides free education for over 600 children. Jay and Linda successfully revamped the present library shelving which resulted in giving the library at this school double the existing shelf space! Not an easy job given the fact that there is limited availability of wood and tools here. A lot of literal sweat went into this job – temperatures are over 30 degrees everyday now along with high humidity.

Peg and Keith Wheeler, Linda Harrison and all the kids at the school have been busy with gluing pockets in all the books and getting the book cards written out. A couple more days work on that project, and it will be done! The children have been eagerly volunteering everyday – they know that this project will result in the ability for them to borrow books to take home and read! ! Thanks so much to Robena Kirton back in Gravenhurst for all her support to make this project feasible. We have spent so many rewarding hours interacting with the wonderful teachers and children at this school!

Along with working the school’s library, Jay and Linda have been busy teaching there as well! Jay has been doing some IT training to monks and students at the school, and Linda has put her nursing skills to good use by giving some basic health and first-aid classes at the school! They’ll be doing more of that next week!

Linda has been doing some after school hours nursing as well!! Several weeks ago, our Project Enlighten Khmer team member on-the-ground here in Siem Reap suffered horrific third degree burns down one leg when a food cart with boiling oil ran into him and the oil spilled down his leg. For a few weeks now, California Rotarian Bill Morse
( www.landmine-relief-fund.com ) and I have been taking Sim Sao for daily dressing changes to the Royal International Hospital here. Since Linda’s arrival, she has been funding, assessing and administering the daily dressing changes. Thanks to Peg Wheeler for taking over while we spend three days presently in Phnom Penh.

Our ‘gang’ has also made a visit out to the Canadian-founded Cambodian Landmine Museum and Relief Facility, where Bill Morse and Facility Founder Richard Fitoussi took us all on a very informative VIP tour of the grounds. It was great opportunity for everyone to learn more about the estimated over 5,000,000 landmines and UXO that still plague the Cambodian countryside.

Thanks so much to Bill Morse’s wife Jill for giving us an impromptu morning session filled with many tips and techniques for teaching English as a second language – her profession back in California.

Jay, Linda and I also made a morning visit to the Angkor Hospital For Children here where we learned more about the dire health concerns and issues that most children in Cambodia deal with on a daily basis. Everyday we drive by the huge Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital where crowds of parents and children wait for hours in the hot sun seeking the free medical treatment that this fabulous hospital provides. These children are the lucky ones, as most children in the countryside don’t have the money or means to get to Siem Reap for this expert medical treatment. As a result, one in every seven children in Cambodia doesn’t live past the age of five.

In the past week three bicycles have been purchased thanks to generous donations from Muskoka Rotarians Pat Bongers, Keith Montgomery, Jack Huggett and Ken Little. These excellent second-hand refurbished bicycles, at a price of $32US each, are completely outfitted with carriers, baskets and a generator-powered light. These bicycles are the first 3 purchased for a new ‘Bike Loan Program’ that Project Enlighten Team Member Ronnie Yimsut and I are presently working out the details for. Our goal is to provide bicycles on loan for needy students who have no way of getting to school. They will use these bicycles for the duration of their school transportation needs, and then it will be passed on to another student in need. One bicycle is destined for a needy student attending Build Bright University in Siem Reap, and 2 will be going out to Bakong district with us on Wednesday morning. I’ll be providing photos of these recipients in my next blog update.

Jay, Linda and I are currently spending 3 days in Phnom Penh where Jay and Linda are visiting historical sights including the Killing Fields, Camp S-21 (the genocide museum, where over 14,000 Khmer were tortured and killed in the mid-seventies), the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, Wat Phnom and the National Museum. They’ll be having their first elephant ride today as well!

Tomorrow we head out for a long Tuk Tuk trek into the countryside to Chi So Mountain where we will be visiting the ancient hilltop ruins there that pre-date Angkor Wat. We are in the good hands of my dear Khmer friend and Tuk Tuk driver Un Vanthon, whose wife is going to the trouble of cooking us a Khmer picnic that we’ll be able to feast on after we’ve climbed the over 500 steps to the hilltop ruins.

More news in a few days!