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

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!

“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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

‘Muskoka School’ Project Groundbreaking!

Great excitement and anticipation yesterday as team members from the Trailblazer Foundation ( www.trailblazerfoundation.org ) and myself hopped on our motos at 8am to make the 45-minute ride on the dusty roads to the ‘Muskoka School’ Project site!

This was the day that Muskoka and all the people here on the ground have long been waiting for – the Official Groundbreaking of the new 6-room cement public school in the rural impoverished village of Ta Trav, about 25km northwest of Siem Reap.

What a surprise to get to this site and to find that the ‘ground’ has already been well-broken. All the footings have already been hand-dug! It takes a whole day for one man just to dig two of these footing holes with a simple shovel! String is already laid down determining the division of each classroom. Trucks come by periodically with loads of fill which will be mixed with rocks and cement used to fill the footing holes. Nearby a crew of mostly women, are busy cutting up lengths of rebar, hammering them straight with the backside of an ax, and then forming them into small squares that will be used in the school construction. This project gives the nearby villagers much-needed work. The villagers participating are split into shifts, so everyone can benefit from the employment that this school project brings.

Imagine – over 500 students will benefit from this new school. They are just so excited about the new school that they will get which is being built to Cambodian Ministry of Education specifications.

On-hand for yesterday’s joyous occasion were the engineers, government and commune representatives and members of the Trailblazer Foundation. This school-building project is a collaborative endeavor of the Trailblazer Foundation and the Cambodia Landmine Museum Relief Fund ( www.cambodialandminemuseumrelieffund.org )

Things will go fast from here on in. In a day or two, they will start filling in the footings.
Jay and Linda Harrison from Gravenhurst will arrive here in two days. We will plan another visit out to the site next week.

I have four short video clips that I’ll be putting on YouTube, and will be shortly putting tons of photos of the school site on my Picasa Web Album Site: http://picasaweb.google.com/schoolsforcambodia/ , so become a follower of this blogsite for further updates.

I’m still busy spending weekdays at the Voluntary Development Poverty Children School here on the outskirts of Siem Reap. I spend many rewarding afternoons with the kids there reading and doing crafts. Jay and Linda will be arriving with library cards and pockets so we can process all the books which will enable the students to borrow them and read them at home! VDPSC is anxiously awaiting the shelf-building project that Jay has planned for the library.
Always lots to do here in Siem Reap!

Muskokans Visit ‘Muskoka School' Site!

Yesterday was a memorable day spent with Scott Aitchison and Tim Cantelon from Muskoka as they visited the ‘Muskoka School’ project site and the Cambodia Landmine Museum here in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Scott and Tim are currently touring through Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos and arrived in Siem Reap 2 days ago to spend 3 amazing days here. Yesterday was the day they had set aside to visit the ‘Muskoka School’ site in the rural village of Ta Trav, 25km northwest of Siem Reap. Ground breaking for this school building project is only days away with material delivery to the site on February 5, and construction commencing on February 10! Estimated completion date could be sometime in May.

Scott and Tim are generous supporters of the Muskoka School Project, who contributed to a classroom which will be designated as the ‘Huntsville Classroom’.

Everyone at the Trailblazer Foundation ( www.trailblazerfoundation.org ) here in Siem Reap is in full swing now that all the finances and official government paperwork are in place for this building project. The ‘Muskoka School’ Project is a Community Outreach Project of the Cambodia Landmine Museum Relief Fund www.cambodialandminemuseum.org in collaboration with the Trailblazer Foundation.

Scott, Tim and I met at a central café in Siem Reap for breakfast, and shortly after 9am Ben, Brian and Khmer team members from the Trailblazer Foundation arrived with our transportation to Ta Trav village. We climbed into the open back of the Trailblazer pick-up truck and made our way out to the countryside. It was slow going on bumpy, dusty roads. Everywhere you look everything is covered in the dry, red dust characteristic to Cambodia.

It was really great to get back to the school site again, and especially nice to show it off to fellow Muskokans. At present 478 children are attending the 4-room wooden structure in desperate need of repair as its main beams are infested with termites. Ben Gooding from Trailblazers took us through the school and its grounds, and we were invited into a classroom and treated to a chorus of song from the Khmer students. We met the director and were treated to a fresh coconut drink from one of the school ground trees.

After spending a good hour at the site, we headed back to Siem Reap for lunch at a favorite spot of mine – the Green House restaurant.

Canadian Richard Fitoussi, Project Manager of the Cambodia Landmine Museum Relief Fund met us after lunch and we took the 40-minute ride out to the Landmine Museum for a VIP tour of the museum and its facility for the landmine kids that are housed there.

Needless to say, Scott and Tim had an enlightening and memorable day and have lots of photos and memories to take back home to Muskoka with them.

But Scott and Tim aren’t the only friends from Muskoka visiting Siem Reap this winter. I’m looking forward to the arrival of Jay and Linda Harrison from Gravenhurst on February 14th. They’ll be coming over to do some volunteer teaching and to build shelves for the Library at the Voluntary Development Poverty Children School on the outskirts of Siem Reap. They’ll bring bringing tons of library supplies donated by Robena Kirton from Gravenhurst. Jay and Linda will be coming loaded with supplies for this school and other worthwhile projects as well.

Exciting times ahead in Siem Reap!

Many thanks go to the ‘Muskoka School’ Team back home, who keep things going for me while I’m over here. Special thanks to my husband Carl, Dan Blix, Bill Rathbun, Jay and Linda Harrison. Thanks to all the residents and Rotary Clubs of Muskoka and beyond, who contributed towards the ‘Muskoka School’ Project.

Enjoy watching a short video shot yesterday of a class of students singing at the ‘Muskoka School’ site at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCED3fADlS8

A Library Project! A Bracelet Weaving Project!

It’s really amazing what worthwhile projects one can become involved with when volunteering here in Cambodia. While waiting for the groundbreaking of the ‘Muskoka School’ Project to occur, I have become involved in a couple of rewarding projects here.

A while back, I had the opportunity to visit one of the schools for poor children on the outskirts of Siem Reap. The Voluntary Development Poverty Children’s School (VDPCS) provides free education for over 600 children. This school is supported by ‘Project Enlighten’ www.projectenlighten.org . Most children in Cambodia can’t afford the 300 riel per day to attend school. Families who can afford it, usually only send their eldest son to school, leaving the other children in the family without an education. Of the 600 children at VDPCS, over 60% are girls. Kindergarten to grade 11 curriculum is taught at this school.

Many of the children at this school have lost either one or both of their parents (a large proportion to HIV). Many of the children at this school work or beg in the streets to subsidize their families’ incomes. Children from the surrounding area attend this school faithfully and eagerly six days a week!

One of the great things about this school is that it has a special room designated as a Library! It was during my first visit to this library, that the school director, Mr. Togh, had mentioned to me hat the Library’s over 600 books (primarily in English) were totally unorganized and unlabelled. When Mr. Togh heard that I had worked over 20 years in the public library field in Canada, he asked if I could help to organize the collection. I am now head over heels involved in a fantastic project that will benefit English language education for these children.

Shally is the teacher/librarian here at the school. When I told him how libraries operate back home, and how children can loan books and take them home for a period of time, he exclaimed “I want to be able to do that here too!” At present, children can only look at the books briefly in-between classes – how much more their English could improve, if they could takes the books home! What enjoyment these children could experience by being able to read a book at home! Most of these kids don’t have tv, toys or any other sources of entertainment.

So, I sent out an email to Robena Kirton, Chief Librarian at the Gravenhurst Public Library back home. She is personally donating bookends, rolls of library tape, posters, etc, for this library.

Of the 4 walls in this library, only one has any shelving. My good friend and Rotarian, Jay Harrison and his wife Linda will be arriving here in Siem Reap on Friday, February 13th! - A lucky day for the kids at the VDPCS, because Jay and Linda will be funding and building a whole new wall of shelves for the library there. They’ll also be bringing along all the donations from Robena Kirton. They are also trying to round up some much-needed non-fiction books for the library here. Then our work here will really begin.

While the shelves are being built, we will also be writing the titles of each book on a book card, gluing book pockets in each book and placing the completed book card in each pocket. All along the students here have been volunteering their free time to help process and label the books. That part of the work was completed yesterday. You would not believe how eager the kids are to get into that library everyday and help with this project. They are so excited at the aspect of being able to take a book home to study and read.

I have a few more days of cleanup in the library now, and then, while we wait for the arrival of the library donations to arrive in February, Shally and I thought it would be great to hold some library ‘Storytimes’ with crafts for the kids in the library.

All-in-all, a great project to enhance the English reading skills of the eager learners here at the poverty school.


Now for some news on a second great project underway – Bracelet Weaving for the poor Khmer children here, and the Burmese refugee students in Mae Sot! You could call it the makings of a small cottage industry that will help bring in some extra income for these students. This idea was the brainchild of Olivia Lorge, co-founder of ‘Project Enlighten’, with some great ideas on how to market and expand on this project from my good friend and supporter Dan Blix of Gravenhurst.

Here’s what we are up to:

Olivia went to a shop back in Thailand and bought some colorful string for weaving bracelets. She remembered doing this craft when she was younger. She showed me the simple braiding pattern that she had remembered.

The house where I am staying at here in Siem Reap is owned by a Khmer family with three daughters. One evening I invited the three girls up to my room to do some bracelet weaving with me. Much to my surprise, they all too well knew this craft and knew of dozens more patterns, some incorporating beads! We soon ran out of the supply of string that I had on hand, so I’m now trying to find out where I can get some suitable hemp, string and beads around here.

The three girls decided that they want the bracelets and necklaces that they wove be given to poor children to raise some money for food, clothes, etc. When Dan Blix heard this, he suggested that perhaps some of the schoolchildren at VDPCS could make some bracelets to sell to raise money for the school, with perhaps a small artist’s fee given to the children who made them.

I’ll be spending the month of March teaching English in a safe house in Mae Sot to a group of Burmese ethnic Kayan young women and girls. These women are traditionally known as the long-necked women, who wear the gold rings around their neck. These women are not wearing this traditional encumbrance, and are presently being schooled in human rights, women’s rights and other courses in Mae Sot. They are being schooled in Mae Sot and then will go back to Burma to share their knowledge with other women within their villages there.

The only income these women have is from the very few odd sewing jobs that arrive at the safe house. This bracelet weaving project would be an excellent idea for some extra income for them. The bracelets and necklaces could be sold at a local market, with the funds going back to them. I’d like to get a huge supply of materials over to them for March. Once they have learned this craft, they can take that skill back with them into Burma to teach their friends in the poor villages there.

My other idea it to take some of these supplies in to the remote refugee Camp Nu Po that our Project Enlighten team visited over Christmas. The school children at the 2 needy schools there could make these items to sell at the markets, and the funds could be used for school supplies, which can be bought extremely cheaply here.

Today is Sunday, my day off from school. I’ll be having lunch soon with our ‘Project Enlighten’ university scholarship girls. It is always such a delight to get together with them.

Richard Fitoussi from the Cambodia Landmine Museum Relief Fund arrives in Siem Reap tomorrow. The exciting plans for the ‘Muskoka School’ Project will then be getting into full swing. Next Sunday, I’ll be spending the day at the school site. I have been asked to give an hour-and-a-half class and craft there. It will be fun to get involved with the kids at Ta Trav Village again!

Christmas at Remote Burmese Refugee Camp Nu Po

Five miles away from the Burma border under the watchful eye of the Burmese military junta is Refugee Camp Nu Po; not a place many would consider spending Christmas. But for almost 14,000 Burmese refugees, this remote Thai-controlled jungle encampment has been their home for 10 years. Astoundingly, this is where ‘Project Enlighten’ founders Asad Rahman, Olivia Lorge and I spent one of the most heartfelt Christmas’ ever. Their gift of friendship and hospitality is one that will never leave our hearts and souls.

The residents of Camp Nu Po rarely see western volunteers because the arduous 7-hour journey to this camp must be made in the back of a ‘songthaew’ - the Thai rural pick-up truck that acts as a bus by conveniently placing bench seats along either side of the box.

The 140km trip to Camp Nu Po is spent mostly winding round border hills which resulted in even the hardiest of locals pitching up their stomach contents over the side of the truck. The first photo on the left clearly displays the misery experienced by young local man on our journey. Every half hour someone, usually a child, succumbed to vomiting, which in turn nauseated others. At one point, my elbow which was placed foolishly outside of the truck received a spray of vomit from a young child sitting upwind from me.

To make matters worse, the songthaew picked up everybody at every stop until the every inch of the canopy, and box was covered with passengers. This cramped and nauseating trip is one that the three of us will never ever forget. A map of Thailand’s Burmese Refugee Camps can be found at this link which clearly details the remote location of this camp: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/SHIG-7L9HLA?OpenDocument . We clearly viewed Burmese armed military en route as we traveled along Burma’s border.

Our visit to the camp had to be Okayed by the Thai Camp Commander previous to our arrival. The Camp Commander is a Ministry of Thailand Thai official who is specifically trained for camp control. Refugee camps experience domestic violence, child abuse, drinking and fights on a continuous basis. It’s up to the Camp Commander and the delegated Burmese refugees in specific roles underneath him to keep peace in the camp – not an easy job when you have 14,000 people living in small bamboo houses set 4 feet apart from one another.

Camp Nu Po began as most refugee camps did, when a group of Burmese IDP (Internally Displaced People) fled across the Burma border and built the first few houses 10 years ago. It wasn’t long until the population grew to its present 14,000. Nu Po isn’t the biggest camp in Tak province either – Mae La Refugee Camp has over 37,000! Refugees from Tak province are resettled in the United States, while refugees from other provincial camps are chosen for resettlement in other countries.

We were able to meet with the Camp Commander on Christmas morning, and through an interpreter we were able to ask many questions which helped unravel for us some of the mysteries that surround the whole refugee process. Why do some refugees get chosen for resettlement in a third country and others seem to wait for years in camps? Why are some refugees issued identity cards and others not? From what I learned, it is the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and the Thai government who make many of these decisions, but their criteria stills remains somewhat clouded to me.

We arrived at the camp about 4pm on Christmas Eve. We were taken to the main office where we were required to turn in our passports for the duration of our stay – a normal requirement for security purposes. We were promptly escorted to one home and given a glass of water. After 10 minutes we were taken to one of the few camp ‘restaurants’, where we happily gobbled down the meal that was cooked up for us – we had not eaten since 7am! From there we were taken back to the first house for some after dinner treats. Then we were taken to the camps two schools, where we were served fruits and beverages again! So few westerners visit this camp – our visit was considered one of the highlights of the year for them – three foreign visitors at once, and at Christmas! We were also treated to a special musical rehearsal for the Karen New Year celebrations that were taking place in a few days.

Yes – it all sounds so fine and wonderful how we were treated at this camp – but don’t get me wrong; the need in this camp is great. This camp lacks the many projects by NGO’s that many of the less remote camps benefit from. Nu Po has a serious lack of drinking water. The Burmese were so proud of their one water purification system, but it does not suffice for the camp’s population. There is no electricity and few generators to charge the few batteries in the camp. One organization has installed a solar power panel, but more is needed.

Another great need is in the schools. The one school which teaches kindergarten through grade eleven curriculum has 600 students. It has no textbooks. The students have to copy lessons into exercise books. There is no loose-leaf paper for the teachers to make tests or exams with. There is no photocopier. There are no computers for the school. There is no library. We visited the nursery school on Christmas morning where 13 small children eagerly gleaned through the handful of tattered childrens picture books it possessed. Those small children treated us to a chorus of 4 nursery songs perfectly performed in English. It’s amazing what they have done with so little, but the eagerness these children display for education overcomes their lack of materials. It should not have to be so. The second school is in just as bad shape. We had brought with us enough exercise books, pencils, sharpeners and rulers for about 100 children.

It was at the second school that we were treated to a special Christmas Eve celebration put on by some of the adult students who were eager to be able to spend some time with us practicing conversation in English. The room was decorated with a hand-colored life-size Santa, Christmas tree and hand-lettered banners. Again, many treats were served to us! It was one of the most joyous times of comradeship that we had ever experienced.

I happened to have brought along a recent edition of a Bangkok newspaper. When I gave it to one of the teachers, he could not contain his excitement, as they rarely see any publications from ‘outside’ in English. I made a mental note to bring along some more upon my return; maybe some National Geographic magazines as well. Oh yes – I am coming back! Along with the many other needs, the teachers emphasized to me that along with books their other biggest desire is to see more volunteer teachers coming in to help teach English. They would be happy for whatever time a volunteer could commit to this. So, at our meeting with the Camp Commander, I told him that I would return in a few weeks to volunteer for a week or two. I would be living with one of the families in the camp. As I had on Christmas Eve; I would be sleeping on a mat on the floor with some blankets. Because of its high elevation, Camp Nu Po evenings can be quite cold. We have made some wonderful friendships at the camp, I’m eager to return to spend some more time with my new-found friends.

I have just arrived back in Siem Reap now where I’m awaiting my first meeting with Chris and Scott Coats of the Trailblazer Foundation. Ground-breaking for the ‘Muskoka School’ Project will occur this month. We are short only a few hundred dollars toward our goal of $20,000US. We need you last bit of help to get this much-needed school built for over 500 children in a poor rural area of Siem Reap district. Please send your donation, big or small, to CLMMRF (Cambodian Land Mine Museum Relief Fund) Community Outreach, Box 53, Gravenhurst, ON, Canada, P1P 1T5.

Boat To Battambang and a Special Visit with Vanna

Friday December 14th saw me up at 4:30am to catch a bus down to the Siem Reap boat docks to get a 7am ‘Speedboat’ ride to Battambang. This boat ride which goes partially through Tonle Sap lake and through the dense mangrove swamps of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve can take anywhere from 4-6 hours depending on water levels. There is no ‘speed’ experienced with this boat ride as there are many obstacles to overcome along the many narrow waterways encountered. One has the option to sit in the boat’s covered sweltering bottom level, or fry in the baking sun on the flat top roof of the boat. From experience I knew that there was at least a rewarding breeze on that hot metal roof. The ride from 7am to 4:30 pm gave my skin a new shade of red.

This boat trip is well-documented as the most scenic ride in Cambodia, and one not to be missed. The scenes of rural Cambodian life as they unfold along the shores of the river are a panorama of smiling waving children running from their simple bamboo homes , fishermen working their meager nets out of aging wooden boats and a flotilla of colorful market boats floating by. There is never a boring moment and the ride gives one an in-depth glimpse into daily Cambodian life.

The boat is always full, mostly with tourists, who are ready upon arrival at Battambang just to head to the nearest hotel for a nice cool shower. Tourists are barraged at the dock by friendly hotel staff seeking much-needed business the moment they are off the boat. These hotel ‘boys’ swiftly sweep you and your bags up to their representing hotels, and for the most part of it, you really don’t care – you want that shower and bed so bad that you’ll pay any price for it!

Hotels are bargain-priced in this part of Cambodia, and feature all the amenities that one could need. I am staying at the Hotel Royal, and have air-conditioning, satellite tv, fridge and private bath with hot shower – all for $20/night – the monthly wage of many Cambodian people!

Battambang province is a vital agricultural area, famous for its fertile fields and abundance of produce and rice crops. The huge Battambang Market is a favorite haunt of mine where I fill up on wonderful local fruits for only a dollar. Battambang is Cambodia’s second largest city, well-served by bus, boat and rail, and bustles with busy markets and food stalls from 5am to 9pm.

It was here I came to find a special landmine victim, spend a couple of days visiting with her, and see how she was doing. Vanna Minn was only 5 years old when she was feeding the chickens on her family property near Battambang and befell a landmine accident which took her leg. Vanna had aspired at a young age to become a dancer. Now 17, Vanna has overcome many challenges in her life since then and has inspired a documentary and a book written about her experience. My good friend and Canadian author, Maria Almudevar Van Santen, wrote an inspirational children’s book about Vanna – ‘Vanna’s Dance’ http://www.vannasdance.com/vanna3.html/ Some of the proceeds from this book fund Vannas education. In November 2007, Vanna made a special trip to Canada to attend the “No More” Landmines Symposium held at Winnipeg University attended by former Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Lloyd Axworthy and Paul Fawcette from the Canadian Landmines Foundation.

Saturday morning I was amazed to make immediate contact with Vanna by cell phone. I never had the opportunity to meet with her in Canada, and was quite delighted when she immediately walked over to my hotel: unknown to me she lived just around the corner!

We’ve spent a wonderful two days together. Vanna is currently in Grade 10 and attends school from 6am to 6pm six days a week. Her goal is to become a tour guide in Cambodia and I’ve given her the opportunity to practice on me! Today she arranged a tuk-tuk ride for me and took me out to visit the 11th century Angkorian temple ruins of Ek Phnom, 14km outside of Battambang, after which we rewarded ourselves with a hearty Cambodian lunch.

I’ll be returning to Battambang in mid-March on my last trip back to Siem Reap and am hoping to have another countryside temple tour with Vanna then.

Tomorrow will be another early morning for me as I take a long, bumpy car ride to the Cambodian border town of Poipet and through customs into Thailand. Recent border disputes between Cambodia and Thailand have made land border crossings questionable. I am hoping to reach Bangkok by early evening where I’ll spend two nights. My purpose for this Bangkok stop-over is to visit with ‘Project Enlighten’s’ Burmese scholarship student who recently was able to make his way out of Burma and has just started his first year at a Bangkok university.

‘Muskoka School’ Site Visit – Ta Trav Village

This is the day that I’ve been waiting a long time for – my trek to Ta Trav Village and the site of the ‘Muskoka School’ Project! It was quite the trek – only 20km north of Siem Reap, but forty minutes of dusty pot-holed roads in the back of an open pick-up truck in the hot Cambodian sun.

Yet, I was thankful for that ride in the pick-up truck, because that and motorcycle are the only vehicles, other than ox-carts, that can handle those roads. Ben Gooding, from The Trailblazer Foundation (www.thetrailblazerfoundation.org ) picked me up at 9am to tag along with the Khmer workers to Ta Trav village. Sitting in the back of the truck gave me many opportunities to talk with Trailblazer’s Khmer Project Manager Ung Chanrattana. I learned how needy village projects are assessed and prioritized by the village chiefs and the commune. It was wonderful to hear how all these projects not only benefit the daily needs of the villagers; they all bring much-needed work to these impoverished communities.

The Trailblazer Foundation will go into a village and build a school – but they don’t stop there! They also provide pumps with water filtration systems to village families. They test the water regularly, and provide upkeep. Last year’s Trailblazer Sras Village project included a 2-building school, pumps for the village, and a micro-lending program for village families. The same will happen for the Ta Trav villagers.

I had a great morning with the school-children at the existing 4-room school house. I had them counting in English, yelling ‘Hip, Hip Hooray!’ and exchanging big ‘Hi-Fives’ with me. I met the director, teachers and village representatives. I was given a complete tour of the grounds (with school-yard water-buffalo maintaining the field!), and was taken inside the classrooms and was shown the termite-infested beams, which they hope to be able to replace. Termite infestation is a big problem here in Cambodia – another reason why new schools are all being built out of cement and bricks.

Today’s trip reaffirmed to me how needed and worthwhile projects like the ‘Muskoka School’ Project are for these education-hungry children of Cambodia! The ‘Muskoka School’ Project will see a new government certified cement school built for over 478 children in this area. I was excited to hear more about this January’s scheduled ground-breaking. All official documents have been registered. The Cambodian Landmine Museum Relief Fund still needs to raise about $3,000 by ground-breaking, and are hoping that more generous Muskokans will donate to the project. Please send your cheque made out to the ‘CLMMRF’ to Box 53, Gravenhurst, ON, P1P 1T5. Drop me an email in Cambodia to mccoy@vianet.ca.

Schools, Hospitals, Cows and Micro-lending!

It takes many programs and projects to meet the needs of those in developing countries. In the past couple of days I’ve been introduced to a whirlwind of projects that have made a big difference in the lives of these people and children, and it has also been fascinating to see how they all integrate together and compliment one another.

‘Project Enlighten’ is involved in several amazing projects here in Cambodia. Last winter I had the opportunity to visit the bare beginnings of what is now a booming Free English school for over 600 students – The Voluntary Development Poverty Children Association (VDPCA). It was a dream of Main Togh to have a school where all children could come and receive an education. Project Enlighten stepped up to the plate and raised $20,000 to build a 5-room school-building and another building which houses a library, the office, a computer room and washroom. The fenced-in school grounds are complete with a sheltered recess area and basketball court. It was an amazing few hours as we watched children of all ages fill every classroom, and make use of the library.

Having worked a couple of decades in a library, I immediately noticed that this library needs help! I’ve made a commitment to come back in January to organize and repair the books here, and anyone who would like to donate some money towards the supplies needed to get this library organized can call my husband Carl (705-687-8538) to make a donation. It would only take about $100 to get things, stamped, labeled, taped up and organized. Maybe some of the volunteers coming over from Muskoka this winter could get involved in supplying some more proper shelving – we’ll see!

‘Project Enlighten’ also has a successful scholarship program for Khmer students. They are presently funding 3 students, and will be taking on a few more this year. Part of the program involves having the students give some volunteer time back into the community. It was a delight to see one of these students volunteering some teaching time at VDPCA! I’ll be doing some volunteer teaching here in January as well.

One of ‘Project Enlighten’s’ big undertakings this year is get some money raised toward the Bakong Ecotourism Technical College (BETC), in the rural farming area of Bakong District in Siem Reap Province. This huge education center will include a school and a technical college devoted to the development and preservation of rural Cambodia in the field of green design, environmental conservation and both cultural and ecological tourism.

We went out to visit the BETC site, which is in Phase 2 of a 10 Phase plan. The land is acquired and the fencing is going up now. This Project has been the life-long dream and brain-child of Ronnie Yimsut, one of ‘Project Enlighten’s’ Team Members. To find out more, and how you can help, visit the ‘Project Enlighten’ website at www.projectenlighten.org .

Another of Ronnie’s project’s through Project Enlighten, which has had a grand impact on the rural people of Cambodia, is the Cow Bank Project, which now has scores of cows benefiting rural farming families. It’s the gift that keeps on giving because the offspring of each cow are put back into the program to benefit another family. $300 will buy a healthy cow – We visited many families who proudly showed off their sponsored cow or calf.

The successful Bakong Micro-lending project is also presently serving countless rural families and individuals. We visited families that now are involved in a trade or craft, which micro-lending made possible. We visited a hand-crafted traditional musical instrument workshop and an outdoor family noodle factory that can produce up to a ton of noodles in one day!

Cow Bank and Micro-lending projects provide incomes for families. These incomes can help provide education for their older children. Education provides future tradespeople and helps towards a sustainable economy. In a country where one-third of the population makes less than a dollar a day, this can make a big difference.

The past couple of days also saw me make a visit to one of Siem Reap’s children’s hospitals – The Angkor Hospital for Children sponsored by ‘Friends Without a Border’. One in seven of Cambodia’s children die before the age of five. This hospital, with its 50 in-patient beds, sees its emergency room, outpatient wards and beds full on a continual basis. It is run by government trained Khmer surgeons who have western medical volunteer assistants. Since 85% of the population lives in the countryside, this hospital is also dedicated to training medical workers in the rural areas.

On Friday, I’ll be making my first visit to the ‘Muskoka School’ Site. I’ll be taking the 20km ride out in the back of a pick-up truck accompanied by some local workmen. I’ll be meeting with Ben from the Trailblazer Foundation (the partnering organization here in Cambodia building the school), and I’ll be getting a tour of the school-grounds and meeting some of the teachers and children there. Keep those donations coming in! Details can be found below.

I’ll also be making my first seasonal visit to The Cambodian Land Mine Museum Relief Facility in the next couple of days also, to visit Akira, his family, and his family of land mine survivors!

First Village Visit in Cambodia!

It's now the fourth day of my four month stay in Cambodia and the Thai-Burma Border. I landed at Cambodia's Siem Reap Airport 4 evenings ago luckily avoiding the mass shutdown at Thailand's airports. The situation there has still not resolved. The day after I arrived, Asad Rahman and Olivia Lorge of 'Project Enlighten'arrived, having been rerouted to avoid Bangkok's airports.

We did not waste a moment! Yesterday we made our first visit to Bangro village, Kantrang Commune, Prasat Bakang District in Siem Reap Province. The purpose for this trip was two-fold - to find a suitable site for a Project Enlighten English Pagoda School, and secondly to distribute some donations to the poor villagers there.

I left Gravenhurst armed with a hockey bag full of crocs donated by the ladies at the St. James Anglican Church, school supplies from Gravenhurst's Sue Stockdale, and flip-flops from the generous family at Blondie's Restaurant. As you can see from the photos posted here - all villagers young and old had a grand time. Project Enlighten brought along some clothes to distribute and bought some fresh bread for everyone to enjoy.

Pagoda Schools are very popular and well-attended in SE Asia. Most public schools do not provide adequate lessons in the English language. So, many children attend Pagoda schools after public school hours to receive extra lessons in English and other subjects taught by the monks or teachers there. Bangro Pagoda does not have a Pagoda school, something that could benefit the over 100 children in the surrounding area. So this is something that the team at 'Project Enlighten'will be looking into.

This year 'Project Enlighten'has many projects on the go that are of benefit to all ages in the communities. You'll hear lot's about them. To get introduced to some of those projects visit their website at www.projectenlighten.org .

I'll also be making my first visit to the 'Muskoka School' Project Site soon. We still need to raise a bit of money for that, so any donation that you can send to The Cambodian Landmine Museum Relif Fund (CLMMRF) will really help. Send your cheque nade out to the 'CLMMRF'to Box 53, Gravenhurst, ON, P1P 1T5. We are so close to meeting our $20,000US goal.

$17,450 Raised - Help Us Reach Our Goal of $20,000+ . Join Us At Bracebridge Boston Pizza Thursday November 20.

Thank you Muskoka for the $17,450 raised to date for the 'Muskoka School' Project in Ta Trav village, Siem Reap District, Cambodia.

A successful fundraising evening was hosted by Gravenhurst's Boston Pizza in October. Now's your chance to help us reach our goal of $20,000 US by joining us on Thursday November 20, 5-8pm at the new Boston Pizza in Bracebridge. 10% of all food sales will be donated toward the project and there will be a Silent Auction witth great items to bid on.

RESERVE your table now by calling Boston Pizza at 705-646-1007!

I will be leaving for Cambodia on Monday, November 24 for another 4 months of volunteer work in Cambodia and on the Thai-Burma Border. The biggest part of my efforts in Cambodia will be to implement the Muskoka School Project in conjunction with The Trailblazer Foundation, (link below). We need $20,000 in US funds by the end of the year to get this project underway.


This project is a Community Outreach Project of the Ontario-based Cambodia Landmine Museum Relief Fund (CLMMRF). You can donate to this project by sending a cheque made out to the 'CLMMRF' to:

Lisa McCoy
CLMMRF Community Outreach
P.O. Box 53
Gravenhurst, ON
P1P 1T5

Help us 'Make Dreams Real' for over 300 children in rural Cambodia. Further details can be found below.

Over $3,200 Raised at Regatta’s ‘Muskoka School’ Gala!

Many thanks to the wonderful people at ‘Regatta Steak & Seafood Grille’ for organizing and holding a special fundraising gala this past Saturday evening for the ‘Muskoka School’ Project in Cambodia. ‘Upstairs at Regatta’ was filled to capacity, with everyone enjoying the fabulous music provided by Muskoka’s newest jazz sensation – ‘The Neil Barlow Jazz Orchestra’. Fabulous food was served throughout the evening, which included tantalizing tokens off Regatta’s menu.

The MC for the evening was Gravenhurst’s own, Dan Blix, who introduced the special guest speaker for the evening, Canadian documentary filmmaker and photojournalist Richard Fitoussi, project manager of the Cambodia Land Mine Museum and Relief facility in Cambodia. The ‘Muskoka School’ project in Cambodia is an outreach project of this facility in collaboration with ‘The Trailblazer Foundation’. Dan also read a letter of support for the ‘Muskoka School’ Project from our very own Norm Miller MPP. A short visual presentation of the school project was shown. Jim Goodwin of the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst, gave a heartfelt speech on this club’s support of this project, one of the projects of their international committee.

Another of the highlights of the evening was the silent auction, with over 40 items, which brought in $3,190 towards the project. Thanks to all those generous area businesses who donated to, sponsored and volunteered to make this event a grand sucess:

Regatta Steak & Seafood Grille
The Wharf – Gravenhurst

Red Leaves JW Marriott Resort & Spa
Lake Rosseau, Minett

The Rock Golf Course at Red Leaves
Lake Rosseau, Minett

Taboo Resort Golf and Spa
Gravenhurst

The Sands Golf Club
Gravenhurst

Muskoka Bay Club
Gravenhurst

Rotary Club of Gravenhurst

Norm Miller, MPP
Parry Sound-Muskoka

Muskoka Today

Gravenhurst Banner & Bracebridge Examiner

The Artstract Co.
Gravenhurst

The Neil Barlow Jazz Orchestra

Serenity Muskoka Bed & Breakfast
Gravenhurst

Jay & Linda Harrison

Gord & Dale Durnan

Jim & Marlyn Goodwin

Bill & Dora Rathbun

The Peppermill Players
Cello, Violin, Flute.

The Muskoka Café
Gravenhurst

Chamberlain TIM-BR MART
Gravenhurst

Mia
Fashion & Boutique
Gravenhurst

Rick and Mary Woodall

Penny Varney Jewellery
Gravenhurst

Gagnon’s
Your Independent Grocer
Bracebridge

Bay Street Wine
Gravenhurst


Dale Durnan - Artist
Gravenhurst

Curves
Gravenhurst

Cook’s Hollow
Tack & Apparel
Gravenhurst

Sontag’s Pagoda
Bird Feeders
Gravenhurst

30,000 Island Cruise
Lines Inc.
Parry Sound


Terry’s
Your Independent Grocer
Gravenhurst

Gravenhurst
Saxophone Quartet

Steve Thomas

Dan Blix/Graphic Design
Gravenhurst

Nautilus North
Strength & Fitness Training
Bracebridge


Bayview Wildwood Resort
Port Stanton, Sparrow Lake

Wine Not
Gravenhurst

Cottage Cuts
Gravenhurst

SAS Home & Gifts
Bracebridge

Beyond the Basket
Gravenhurst

The Real Muskoka Experience
Gravenhurst

Sutton—around muskoka realty inc.
Gravenhurst

Due North
The Wharf, Gravenhurst

Lisa McCoy’s Wicker Restoration,
Seat-weaving and Basket Kits
Gravenhurst


Jason & Susan Cook
Royal LePage Lakes of Muskoka Realty
Gravenhurst




To date, well over $14,000 of the $20,000 goal has been reached to realize this project, that will ‘MAKE DREAMS REAL’ for over 300 impoverished children in rural Cambodia – a school which will proudly display the name ‘Muskoka School’!

Education is the key to the future for many of the children in developing countries. It is a luxury many of those children can only dream of. You and your family can help that dream become real by attending a special fundraising evening on Thursday, October 16, from 5-8pm at the Gravenhurst Boston Pizza. For information on making a personal donation, please call or email Lisa McCoy at 687-8538, mccoy@vianet.ca.

Thanks Muskoka, for opening your hearts to the less fortunate children of the world. This project is very close to fruition because of you.

Giant Garage Sale Raises Over $3,500 for The 'Muskoka School' Project

Due to the many generous donations from Muskokans far and wide and the dedication of hard-working volunteers, the Giant Garage Sale held for the Muskoka School Project in Cambodia raised a grand total of just over $3,500. Wow!

Many people dedicated hours towards the success of this sale, held Aug. 16 and 17 in Gravenhurst.

Special thanks to Andy McCoy of Gravenhurst for trucking donations from his First Street drop-off location out to my place on a daily basis. Also, thanks to Steve and Eva McCoy for providing volunteers with a sale location directly across from Bethune House.

Sue Stockdale of Gravenhurst provided a pizza and fruit lunch for the volunteers on the first day of the sale and the Rotary Brat Booth kept everyone energized on day two of the event.

Thanks to fellow Rotarians Jay and Linda Harrison, Bill and Diane Kinghorn, Bill and Dora Rathbun, Pat Bongers, Nancy Beal and Marlyn Goodwin for the hours they spent volunteering at the sale. Thanks to volunteers Carol Fraser, David Bryce, Dan and Linda Blix, and to Inge Fritz, who managed the refreshment table.

Special big thanks to Kevin Brown of Regatta Restaurant at Muskoka Wharf and to Peter Armstrong of the Red Leaves JW Marriott Resort, for arriving at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday to load and empty the truckloads donations, and for sending us a van load of staff volunteers who provided us with muscle power throughout the day.

Many thanks to the Banner/Examiner for their press support of this project.

Over $10,400 has been raised to help build a six-room Ministry Of Education certified cement public school for over 300 children in the village of Ta Trav, Siem Reap, in the province in Cambodia. The goal is $20,000.

A BIG thanks to the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst for their recent donation of $2,500 towards this project.

This project is supported by the citizens of Muskoka, the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst, the Canadian-founded Cambodia Land Mine Museum Relief Fund (www.cambodianlandminemuseum.org) and the
Trailblazer Foundation (www.thetrailblazerfoundation.org.)

To make a donation to the Muskoka School Project, please send your cheque (payable to CLMMRF) to Lisa McCoy, Box 53, Gravenhurst, ON P1P 1T5. Phone 687-8538 for more information. 100% of your contribution goes towards this school-building project.

Help raise more funds by attending the Muskoka School Project fundraising evening at Boston Pizza in Gravenhurst, 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16.

Thanks, Muskoka, for making dreams real for the young children of Cambodia!

Giant Garage Sale for the ‘Muskoka School Project’ in Cambodia

Calling on all Muskokans to clean out their closets and garages and contribute their good used junk towards the building of a Six-Room Ministry of Education Certified Cement Public School in Cambodia - 'The Muskoka School Project'.Phone Lisa McCoy for pick-up of your donations: 687-8538, or email mccoy@vianet.ca . Volunteers needed too!

The sale will be held Saturday, August 16th across from Bethune House, Gravenhurst - don't miss the great bargains!

100% of the money raised will go towards this school-building project. Over 305 children in an impoverished rural village in Northern Cambodia will benefit from this new school.

This project is supported by the Canadian Founded CLMMRF (Cambodian Land Mine Museum Relief Fund) www.cambodialandminemuseum.org in collaboration with 'The Trailblazer Foundation' www.thetrailblazerfoundation.org . Construction to begin January 2009.

>‘Making Dreams Real’ for the children of Cambodia.



Muskoka School Project Report July 1, 2008
By Lisa McCoy, Community Outreach Coordinator - CLMMRF

Six- room Ministry of Education certified cement school in the village of Ta Trav in Svay Chek Commune, Angkor Thom District, 20km N. of Siem Reap along the Pouk District border. This is one of the poorest districts in Cambodia.

There is an existing 4-room wood school on the school property in need of repair. A 6-room cement structure will be built to accommodate the existing 305 students. More students from the surrounding villages will be able to enroll upon completion.

The “Muskoka School’ project is supported by the Canadian founded CLMMRF (Cambodian Land Mine Museum Relief Fund) www.cambodialandminemuseum.org . All donations (cheques) towards this project are made to ‘CLMMRF’, and mailed to CLMMRF Outreach Project Coordinator, Lisa McCoy, Box 53, Gravenhurst, ON, Canada, P1P 1T5.
Registered non-profit organization ‘on the ground’ in Cambodia securing necessary provincial paperwork and implementing the actual building project is ‘The Trailblazer Foundation’ www.thetrailblazerfoundation.org . The CLMMRF and The Trailblazer Foundation have collaborated in School-building projects. Their goal is to build a school a year through this collaboration.

Estimated cost is US$55,678.14. There has been one private donation of $20,000, leaving a balance of US$35,678.14. Lisa McCoy will be fundraising towards a goal of $20,000, or more. The CLMMRF will contribute the remaining $10-$15,000. Since the bulk of the funding will come from Muskoka, a sign will be placed on the school designating it the “Muskoka School Project”, noting the citizens of Gravenhurst and the Muskoka Rotary Clubs. In Cambodia the school will be legally registered as the ‘Ta Trav’ School, as all public schools in Cambodia are named after the village in which they are located.

A formal estimate from ‘The Trailblazer Foundation’ detailing project costs will be acquired shortly. To date US$4000 has been raised. A Giant Garage Sale on August 17th should bring in $1,500 to $2,000. A Gala Evening in Muskoka is planned for November, with Richard Fitoussi, International Project Manager of the CLMMRF & International Documentary Filmmaker in attendance, should raise upwards of $5,000. It is hoped that contributions through presentations that Lisa McCoy makes in Muskoka, will raise the balance.

Information from the Trailblazer Foundation follows the photo-documentation of the site.

Ground breaking will occur January 2009 when water levels are low.

TO DONATE TO THIS EXCITING PROJECT:

Please make your cheque payable to 'CLMMRF', and mail to:

Lisa McCoy,
CLMMRF Community Outreach Project Coordinator
Box 53
Gravenhurst, ON
P1P 1T5


Background Information from the Trailblazer Foundation:
Trailblazer has implemented water projects in Angkor Thom made possible with an International Matching Grant through Rotary District 5440 with the cooperation of the Pursat, Cambodia Rotary club as cooperating/host club.

We build the schools according to an annual assessment made by the District, which prioritize needs and location. We are in the process of adding an additional Field Director who will concentrate on water projects, as this will facilitate the expanding school needs. Desks and tables are included in the contractor’s quotation and provided. The school uniforms and lunch programs are organized by assisting the village to establish a committee system to manage them and are funded with a micro-loan program which helps the community to pay into a a village fund to help fund projects as proposed by the villagers themselves. This system is working very well for Trailblazer Foundation and has a 3-year history of sustainable successes.

Typically there is an integrated District meeting which is held in November to identify and prioritize needs in the District as identified by village chiefs and Commune leaders. I met with the District Chief But Kary in April and he identified a need in the village of Ta Trav as an immediate concern and asked us for help. I made a verbal aggreement with them, funds permitting of course. It is to be a 6-room school, 305 students with Govt teachers and all of the proper MOU's and support provided through the Siem Reap Provincial offices. I have an estimate of the construction at 55,678.14.

The property is currently administered by the Ministry of Ed, with Govt teachers staffing a dilapidated wood school with a couple of outdoor temporary shelters to handle the overflow. This village is within our management area approx 25 Km north and east of Siem Reap along the Pouk District border.