Another donation to NCCLA

We recently got an email from Neth at the New Cambodian Children's Life Association, who run the orphanage in Phnom Penh, asking if we could help them out a little. It is very unusual for Neth to ask us for help, we usually have to ask him if he has any projects he needs help with. But extraordinary times require extraordinary requests.

The ash cloud here and the recent troubles in Bangkok (which is a major airline hub for South East Asia, and one of the main points of entry to Cambodia) have resulted in a major drop-off in tourist traffic to Cambodia, which in turn has meant that things have become quite difficult financially for the NCCLA. The restaurant that supports the orphanage, Veiyo Tonle, has been very quiet due to the lack of tourists, and as such Neth asked us for a donation which would allow them to buy enough rice and food to see them through a couple of months if things didn't improve.

The Trustees agreed that we should of course help them, and we sent US$1000 to them very recently. It was received in the NCCLA bank account last week, and I got the following email from Neth, which I think says it all really - please also see a recent photo of all the children at the end of the post:

"Please be informed that our NCCLA Bank Account has already received $1000 kinds and generous funds donated from Cambodia Futures Foundation on May 26, 2010.
We all are very happy with the coming of the donations to NCCLA, and it is such a significant contribution to support of 30 of the poor and the orphan children under the care of our the New Cambodian Children's Life Association (NCCLA ).
We promise that the money given will be only used to pay for the up and coming projects at the NCCLA, the grant funds are going to be utilized to provide for the living costs and schooling expenses of the children in the NCCLA orphanage.
The funds provided for the children will enable them to be educated up to university level, creating an overall brighter future and outlook for these children. By providing a safe, clean living environment and education of these orphaned children, they are protected from having to work as child laborers in their early years, and instead benefit from a stable family environment and a fantastic level of schooling education that they receive as a result of the fund usage.
In addition the money would go towards basic needs for the children. These include school supplies and uniforms, everyday clothing, toiletres, food, medical and dental expenses that may be required. We also aim to provide the children with fun learning activities that might benefit the children in the future.

The Children, Staff and I, Neth would hereby like to extend our heartfelt thanks to The Cambodia Futures Foundation  and all their supporters for your kindness by taking your valuable schedule to seek funds for the poor and the orphan children under the care of our New Cambodian Children's Life Association. We all would like to wish you from the bottom of our hearts, good health, longevity, strength and wisdom for your ongoing contribution to support the poor and the orphan children in our country, Cambodia.
Best regards, from the Orphan children, all Staffs and Neth :)  "

Recent donations to the CFF

I want to mention a couple of recent donations made to the CFF, which were very gratefully received. Firstly, my good friend Adi Caines recently ran the first ever Brighton Marathon and collected over £220 in aid of the CFF - a brilliant effort Adi, and your support was hugely appreciated.

I would like to post a photo of Adi running the marathon, but he went by too quickly for me to be able to snap him - oh, OK, so I forgot to take my camera along. But here's a photo of Adi just kind of hanging around, for those of you who may not know him.

The second donation I received just last week was from some of my Dutch cousins, Marten, Emma and Marit, who are all between about 10 and 13 years old. They previously donated over 100 Euros to the CFF around New Year 2008/9, money they had earnt by doing odd jobs for family and friends, and by donating some of their own pocket money.

I was really overwhelmed by that incredibly generous gesture, so imagine my surprise when they gave me a further 215 Euros which they had saved since their last donation! I am so pleased that they all feel that they want to help children who have less than they have over in Cambodia. Here is a photo of the three lovely children from when they handed over their first donation:

L to R: Marten, me, Emma and Marit

Thank you to all these wonderful people, and to everyone who has supported the CFF so generously over the years.