Cambodian Futures Foundation

Donation to CHA/Visit to Phnom Penh/Record Wine-tasting!

2011-12-23T10:52:00.000Z

Hello all,

It's been a hectic few months, so I thought I would do one last update on recent happenings before the year ends and another begins.

First of all, we became aware back in September that the Cambodian Handicraft Association (CHA) were struggling a bit for money due to the economic downturn, and due to the earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan meaning that two of their regular customers were not in a position to place any orders with them. As such, we made a donation to them of three months' rent (US$ 2100) on their shopfront, workshop and dormitories in Phnom Penh.

Not long after the donation was received in CHA's bank account, I got this email from Kim Tha, the director of the CHA:

Dear Alan,

Warmest greeting from CHA, I send you this email to tell you that three of our group got jobs at the garment factory in Phnom Penh. They are Mom, Sareun and Malin, and we have two new trainees who come from the countryside to CHA, one is polio victim and another one is landmine victim.

These are the photos of the new trainees.

Chun Ry

Danei

This is proof positive that the money you donate has a huge impact on peoples' lives in Cambodia. Thank you all so much for your support!

I also finally made it out to Cambodia in November, and I visited both main projects the Cambodian Futures Foundation supports. The CHA was buoyant after our donation, it just gave them the little breathing space that they really needed. The workshop was busier than I ever remember it being, reflecting the fact that Kim Tha has been able to take on several new trainees over the past few years, as I have mentioned in previous updates.

The New Cambodian Children's Life Association (NCCLA) has changed a fair bit over the past couple of years, as the children get older. Most of the children are in their teens now, and many are doing extremely well at High School, with one already at University. Ty is in the first year of his degree studying engineering and architecture, and is a very open and gregarious lad, a pleasure to talk to. All the other older children were also very welcoming and polite, but the days when they all wanted to play with me are gone - now they just want to hang out and talk about things that interest them, like Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham!

The younger ones, like new boy Arin and twins Monika and Molika, are still full of fun, as I think these photos will testify.

Arin and Molika

Monika

I enjoyed my stay as much as always, and came away very content that all donations we have made to both organisations have been sensibly spent, and are starting to show tangible results. Neth and Thavy as directors of the NCCLA and Kim Tha all inspire huge confidence, and make me as eager as ever to do as much as I can to help them reach the desired outcomes for the people they are dedicated to helping.

On my return we held the 5th CFF wine-tasting hosted as ever by Henry Butler of The Butler's Wine Cellar. We had 67 attendees this time, and from the feedback I received it would appear that a good time was had by all. People showed huge generosity in buying raffle tickets, spending over £230, which meant the overall profits from the night reached a phenomenal £700 - the most we have ever raised. I would like to use this forum to thank Henry, Kate and Cassie for their wonderful generosity and support, and I would also like to thank all organisations and individuals who donated prizes for the raffle for their generosity, which made such a difference to the amount we were able to raise.

And I think that is about all the news for now. I would like to thank everyone who supports or has supported the CFF for your belief in the charity, and for your wonderful support. We hope we can make you proud as we continue to improve the lives of disadvantaged people in Cambodia.

We wish you all an extremely Merry Christmas, and a prosperous and happy New Year.

A long overdue update

2011-07-30T14:47:00.000Z

I thought it was about time that I updated you on happenings in Cambodia and here at home. Since the turn of the year I have been working on claiming all the Gift Aid money owed to the CFF since it was founded, which meant a lot of trawling through bank records and a lot of form-filling, but it was certainly worth it - a couple of months ago a payment of close to £1100 was made into the CFF bank account by HMRC. So thank you to all the CFF supporters who signed Gift Aid declarations, it really is worthwhile as you can see!

With that extra money sitting in the account I contacted Neth at the New Cambodian Children's Life Association (NCCLA) to find out if there was anything they needed help with at the moment. Below is the reply I received:

Dear Alan,

Many thanks for your kind reply, as for the new assistance requested, the purpose is to pay for the Mathematics and Geometry teacher for the six big boy & girls who are studying grade 12 this year and are preparing for their exam in July to finish high school next year, 2012.

They are Henry, Anna, Joe, Jasmine, Phyllis and Figo

Mathematics Teacher $120/Month (Grade 12)
Geometry Teacher $120/Month (Grade 12)

So if you be would be so kind enough, we ask you to donate $2400 for both teachers to teach NCCLA kids these two subjects for the whole year until their examination finished 2012.
May you, your family and all our friends in the UK be blessed with eternal peace, prosperity, longevity and good Health!

Yours sincerely

Neth, Thavy, staff all the kids of NCCLA

I put this request to the Trustees of the CFF and they agreed that this would be a good initiative to support, as of course the children's education is of paramount importance in giving the children a chance to live independent lives.

The donation of $2400 was sent in June, and after a few hitches I have now had confirmation from Neth that the payment has reached the NCCLA account.

As always, this kind of support would not have been possible without the generosity of our donors, and I thank you all for your continued support.

Unfortunately I still haven't been able to make it over to Cambodia this year, but I do hope to go in November this year, and I will update you on all the latest news when I return.

In the meantime, this little newsletter I received from Neth recently gives a good idea about how things are over there, and how much your support is appreciated. To read it, please click on the image and it will open in a new window. Clicking it again should enlarge the image so you can read it. Please let me know if this doesn't work for you in which case I can send it to you as an attachment.

Best wishes to you all,

Alan.

Christmas update from the CFF

2010-12-23T16:23:00.001Z

Just a quick update on recent happenings at the Cambodian Futures Foundation. First of all, we made a donation of $1000 to the New Cambodian Children's Life Association (NCCLA) at the end of November, in response to a plea from Neth, the manager of the orphanage, as things have been and still are quite difficult over in Cambodia. Our recession here is also having an impact on them as less people are travelling further afield for adventurous holidays.

As such, the number of customers at the Veiyo Tonle restaurant, which is also run by Neth and directly supports the NCCLA, has dropped off making it harder to afford the essentials needed for the children, such as their education. Our donation allowed them to pay school fees for all 30 children, and was a great help to all at NCCLA, as Neth confirmed in an email once the donation had been received:

"Many thanks for your new coming donation last week of $1000. We all are very happy with the coming of your donation to our Association, and we promise that the funds given will be only spent for the children to go to school, provide them good education about general knowledge like English, Japanese languages, computer skills, traditional arts, dances and culinary skill, etc…

These would all not have been possible without your incredible support!

Many thanks for all the hard work you and your good friends are putting into raising funds to help us continue our work here in Phnom Penh.

Wishing all of you and family, a Good Health and Happiness always.

Neth, Staff and Kids at NCCLA"

Please find below a photo of some of the older children at school in Phnom Penh (click on the photo for the full-sized image).

The second bit of news from Cambodia is that no one involved with either the NCCLA or the Cambodian Handicraft Association (CHA), who we also support regularly, was involved in the recent tragedy in Phnom Penh. For those of you who missed it, there was a stampede at the annual Water Festival at the end of November in which 351 people were killed. Below is a link to a report in the Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/24/cambodia-stampede-swaying-bridge?intcmp=239

I had an anxious wait of a week or so before Neth and Kim Tha, who runs the CHA, confirmed that everyone was OK. It was a huge relief to hear that, but of course my thoughts do go out to all who did lose family and friends.

Unfortunately I have not been able to get out to Cambodia myself this year , but hope to get out there earlyish next year and will send another update then, unless we make any further donations in the meantime.

Finally I would like to thank everyone who has supported the CFF over the past year, it has been hugely appreciated as always, not only by me but also by all the children and disadvantaged adults that your money helps, as I am sure this photo will bear witness to (click on the photo for the full-sized image).

With very best wishes for a happy Christmas, and may the New Year bring you all you wish for.

Alan.

Another donation to NCCLA

2010-06-06T14:01:00.002Z

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

2010-06-06T13:22:00.000Z

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.

Donation to the CHA

2010-05-23T18:34:00.000Z

As I hope you will all be aware, the Cambodian Futures Foundation (CFF) aims to support several organisations in Cambodia, not just the New Cambodian Children's Life Association (NCCLA), i.e. the orphanage. One of these organisations, the Cambodian Handicraft Association for Landmine and Polio Disabled (CHA for short) recently contacted me to update me on happenings there:

"Kay Rothanary, who had a psychological problem, she got a job and she left to live outside CHA. We are so glad that she got a job and can deal with her life. Right now, CHA accepts two deaf young women to be trained in our program. They have five deaf members in their family, but we allow two deaf trainees to learn in our group, and we will get more people in the future if we have more orders from outside country.
Besides these trainees, we also recruited two vulnerable girls, one was rape by her father, and another was hit seriously by her father."

Kim Tha also sent me photos of the new trainees - this first one is of one of the deaf sisters...

and this is the second deaf sister.

The following two photos are of the 'vulnerable girls' as Kim Tha called them - I am not sure which is which and didn't want to ask...

I wrote back to Kim Tha and asked him how we might be able to support the settling in and training of these new recruits, what kind of financial assistance he might require. He responded as follows:

"Thank you very much with your efforts to help us while we face the financial recession, and we have lacked funds to run our whole program which assists the disabled as you know. Your work is very much appreciated and we all think it is most kind of you to give up your time and effort to be with us and we do appreciate it. Particularly, I know you have put a lot of efforts into our program. I request for your kind help for 6 months, that you think what you can help us as much as you can. We all are looking forward to hearing your advice and kind decision soon."
The email included an attachment detailing what extra costs the CHA would incur over the next 6 months due to the new recruits, in training equipment and materials, food and board etc. It worked out to around US$2500 for those first 6 months, but what would result from that would be handicraft items that can be sold to raise extra income, so it seemed a good way to build some sustainability into the CHA.

The money will give 4 vulnerable young adults a decent chance of changing their lives for the better, and I hope you will agree that that is worth every penny.

The Trustees agreed to my proposal to donate the full US$2500 to the CHA, and the transfer was completed last week. I will leave you with this email from Kim Tha, which goes out to all of the donors to the CFF, past and present:

"Hi from CHA! I send you this email to let you know that I got the money from your charity today. That's very kind of you all to help our group while we are facing the difficulties in our daily standard of living. Your donation makes our group pursue our efforts to deal with our daily activities and program as well as our daily living. On behalf of CHA group and myself, I would like to thank you and everyone at your charity that assist us in right situation and exact need. It is very absolutely great for us to get this to resolve every activity in our program and make our program move on better and better thanks to your kindness. We all never forget it for our whole lives."

Visit to Cambodia October 2009

2009-11-22T17:15:00.007Z

I have recently returned from my latest trip to Cambodia, and on this occasion I spent all my time in Phnom Penh, rather than dashing around the country being a tourist as I usually do. I was determined to spend as much time with the children as possible, as last time Carrie and I were in Phnom Penh most of the children had gone to visit their families in the countryside, so it had been a year and a half or more since I had last seen them all.

Well, they have certainly grown and grown up in that time! Some of the older children are now attending High School as you will know from my last posting, but I was unprepared to be driven around in the minibus by a couple of the older boys! Of course it is even easier to see how fast some of the younger children are growing up, I noticed real change in many of them, both in appearance and attitude.

The most significant news though involves the youngest children in the centre. First of all, Decem, the boy who was left outside the restaurant as a newborn nearly 2 years ago (he was named after the month they found him) is now a healthy, happy, independent and strong-willed toddler. It is great to see him doing so well, and to see all the other children look after him like a real little brother. The photo below shows a little of the spirit he has - he was trying to pick up the big xylophone-type instrument which he had been ‘playing’ with a musician earlier (he was holding the musician’s hands as he played).

The other ‘new’ children were a complete surprise to me. Over the past year or so I had heard mention of ‘the twins’, but it was never made clear to me whether these twins were living at the centre, and were part of the NCCLA. During this visit I was finally introduced to them, and I can report they are indeed living at the centre and part of the NCCLA. They are pretty identical, and their names are Molika and Malina (phonetic spellings as I am not sure how their names are actually written), and here they are in the foreground, with some of their 'brothers and sisters', and a few of the people who help out at the centre:

They too were left outside the restaurant about a year and a half ago. It is estimated they were about a year and a half old then, so they’re now around 3. They are very small for their age, smaller than Decem, which is thought to be due to them being malnourished for the first years of their lives, and it seems twins are often smaller when they are born as well. They are very sweet, and Molika in particular knows quite a few English words already - if you show her pictures she can say what they are in English.

And besides the exciting news about the 'new' (well, new to us) arrivals at the NCCLA, there was also some exciting news from Neth and Thavy, who run the centre - Thavy is due to give birth to their first child in December! I had long wondered whether they would ever have their own children, considering they were already looking after 30 of them - I guess that question has been answered!

In talking with Thavy we came up with several possible future funding opportunities, including expansion of the boys' dormitories, and modifications to the girls' dorms. I will be in touch again as and when we send any money over to cover those projects.

In the meantime, I would like to thank you all again for your continued support!

Best wishes,

Alan.

NCCLA children graduate!

2009-08-10T12:51:00.006Z

Hello all,

I recently got the very exciting news from Neth at the New Cambodian Children's Life Association (NCCLA) that six of the older children have passed their exams and graduated. They will be starting High School next year. Neth sent me some photos of the five children in question before their exams:

And in Neth's own words:

I'd at this moment like to inform you that yesterday all the high school Kids are very happy and excited because their examination results all are passed, they have done well with school and exams - they should all be very proud and their new high school will be starting next few months. We here are all very grateful to you for helping all of these kids to get to where they are, all the kids and everyone here send the best wishes and the love to you. Please see the photo below of all the kids whose have passed the examinations, how happy they are? They are; Figo, Henry, Nice, Anna, Jasmine and Zoe (that's the English names they have been given to make it easier for us foreigners to remember their names - I prefer to use their Cambodian names, but don't have them to hand...)

So on behalf of these children, and the NCCLA, and indeed me, I want to thank you all for your continued support in giving these children a chance to make opportunities for themselves, which they are clearly making the most of.

Best wishes as always,

Alan.

$1000 donation to NCCLA

2009-04-19T11:40:00.004Z

We recently made a US$1000 donation to the New Cambodian Children's Life Association (NCCLA) to help them with day to day running costs at the orphanage. They have found life very difficult of late, the global recession has hit them too, both directly and indirectly.

The money was gratefully received, as the email from Neth below will testify:

"Please be informed that the sum amount of $1000 donated from you last week now it is well arrived to NCCLA already since Friday last week. This support is absolutely vital; without this we all would really have difficulties owing to the Cambodia economic crisis and almost all of the countries in the world go down in terms of this, and up to now it has not yet been better.

I would like to take this time to express my deep thank all of your friends in UK all of them are very kind and generous to contribute to raising fund in order to help orphans and poor children in Cambodia.

For the business at the Veiyo at the moment the sale is very slow in this season, as this month there are not so many customers. We are in Cambodia is having a tough time surviving as many more (10,000 people) lost their jobs because of the Hun Sen Government closed their Casino through out the Kingdom of Cambodia. But Mr. Alan and English Friends, Neth Thavy + Staff will never forget our job to the poor and parentless children by continue our work and helping NCCLA. You and all of us here try our best as much as we can afford even though the economy is so bad. Together we strive hard to live better life...in Cambodia.

Finally, we wish you and all in the UK happiness, good health, longevity, strength, in order to continue helping the orphans and poor children under the care of NCCLA and Many all the sacred things in the world to guard you at all times and success in all your future endeavors. With love and gratitude, The Children, Staff and Neth of the NCCLA."

Neth recently had some more sad news when his grandmother passed away. She had been a big part of the NCCLA family and will be profoundly missed by all. The photo below shows the children during the recent period of mourning.

Neth assures me that they are all moving on positively, and trust that his grandmother will be reborn into a new, happy life.

Thank you all for your fantastic support, past, present and future!

Best wishes,

Alan.

The most successful wine-tasting ever!

2008-12-22T14:13:00.009Z

We held the third Cambodian Futures Foundation wine-tasting at the Hanover Community Centre on Friday 5th December, hosted by Henry Butler of the Butler's Wine Cellar, and as with the previous wine-tasting evenings it was a resounding success - both financially and in terms of people's feedback. Everyone I've spoken to seems to have enjoyed it as much as the previous ones.

Financially the event was the most successful we've ever held, with a profit to the CFF of £523.23, which was in no small part due to the extreme generosity shown by everyone there in buying raffle tickets. Indeed, the raffle was so popular I ended up having to 'create' extra raffle tickets out of anything paper-like I could lay my hands on...but it was the worth the effort as the hand-made tickets raised an extra £70.

So thanks to everyone for coming and being so generous, I do hope you all enjoyed it. I also want to thank Iain and Pam from the Hanover Community Centre for letting us have the hall free of charge, and of course extra special thanks to Henry for hosting the event in his inimitable style - we really couldn't do it without him!

I really hope that we'll be holding another event next summer, and hopefully it will be another wine-tasting if I can persuade Henry again...watch this space!

Lastly, I would like to wish everyone who has supported the CFF this year, especially the regular and occasional donors who are the life blood of the charity, and everyone else who has helped us in their own way a very Merry Christmas and an extremely prosperous and happy New Year. I will leave the very final word to those that you have supported so generously (please click on the image to view it full-size.

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Birth certificates for all!

2008-12-09T17:45:00.006Z

On our last visit to Cambodia in September, Neth (who runs the New Cambodian Children's Life Association, or NCCLA, the organisation which runs the orphanage in Phnom Penh) told us that he needed to get birth certificates for all the children as they would need them to register for High School, and for a wide variety of other reasons in later life. They only cost $25 each, but times that by 28 and all of a sudden $700 was required.

The other Trustees and I felt that this would be a great cause to contribute to, so in November we transferred $1000 to the NCCLA. Of course the payment was greatly appreciated, as the photos below will testify.

Thank you as always to all regular supporters for your continued generosity, and to all other contributors to the CFF as well for making this kind of support possible.

Best wishes to you all,

Alan.

Water purifier donation

2008-08-29T11:39:00.008Z

Dear all,

We have recently made a donation of $2600 (A little over £1350) to the New Cambodian Children's Life Association (NCCLA), which was partly used to buy a water purifier. As mains water in Phnom Penh is undrinkable, until recently the NCCLA had to buy in bottled water for the children to drink, which was costing around $120 a month, and which had to be carried up several flights of stairs by staff helping out at the orphanage. As the photo below shows, the purifier was very gratefully received by the children:

The new water purifier has now been installed and is being used routinely by the children - obviously the photo below is a little staged, but I can assure you it is really being used!

Many thanks to all donors for their past and continuing support of the Cambodian Futures Foundation, without which this donation would not have been possible. This sentiment is echoed by Neth, who runs the NCCLA:

"Dear Alan,

We all would like to express our deep thank for you and your English friends who donated one water refining machine with the cost of $2600 for the interest of poor and orphan children and staff to drink every day.

We will keep in our heart for your and your friends’ generosity until the end of our lives. You not only donated the machine but you also have provided much grant. Moreover you introduced many of your friends to NCCLA and contributed to support the poor and orphanage children in our association.

We bought the medium size with 2100 $ the same brand, quality and made in Malaysia, the difference is the bigger one is standing with 2m high and cost $2650, electricity is used 5 kw/h per month and the medium size is $2100 and the electricity is 4 kw/h per month so we see that there is a little difference but we left some money so that we can buy some rice, fish sauce and soy sauce, egg for reservation during the election time or rainy season that is going on till the high season for tourists in Cambodia.

Please Alan and Friends! Apologize us for such situation, we do not know what will happen in Cambodia now and in the future because now in Cambodia, the campaign of National Election is conducting, each party is defaming each other, the robbery is happening more and more in Phnom Penh and at the country side, So we feel worried about this. What will happen to NCCLA when the Election Day comes and rainy season and low season? Demonstration, Violence or civil war might take place like the event 05-06 July 1997 that nobody expected.

Nowadays this situation is forcing the tourists drop down and affecting the standard of living for the ordinary people including me as well. Nowadays I not only support myself but I also feed almost 30 orphanages and 17 staff.

As mentioned above, Please understand and forgive us for the change of water refining machine.

All the kids, staff and I, Neth would hereby like to extend our heartfelt thanks to you for your kindness by taking your valuable time to seek funds for the poor and the orphan children under the care of our New Cambodian Children's Life Association.

We all wish you and friends as well as Donors longevity, happiness, strength and good health.""

As a postscript, I would like to assure you that the Cambodian elections passed without major (or any) incident. However, times are hard in Cambodia at the moment, as this article suggests:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/27/cambodia

Through your kindness the children at the NCCLA are protected from the worst realities of the economic downturn and food crisis.

Carrie and I will be going to see the children and all at the NCCLA in September, and I will report on our trip on this blog when we get back.

Best wishes to you all,

Alan.

Cambodia Trip February 2008

2008-03-08T15:56:00.012Z

Following my recent trip to Cambodia with my Mum, I would like to update you on the situation regarding the projects the CFF currently supports, and to give you an idea of projects we are considering for support in the future.

Current projects:

1) New Cambodian Children’s Life Association (NCCLA)

This project continues to be run to the highest of standards. The dedication to the project shown by the project’s director Neth and his wife Thavy, as well as their employees, remains exemplary. All the children seem happy and healthy, and they are all doing very well at Cambodian State School. One of the older girls, Channa, is 3rd in her school and was recently rewarded with a $20 prize and schoolbooks.

Since my last visit three new children have joined the orphanage.

The first is a 9 or 10 year old girl called Thida who was being physically abused whilst in the care of her alcoholic uncle, after her mother and father died of AIDS. She was removed from this situation by a Westerner who knew about the NCCLA. We found her to be unsurprisingly more shy and timid than the other children, but she seemed to interact well with the other children and by the end of our time there seemed to have taken us into her trust as well. The photo below shows Thida (front middle) with Srey Nak (left) and Srey Rath (right).

The second new child is a 4 or 5 year old boy called Rap. There was a photo of him on my previous blog about the last trip to Cambodia in April 2007, before he properly joined the NCCLA. He has been living at the Centre for about 9 months now and has settled in completely. He plays happily with the other children, and is part of the dance performances at the restaurant. He seems very happy to be at the NCCLA. This photo shows him looking rather sleepy after an afternoon spent at Phnom Penh Water Park.

The third and final new child is a 3 month old baby boy– I don’t know his name as yet. He was found outside the restaurant one morning by Thavy. Neth and Thavy have decided to raise him as theirs. He is not living at the Centre yet, and I am not sure if he will in the future, so he may never be part of the NCCLA project, but I thought you might like to see a photo of him. This one shows Nary, who works at the Veiyo Tonle restaurant and also helps out at the orphanage, holding the new arrival.

In general the news about NCCLA is positive, though they have had a recent setback. At the end of January, Neth was approached by the owner of a bar which has recently opened a couple of doors down from Thavy’s parents’ house. The bar owner asked if Neth would move the NCCLA minibus, donated by an American supporter, from in front of Thavy’s parents’ house, where it is always parked. Neth explained that he had nowhere else to park it, and it was left at that. One week later the minibus was set alight. No one witnessed the arson attack, and no one has been arrested, though the matter was reported to the police. The photo below shows the extent of the damage done to the minibus.

The minibus has been repaired at a cost of approximately $1500. This money could of course have been better spent on the children. As such we have decided to make a donation of $2000 to the NCCLA to cover the repairs to the minibus, and to cover some of the day to day running costs of the Centre.

I also discussed with Neth the possibility of funding the rental of an apartment somewhere near the Centre for some of the older children to share when they get to perhaps 16 or 17. This would allow them to gain some independence and learn new life skills such as cooking and cleaning whilst still enjoying the support network of the NCCLA around them. Neth was enthusiastic about this proposal, so this is something we will be looking into more in the near future.

2) Cambodian Handicraft Association for Landmine and Polio Disabled (CHA)

We made a $860 donation to the CHA in October 2007, to finance the move of their premises in Siem Reap province from one site to another about 1km away.

However, so far only some of the money has been spent, as ‘bureaucratic’ problems have led to a delay in the new site being ready to build the premises on. One of the buildings on the current site had been dismantled and partly re-built on the new site, before the Siem Reap Culture department, known as Apsara Authority, decided that the correct clearance had not been given, and told CHA to apply for this clearance via the deputy Prime Minister’s office. Kim Tha, Director of CHA, has made the application but still awaits approval for building work to recommence.

This is a problem as the building that has been dismantled contained the dormitory for the disabled workers, as well as a sewing workshop. The photo below shows the current site, with the shop and weaving workshop still standing on the left, but the dormitory and sewing workshop dismantled and ready to move to the right of it. The pile of rubble in the foreground of the picture came from the old foundations of the dormitory building, which will be used to lay new foundations at the new site.

As the CHA workers have nowhere to work or sleep they have had to be sent home until the new premises are ready.

It is widely understood that if the correct person had been bribed in the first place this could have been avoided, but neither Kim Tha nor his associates knew who to bribe. They sought permission for the move from all the local authorities they were told to approach, but were unaware of the need to ‘pass money under the table’ to ensure everyone would be happy.

Whilst the building works on the new site were stopped, an organisation calling themselves ‘Intervention Siem Reap’ visited the site and ‘confiscated’ the wooden structure that had been erected, and the concrete posts supporting the wooden structure. Any concrete posts that could not be removed were smashed. Again, it is believed this organisation expected to receive bribe money, but took the building materials instead. Kim Tha does not expect to get them back.

It is hoped that the building works will be on track again in the not too distant future. Kim Tha has requested help from an acquaintance in the Apsara Authority, and I will try to elicit the help of a contact at the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), Sam Sotha, who has close links with the deputy Prime Minister. Once building work recommences, I will contact Kim Tha to see if they need any further financial support from CFF to replace the materials that were stolen from them.

Potential Future Projects:

Lighthouse Orphanage, Phnom Penh

During our stay in Phnom Penh, we befriended a tuk-tuk driver, who offered to take us to an orphanage he tries to support. As such, on our last day, we were driven out to the Lighthouse Orphanage, in one of the poorer areas of Phnom Penh. The photo below shows the entrance to the orphanage.

This orphanage houses 72 children, has very little outside support, and no regular support from Western charities or individuals. Due to these factors, it is a long way behind the NCCLA in terms of organisation and in terms of the well-being of the children. The children we saw were a lot more unkempt than any of the NCCLA children, and one of the children was mildly mentally disabled. It was also clear that not all the children were regularly attending school.

We spoke at some length to Mr Lee, the person running the orphanage, all the while trying to ascertain whether this was a legitimate project, or whether it might be a money-making scheme, which is certainly not unknown in Cambodia. Both of us were fairly certain that Mr Lee was legitimate, and really did have the best interests of the children at heart.

If, after conducting all possible checks on the veracity of the Lighthouse Orphanage we did decide to support this project, which I am keen to do, I feel we should start off doing this in a structured way. Mr Lee suggested a couple of ways in which we could help them:

1) Pay their monthly electricity bill, which is approximately $100 (this may seem a lot, but I can confirm that electricity costs are very high in Cambodia)
2) Buy them a tuk-tuk to take the children to school, and to be used as a general means of transport. This would cost approximately $1000.

I hope to be returning to Cambodia in September, and will try and get more reassurances that this is indeed a viable project for us to support. In the meantime I will stay in contact with Mr Lee by email to try and get more of a sense as to the legitimacy of this project.

I hope this brings you all up to date with the projects the CFF supports. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments regarding any of the above.

Many thanks for your interest in the CFF,

Alan.

Visit to Cambodia

2007-06-29T16:20:00.002Z

Alan visited Cambodia at the end of April for 2 weeks, and visited the NCCLA to check up on progress and developments.

The visit to Cambodia allowed him to assess whether the money which had sent over there since the inception of the CFF was being spent correctly and wisely, and he was pleased to find that everything was as it should be. The children are happy and healthy, and the centre has seen some recent improvements.

Neth realised that the older children need a little more privacy, and as such he decided to have lofts installed in both the boys’ and girls’ dormitories, each with their own bathrooms. This has had the additional beneficial effect of ‘relieving’ (quite literally) the problems of queues at the existing three bathrooms.

Additionally, the classroom on the top floor of the building was often very hot, as there was only a tin roof to protect the children from the sun. New ceiling fans have now been installed to make the learning environment a little more conducive. This classroom is used for English lessons additional to the lessons the children have at Cambodian school.

Having seen these improvements, and having heard from Neth that they were still a little short of money to fund the changes, the CFF sent £1000 to the NCCLA bank account to cover the outstanding debt when Alan got back to England. This was the second £1000 donation to have been transferred to Cambodia since the CFF was created, and was extremely gratefully received.

Further news is that two new children have recently been taken in by the orphanage. Both are boys, one being in his early teens and the other being much younger, around 4 or 5. This is a photo of the younger boy, whose name is as yet unknown to us…

Neth will be contacted soon and asked to send biographies of each child, and these will be posted on the website as soon as they are received. The older boy was a glue-sniffer on the streets of Phnom Penh (an all too familiar sight I’m afraid to say) until he was taken in, and he seems to be settling in fine. We are greatly encouraged by these additions, as it shows Neth’s commitment to keep the good work the NCCLA does going.

And finally, here is a recent photo of all the children at the centre with Neth and Thavy, taken on the riverside very near the orphanage. As you’ll be able to see, all the children are looking happy and healthy!

WineTasting

2006-12-09T21:09:00.001Z

After the great success of the wine-tasting in aid of the Cambodian Future Foundation in August, and by popular request, I am pleased to announce the second CFF wine-tasting event, which will be held on Friday 8th December 2006, as before at the Hanover Community Centre, with doors at 8:30pm and the actual tasting starting as soon as everyone is there, or by 9pm at the latest, just so we can finish by 11:30pm.

I you can get tickets from Henry at The Butler's Wine Cellar,
247 Queens Park Road, tel 01273 698724

Please feel free to tell friends and colleagues, the more the merrier, as last time proved!

Don't hesitate to contact Alan if you have any questions, and I hope to see lots of you on the 8th December, if not before.

WELCOME

2006-08-08T20:50:00.000Z

Hello and welcome to the Cambodian Futures Foundation blog.

Here you can find out where and when our fundraising events are being held.
Please feel free to post comments about past events and suggestions for future events.

kind regards,

Alan