Back in the Saddle

 Dear Friends,

We hope that you are well.

Not sure how many of you know that we have returned to Cambodia, we had a good but tiring trip here and managed to test negative through the PCR test, rapid test on arrival, and after a voluntary 5-day quarantine, another negative rapid test on our own to make sure we were not a threat the people of Cambodia and our friends due to covid.

We have been working post quarantine for 10 days and have connected with many friends, families, kids and contacts here. K.I.D.S. work has continued throughout the pandemic with infrastructure projects, ongoing programs, and helping families with food and supplies to survive, which we will update you on soon. It has been great for us to get back in the saddle, so to speak, and to put students back in the saddle…of bikes that assist them to have easier access to schools and education.

We have purchased 180 bikes this past week and delivered half of them with the rest to be put in the hands of students in the coming days.

A bike is a key component of a Cambodian student's access to education, which is dependent on having a bicycle due to the distance from school. We purchase reconditioned second-hand bikes from Japan. These one-speed bikes are real workhorses for Cambodians not only for students to get to school but for going to market, work or transporting just about anything it seems. Over the years we have met many students and adults who never had access to education because the $70 cost of a bike was too much for the family to bear.

We have also started to deliver school supplies to students at a few schools. The budgets at schools for notebooks, pens and other school supplies are very limited in the rural areas and for poor families, the purchase of school materials is often difficult to achieve. So students and teachers are always happy to receive any materials that K.I.D.S. can supply.

Thank you for your donations and for extending kindness to these students to help them access education.

Till next time,
Rick and Adrianne

KIDS Post

 Dear Friends,

WE hope all is well with you and yours. Two years ago this month, we had a group join us in Cambodia to help paint a rural school that K.I.D.S. supports. Healthy Role Models (HRM) is an online woman’s health, wellness and fitness program founded by Sarah Gilks, who is a creator, trainer and coach.

The 12-week program provides assistance to create healthier lifestyles through workouts, nutrition, mindset and a great supportive community. HRM also believes in philanthropy and for the past ten years has been dedicated to supporting K.I.D.S. by fundraising for classrooms, clean drinking water systems and our ongoing education programs.  

https://www.healthyrolesmodels.com

 

Sarah, her husband Alec Watson, their daughter Sophia and ten HRM women and a board member joined us to visit some of the projects they have supported as well as paint three run-down classrooms.

They were able to come and see what their kindness and generosity has done to help others. Sarah’s husband Alec Watson, is a multidisciplinary media artist. As a photographer, his work includes: filming movie posters and taking photos of many famous people. Alec has also filmed for large companies and made many award-winning music videos. His work is renowned all over the world. 

https://www.alecwatson.com 

He came on the trip to take some photos with the HRM team. Little did we know he also wanted to make a short video about KIDS work in Cambodia.

Recently Alec contacted us and gave us the video he created. The video is only 8 minutes long and is very creatively done. The photos are moving and his interview with us tells and shows the story of K.I.D.S., and of those that we assist. We want to thank Sarah, Alec and all the HRM women for their ongoing support. 

https://vimeo.com/667881803?fbclid=IwAR1EBJi81p3xjj5sGDD_kq_IFNRju8li-vwnGG_88XVsy8RVD7FFRYXpB_4

Two years have passed and we are finally heading over to Cambodia in about one week. We are really looking forward to seeing the kids, programs and great people we work with and seeing all the families that KIDS have been able to assist during Covid, thanks to our generous and kind donors. We look forward to keeping you posted from there. Our fingers are crossed we will get there.

Please take care and we wish you all the very best,

Adrianne and Rick

Home for the Holidays

 Hello Everyone,

We hope all is well with you and yours. At this time of year many of us value our homes, we decorate them for the holiday season, we have family over to share love, laughter, meals and gifts and many people come home for the holidays. We thought we would share some good news home stories at this time of year. 

 

 

We have been tracking a couple of students' families in our Smart Kids Education Program. They have been living in very challenging situations. Leng’s family, pictured above, was not allowed to live in their shack on brick factory land after the family broke up, so the mother and four children became homeless. They are now living with another student and her family in our program. The village chief and council recently granted their family a small plot of land and gave the single mother legal title to it. We never build houses for families until they have legal ownership of the land, so unscrupulous landlords cannot evict them once their homes have been built. Since she has the land we are able to start construction of their new house and toilet.

 

 

Reaksa and his brother, grandmother and single mother (absent from photo) also live in challenging conditions. Last year K.I.D.S. built them a toilet and we are happy to say this year we will be able to build them a new house. The work has already begun.

We at KIDS are very grateful for your support to help provide a place of home for these families. Your generosity will forever change their lives. 

At this time of year, even though we cannot all be together as much as we would like, we know that we carry our loved ones in our hearts and work together to create a safer and better world for everyone in different ways. 

We recently had our annual fundraiser online again. Thank you to everyone who contributed and supported KIDS to bring positive change to so many children and families. Some of you have mentioned that you did not get the link; if you have not and would like to watch our update/presentation, here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXP81Hsfy3M

 

 

 

We widh you and yours happiness, good health, peace and joy.

Rick and Adrianne

Giving Thanks at Thanksgiving

 Dear Friends,

Thanksgiving is a time to think about all that we are grateful for and appreciate. Even during these difficult times, there is much to appreciate...Our friendships, family, community and how we reach out to others in need and how others reach out to us in our need.

Over this past year, we have been incredibly moved by the support that KIDS has received and in turn, we have been overwhelmed by the gratitude of those that collectively we have been able to help.

Each year we watch a beautiful short film called "Gratitude" by Louie Schwartzberg.

 https://vimeo.com/44131171

If you have not seen the film before, it is definitely worth watching. On behalf of all of us at K.I.D.S., we wish you and yours all the very best and a Happy Thanksgiving 

With Gratitude
Adrianne and Rick

 

August Update

 Dear Friends,

We hope all is well with you and yours. As summer comes to a close, the world continues to wrestle with COVID and all its complications. We are pleased to say that Cambodia is now getting vaccines and the Government is working to get everyone vaccinated.

 

Things there continue to stay shut down and communities, villages, neighbourhoods are closed while unemployment, food security and poverty are worsening every day. Thanks to K.I.D.S. supporters, we continue to help children and families with necessary supports for survival, especially food, medicalcare and medicine, which the families are so grateful to receive.

Many people who have tested positive must go to stay at high schools, which are being used as isolation centres. There are 10 people in a classroom and only a mat on the floor to sleep on. The families must drop off food for them daily.Many people who have tested positive must go to stay at high schools, which are being used as isolation centres. There are 10 people in a classroom and only a mat on the floor to sleep on. The families must drop off food for them daily.

Some families live in very difficult situations. Each year we try to build decent houses for the poorest families. We recently had our building team build a house for a mother of four. The woman's husband left her when her fourth child was born and, since then, she has worked labouring at the brick factory while her eldest girl is in our Smart Kids program

 

 

They were living in a sub-standard shelter and we are pleased to be able to ease her life by providing them with a new house. Now the mother works part-time at the brick factory and, since school is closed, the eldest daughter picks mushrooms most days to help with the family income. Through such building projects, we continue to be able to provide work for the village team of builders.

 

 

We are always moved by the resilience of the people we work with and meet. We are also incredibly grateful for the support K.I.D.S. received from donors. Together we are bringing the basics to those in need as well as continuing to support education for young people.

 

All the very best,

Until Next Time,

Adrianne and Rick

 

YES WE CAN

 Hello Everyone,

We hope your summer is going well. It is great, that for many of us, the COVID restrictions are gradually falling away. For the children and families that K.I.D.S. works with and supports in Cambodia things continue to be difficult with case numbers rising exponentially just as vaccinations are starting up.

Since March 2020, thanks to K.I.D.S. donors, we have been able to support 92 students and their families. Our efforts have kept over 500 people going for the last 16 months. We hope that as the vaccines take effect, economic activity will start to resume, so people can get back to supporting themselves and their families. The 45 children who would normally attend K.I.D.S. kindergarten cannot, as it has been closed due to covid restrictions. The children and families are now under increasing threat of hunger and food security.

Soooo if you and your family want to join KIDS FIRST INTERNATIONAL BOTTLE DRIVE please read the details in the poster below and donate the money on the link provided and if you are living in Canada you will receive a tax receipt.

Please feel free to pass this along. Thank You!

 Till next time,

Adrianne and Rick 

To Donate: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/62879/donation

K.I.D.S. Projects and Covid Update

 Dear Friends,

We hope all is well with you and yours. Summer is here in Canada and restrictions are lifting and vaccines are available, so this is all good news. Unfortunately in Cambodia most of the families and communities we work with are living in fear, still have very little if any work and COVID numbers are going up and most do not have access to vaccines. However thanks to K.I.D.S. and your support we can continue our family support and education programs.

We are doing everything from bringing solar power to families so they have a fan and children can study and read at night, to providing medical assistance to those who cannot afford medicine or medical treatment.

K.I.D.S. continues to provide monthly support to over 500 people. A 50kg. bag of rice, food and hygiene supplies, and a cash stipend is helping these families just get by. Each month our great team of people buy, package and deliver these much-needed supplies to families living in the villages we work in. Even though this is just the basics it is getting them through this pandemic, thanks to everyone's support.

Many student's K.I.D.S. supports continue to study at post-secondary programs online. We do not want them to lose all their hard work, so we continue to provide living expenses, books and tuition. Some of them live together with one of K.I.D.S. managers and his family, others are sharing accommodation or living at home.

 

We have also started another clean drinking water system, however, we had to temporarily shut down the construction of the project as the school is now being used to quarantine those who have tested positive for Covid. We will resume the project when we can

 

 

 

 

We would also like to extend our appreciation to Sumalee Martinflatt (K.I.D.S. youngest ambassador) and the Ecole Quarterway Elementary School students for doing a school fundraiser "Readathon". The students raised funds by getting pledges for reading in french for 17 minutes each day for a month. We were overwhelmed by the amount they raised. Thank You Kids from K.I.D.S.!!! We will use the funds for a clean drinking water system for a Cambodian school.

 

In closing, we want to thank you for your continued support, generosity and caring. We wish we could pass on all the messages we get from students, families and community members. You are assisting them to get through yet another incredibly trying time in their lives. Your kindness will never be forgotten.
Until next time,
Adrianne and Rick