The Lake Clinic and K.I.D.S. Saves Lives

Dear Friends,

We hope this letter finds you and your loved ones well and enjoying the warmth and beauty of summer.

Recently, we had the pleasure of reconnecting with Jon Morgan, Director of The Lake Clinic (TLC) in Cambodia. Many of you will remember that The Lake Clinic provides essential healthcare to families living on the remote floating villages of Tonle Sap Lake—Southeast Asia's largest freshwater lake and home to some of Cambodia's poorest and most isolated communities. For many families, fishing is their only source of income, and access to medical care has traditionally been almost impossible.

Our journey with The Lake Clinic began many years ago when we first met Jon while he was Director of the Children's Hospital in Siem Reap. During that visit, we volunteered by building drying sheds for the hospital laundry. Jon then invited us to visit the floating villages on Tonle Sap Lake.

The experience was unforgettable. We traveled by small boat through communities where entire villages floated on the water. Families lived in terrible floating homes, relying almost entirely on fishing for their livelihood. We were deeply moved by the resilience of the people, but also by the tremendous challenges they faced.

While meeting with one of the village chiefs, he explained that there was no healthcare available for the thousands of people living on the lake. When someone became seriously ill, they had to travel long distances by boat to reach land and then somehow find transportation to a medical clinic—something many families simply could not afford. Preventable illnesses often became life-threatening because treatment came too late.

On our journey back to Siem Reap, Jon shared his vision of bringing healthcare directly to these isolated communities. We immediately knew we wanted to help make that vision a reality.

When we returned to Canada, K.I.D.S. launched a fundraising campaign to build the very first floating medical clinic. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, that dream became a reality.

Today, TLC has grown into an extraordinary healthcare program. The first K.I.D.S.-funded floating clinic inspired other international partners to join the effort, and there are now five floating clinics serving communities throughout Tonle Sap Lake and the Stung Sen River. Each week, teams of Cambodian doctors, nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals travel by boat to these remote locations, living aboard the clinics while providing care to hundreds of patients. They also make home visits to elderly residents, people with disabilities, expectant mothers and families who cannot travel.

The services provided extend far beyond treating illness. The clinics offer adult and pediatric primary care, prenatal and maternal health services, vaccinations, dental and eye care, health education, nutrition programs, clean water and sanitation education, and referrals to mainland hospitals when specialized treatment is needed. These programs have dramatically improved the health and well-being of thousands of families while helping prevent disease before it starts. Since opening in 2007, TLC has provided well over 360,000 free healthcare services to some of Cambodia's most vulnerable people.

We have visited these floating clinics many times over the years and continue to be inspired by the dedication and compassion of the medical teams. They travel long distances in difficult weather conditions, often working far from their own families, because they believe everyone deserves access to quality healthcare. Their commitment truly saves lives.

None of this would have been possible without you.

Because of your generosity, K.I.D.S. continues to support TLC by funding the salaries of three midwives who rotate among the five floating clinics. These dedicated professionals provide essential prenatal care, assist with safe deliveries, care for newborns, and support mothers and families throughout the region. Your ongoing support ensures that these life-saving services continue to reach those who need them most.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for helping bring hope, healing and dignity to so many people. Together, we are making a lasting difference. We wish you and your family a wonderful summer.

Until Next Time,

Adrianne and Rick 

Rooms to Grow

Dear Friends,

We hope all is well with you and yours. As many of you know one of K.I.D.S main focuses is education. We work to support children, youth and young adults by building schools, supporting after school English classes and supporting post secondary school for very poor young people. This year, thanks to our kind donors, we were able to build four classrooms at a school we have supported for years. The school was overcrowded and many rural children from the village could not attend school and so the principal had to turn children away. He asked if we could help by building four more classrooms, which would allow more children in the village to attend school and ease the overcrowded situation.

Thanks to K.I.D.S. donors we were able to hire our great crew of builders and build four classrooms. We are very lucky to know the contractor and the builders and have worked with them for many years building houses, bathrooms and classrooms. Needless to say everyone was very happy to have new rooms to help the children.
We were even able to build one of the classrooms for computer training for the older students, which everyone was very excited about. As we all know, education is one very important way to get children, youth, and families out of poverty.

 
Thanks to you many, many more young people will have a healthier, happier and more positive futures.

 

 

 

 

We so appreciate your support, kindness and generosity. The new classrooms are also very beautiful!!! the students and teachers are thrilled.

 

Till Next Time,
Adrianne and Rick 

 

 

World Water Day 2026

Dear Friends,

We hope all is well with you and yours. Today, March 22nd is World Water Day, a day when we stop and think about how much we need and appreciate having clean water. As many of you know, one of K.I.D.S main focuses is to bring clean drinking water to those in need. Thanks to our kind and generous donors, each year we are able to ease people's lives by providing clean drinking water to schools where hundreds of children attend and families can access clean water from the school. We have also brought clean water systems to rural clinics over the years.

This year This year the United Nations theme for World Water Day explores the critical relationship between water, women and gender equality. Women in developing countries are responsible for getting clean water to their homes and families; according to the UN 1.8 billion people still do not have clean drinking water at their homes and in two out of three households women are primarily responsible for water collection. Globally, unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene are responsible for the deaths of around 1,000 children under five every day around the world.

K.I.D.S builds as many clean drinking water systems at schools as we can. Teachers, students and families in the community can access the clean water at the school to drink and take home. The school teachers, children and families are incredibly grateful to have access to clean water and the women are especially grateful as they can fill up containers daily to use at home.

 

 

 

 

We want to deeply Thank you  for helping us bring clean water, better health and hygiene to children and families in Cambodia. Today we toast all of you for helping to ease the lives of women and bring good health to children and families.

Wishing you and yours all the very best.

Till next time,
Adrianne and Rick 

Reading Provides Lifelong Learning

 Dear Friends,

We hope all is well with you and yours. We have been visiting some of the schools we have built and support as well as some other schools that are in poor rural areas. One thing we have noticed at many rural schools is that the students do not have access to reading books. In our countries our schools usually have a library and many books that students can use to learn to read. 

This year while visiting four rural schools we noticed that the schools had lesson books but did not have many books for the children to read. The families also cannot afford to buy story books or any reading material for their children. After talking to the teachers and principals we were able to tell them that we could supply the schools with fun and interesting story books for the children. Needless to say the students were incredibly happy to have books to read. As we walked through the libraries or reading rooms it was heartwarming to see so many young people reading and enjoying the books and stories. We were also able to buy teaching materials to help the teachers with the education of the students which they were very grateful for.

Thank you for bringing joy to the children and helping the students happily learn to read and the teachers to have good materials to help them teach. Needless to say the students, teachers and families were thrilled that the children could read interesting and fun books and stories. 

All the best to you and yours.

Until Next time,
Adrianne and Rick 

Helping Babies Breathe

 Dear Friends,

We hope all is well with you and yours. As many of you know we were recently up in Stung Treng province visiting the preschool/kindergarten and computer lab we support. While we were there we went to visit the hospital in Stung Treng. The hospital is a referral hospital for the whole province serving a population of 180,000 people. It is the only hospital in Stung Treng Province. Last year we helped the hospital by providing a permanent, plumbed in oxygen system, for the emergency ward. This year we once again met with the director and the neonatal intensive care staff as well. 

 They asked us to help them again by providing a permanent oxygen system and purified air system for the children’s ICU ward. We visited the ward and it was very moving, there were so many small babies and the old oxygen bottles they were using were problematic due to transport and dirt infiltration. There was also no way to supply the children with purified air due to the constant dust in Cambodia in the dry season, they needed a solution. Seeing the very small ill babies was incredibly moving and we felt we had to help these poor children, their families and the hospital.

 

Thanks to our wonderful donors we were able to provide these two life saving systems. Needless to say the staff, parents and the Hospital Director were incredibly grateful that K.I.D.S. could assist with this much needed infrastructure.

Thanks to our donors these beautiful children will achieve a strong start to life. The Director, Doctors and Nurses asked us to pass on their huge gratitude for helping the hospital help these children get a healthy start in life. We also want to Thank You All for your support, kindness and generosity.

Wishing you and yours all the very best,
Adrianne and Rick

Homes for Hope

 Dear Friends,

We hope all is well with you and yours. As many of you know one of KIDS focuses is to provide decent houses to very poor families living in the brick factory area. Many families live in terrible conditions due to poor wages. Even the children have to work in the factories to help their families make a living.

Each year, thanks to K.I.D.S. donors, we are able to help some of the families, who's children attend our Smart Kids English Education program. The principal of the school and our coordinator of the Smart Kids program decide on which families are the most in need of a decent place to live. We also visit the houses that the families have to live in and are always moved by the terrible conditions they must endure.

This past year, thanks to our donors, we have been able to build five new houses for the poorest families. One family had to live inside the brick factory in the corner of the open building without walls, a dirt floor and not a private bathroom. Needless to say the families are thrilled to have a decent home to live in.

Recently we went out to deliver some basic needs for the homes, like: mats, cleaning supplies, blankets and mosquito nets. One of the mothers cried and as we gave her a hug; she deeply thanked all of us for helping she and her family live a decent life.

It is truly heartwarming to visit the families once they have moved into their new homes, it will change their lives for the better and they are incredibly grateful.

There are many children who live, work and play in the brick factories. 

Thank you for improving the lives of some of them and for helping us create better futures for the children. 

Wishing You and Yours all the very best, 
Till Next Time, 
Adrianne and Rick