Farewell and Thank You

Hello Everyone,

We hope all is well with you and yours. We are now getting ready to head off, once again, to Cambodia to help children and families. As many of you know, each year we spend a few months in Cambodia helping children and families to live better lives....Thanks to you, our friends and dear donors. Thanks to everyone's donations we are able to bring better living conditions to families in poor rural areas by providing their children with education, building homes for the very poor who live in terrible conditions and helping with healthcare. It is wonderful to see the difference we all have made and continue to make in so many lives. Where once children worked in brick factories starting at the ages of five or six those kids are now able to attend school where they learn English as well as all other subjects that will help them have better futures. We also buy bicycles so these students can get to school. Thanks to all our supporters we are able to also build schools and classrooms in poor crowded areas in the countryside so more children can get an education. This year we will be building another school, houses, clean drinking water projects, providing healthcare, so many children and families have less illnesses. We will also be helping hospitals with needed supplies and with nurses to help those living in isolated areas like the Tonle Sap Lake.

We look forward to sending you updates on all you have helped to make possible.

If you would like to make a donation please mail a cheque to:

K.I.D.S.
545 Vancouver Ave.
Nanaimo, BC V9S 4G6

Or e-transfer to: rlad.kids@gmail.com

One of our board members will pick up cheques at our house, deposit your donation and send you a tax receipt. 

We will you and yours all the very best and "Thank You" again for your kindness, generosity and helping so many live decent lives. All the very best to you and yours

Till Nest time,
Adrianne and Rick 

Graduation Day

Dear Friends,

We hope all is well with you and yours and that you all had a very nice summer. Fall is now here and it is back to school for the kids. In Cambodia the school terms have recently ended and many students are graduating to the next grades and programs. School is very important and they are so fortunate to be able to get an education thanks to you our donors.

In Cambodia it can be very challenging for young people to get an education, especially in the countryside where many very poor families live. Often parents need their children to work alongside them in farming or in brick factories to help increase the family income. Sadly even with everyone in the family working they cannot afford the cost of school to educate their children. K.I.D.S is dedicated to helping poor young students to get an education, not only by sponsoring direct education costs but also by building schools, buying bikes to get to school, school supplies, supplying computers for classrooms and individuals and providing English classes after regular school. KIDS also supports students with room and board and education costs, once they have graduated from secondary school and move to the city to be able to attend post secondary programs. This is all made possible thanks to our kind donors.

It is truly great to see four young people who K.I.D.S has been supporting since grade 6 make it through the education system system and then graduate from university and find jobs and careers. They have transitioned from child labourers with no hope were it not for your generosity and kindness. They have pedaled their bikes through tropical heat, both dusty and muddy roads and torrential rains in the wet season to achieve their goals. In addition many other K.I.D.S sponsored students have recently moved up a grade in their various levels of education this year.

Needless to say the students, their families and teachers are very happy to see them move on towards getting decent jobs and starting a life of their own and many students who do well also help their families.

Education opens doors to better lives and better futures. Thank you for your support.

Till Next time,
Adrianne and Rick 

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