Books, Boats and Water

Hi All,

Hope you are well and had a great holiday. We are back at it and thought we would send you an update.

Books

One of the projects that we are very happy to be working on this year is a library for Kauk Chrey School. For rural children often the only material that they have to read is what the teacher writes on the blackboard or what they write in their exercise books. We have seen the enthusiasm that children have for reading at other schools that are fortunate enough to have a library. The children will not only have books to read while at school, they will be able to check books out and take them home. This opportunity helps to spread knowledge to younger siblings not yet in school and to older siblings and parents who may not have had the chance to attend school at all. The building materials are being delivered as we write, ground will be broken and construction will begin on January 1st. A good start to the New Year for the children Kauk Chrey!

Boats

The Lake Clinic - TLC#4

We recently returned from a two day trip from the capitol city of Phnom Penh aboard the brand new catamaran built for the The Lake Clinic Cambodia (TLC).  The new boat will greatly assist the medical teams to spread their important and life changing work further, faster and more efficiently. K.I.D.S. sponsored the fuel for this inaugural trip. The boat was funded by Impact Norway however operating costs are challenging to find. Although the fuel costs are outside our projected budget allocation for this year, we are hoping we can work on increasing K.I.D.S. support for the TLC and its new boat to include fuel costs as this is greatly needed.

This new boat, with its seaworthiness will transport the medical teams more comfortably.  The boat will allow them to arrive rested and ready to work, while the speed and fuel efficiency will allow for less transit time and permit the teams more time to care for rather than getting to patients. The TLC #4 will no doubt end up transporting ill patients to more advanced medical care facilities on land in emergency situations. The dedicated team of doctors, nurses and mid wives bring prevention, treatment and health care education to those living in a truly isolated areas of the Tonle Sap Lake and Stung Sen River. Until the TLC started working there in 2009 no one was able to receive any healthcare whatsoever. The team travels four days a week to serve the underserved and it is challenging to say the least.

We made a video of the maiden voyage, click the link if you are interested in watching.

https://vimeo.com/82672092

Water

Last but not least there are two water projects that we will be kicking off very shortly. One is at Muk Pen Elementary School for 330 students. The well they have produces water that is not fit for drinking and has to be boiled, a difficult thing to achieve for 330 students daily. Muk Pen School’s new pumps, towers, solar and purification systems will change that and will allow the children to walk up to the drinking station and drink to their hearts content as well as fill their bottles to take home.

The other water project at Sasarsadam High School and Elementary School will be less costly as it has electricity so we do not have to install a solar system to support the water system. Sasarsadam is a big school with 1,500 students and no water whatsoever, if you can imagine. The principal is a very dedicated educator and works to a high standard resulting in a much higher level of graduating students. The school has almost double the number of students who qualify for government scholarships than the average school.

So once again, thank you for your contributions towards education, healthcare and clean water. Your support and generosity will without a doubt change, enhance and certainly save the lives of many.

Thank You,
Rick and Adrianne