Cheers to World Water Day

Dear Friends,

We hope all is well with you and yours and happy World Water Day. One of the things that we notice when we are working here in Cambodia, is how often we realize what we take for granted where we live in Canada. One of those things is clean drinking water. As the temperature rises here to the mid-30s, we need to drink more water…at home, we can just go to the tap and drink to our heart's content; however, here, people often have to buy water, especially in the rural villages. Even in the nicer city homes and businesses, people still buy large containers of clean water.

As many of you know, one area that K.I.D.S is dedicated to helping is to bring clean water to those in need. Thanks to K.I.D.S. donors we have once again been able to bring villages and schools clean water.

This past year alone we were able to put in six more clean drinking water systems. We put five at rural schools and one at the Department of Education in the city, hard to believe that the administration staff had to buy their drinking water while at work.

It is also hard to believe that in rural areas families do not have access to clean water and have to buy water. Thanks to K.I.D.S. donors all these people and communities now have access to clean water and everyone is so grateful. The gift of water improves the lives of many and we thank you for your support and bringing health and well-being to thousands of people every day. The provincial school district office gave K.I.D.S an award, for its dedication to improving the water situation at so many schools in Siem Reap province which we share with you.

With this year's new projects, your generosity has brought a total of 37 clean drinking water projects to many thousands of children and families.

We are raising a glass to you and to those we have all helped.

Cheers,
Until Next Time,
Adrianne and Rick

Fulfilling Youth's Dreams

 Hello Everyone,

We hope all is well with you and yours. We recently visited a great program in Siem Reap called Youth Dreams Fulfilment Association (YDFA) founded and run by Makara. It is a hospitality training program for young people from very poor families. Makara has over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry in Siem Reap and has deep connections in the city and across the country to find work placements for the graduates. We met Makara a long time ago when he ran a similar program at another NGO before starting YDFA a couple of years ago.

This year YFDA has 62 students recruited from very poor rural families in and around Siem Reap. If the students homes are too far away to commute to the program they are given free room and board to attend the 1 year training program to become front desk managers, chefs, housekeeping staff and along the way are taught computer skills and English.

Earlier this year K.I.D.S. helped with umbrellas to provide shade for the training cafe, 15 bicycles for students that did not have transportation, two computers for the from desk and a computer server to power their administration and front desk training program software.

The students cooked us a delicious lunch which we ate with Makara and the teachers and they were very thankful and appreciate of K.I.D.S support.

In the spirt of International Women's Day, K.I.D.S. also sponsored an all female soccer tournament taking place on April 11th, between NGO's in Siem Reap which helps the young women in YDFA and other programs to learn team building and self esteem and also promotes friendship and collaboration amount NGO's. Everyone is very excited about it. (These are some photos from last years tournament.)

A message from Makara and YDFA:

We, at YDFA, sincerely thank K.I.D.S NGO for generously supporting us with 15 bicycles, two computers and a computer server for documentation and system management, as well as supporting the all girl's soccer tournament. Your valuable contribution will greatly benefit our students by improving their knowledge and enhancing our administrative efficiency. We deeply appreciate your continuous support in empowering Cambodian youth through education and skill development. Your generosity makes a meaningful impact on our organization and the lives of our students. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors and continued success in your mission. We look forward to your support for the next intake and future collaborations. Thank you to everyone for helping these young people live a better life and flourish just like the beautiful plants in our gardens and communities. All the best to you and yours.

And as always K.I.D.S. would like to than you for your kind and generous support.

Till next time,

Adrianne and Rick