This week’s SoroptiVoice Blog is fom Friends of Cambodian Child’s Dream Organisation – one of the fantastic organisations SI is working with during CSW 56. Here they share a particular scheme run for American youth so if you are a member of SIA USA and think this could be of interest to any youth in your area, then do visit their website for more information!
Friends of Cambodian Child’s Dream Organization (CCDO), Inc. are encouraging American
youth of all ages to get involved in our work and understanding of the world
while helping the Cambodian children.
Through our organization’s Educational
Committee and our Youth Corps we are striving to help young people give and
grow. While our priority is well-being and education of Cambodian children, we
realize fully the power and change that giving to others and learning about their
plight and historical issues, can bring to young people of our home country. We
spread the message of peace and tolerance while encouraging young people to
show leadership in organizing and fundraising for our cause.
We are touched by the generosity of the young
hearts of children, who reach out and fundraise on their own to sponsor a well
in a Cambodian village. We are also visiting schools and working with students
in several different areas on the East and West coast of USA. Currently, the
Silicone Valley in California has two schools involved in their own projects. A
group of caring 15 year olds from Monta Vista High School got together over the
summer, raised funds and started recording books on tape for the children in
Siem Reap area that now have dedicated English Teachers and libraries built by
CCDO. To date they have collected, recorded and distributed 40 books for early
readers. The Kennedy Middle School is raising funds so that TaPang school near
Siem Reap can have a lunch program as many of the children arrive at school
without having had breakfast.
Eighteen students from St Mary’s College in Moraga, north of
San Francisco, are embarking on an academic and volunteer Jan Term program.
They are exploring Clean Water and Education Accessibility for Underprivileged
Populations in Cambodia as well as the issues of tolerance and genocide. They
are organizing fundraising activities for a water well and educational and
hygiene supplies. In January they will spend 2 weeks on a service program in
Siem Reap. They will be helping with
English, Math and Logic lessons, and teaching the Basics of Hygiene. They will
distribute 2000 new toothbrushes in three village schools. They will also
introduce the fundamentals of team sports while bringing soccer and volley ball
equipment.
Together Cambodian and American youth can
learn from each other, make new connections and build a brighter future of
understanding and cooperation in the world.
About Cambodian Child’s Dream Organisation:
The Cambodians endured Genocide during the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot era
(1975-1979), resulting in 2 million deaths or 25% of the population. Today, 65% of the population is
under the age of 25 years. The poverty is widespread and yet the Cambodians do whatever it takes to make ends meet.
Although the government is attempting to improve the country, there is
much needed, especially in the realm of health and education. Families
in the rural areas earn less than $2 per day and cannot afford to build
water wells or send their children to school. Each child needs to
provide their own school supplies and uniforms and the teachers work
double sessions for little pay.
The children in the rural
area of Siem Reap have nothing but dreams. They are the future of the
country and clean water and education are imperative as a basic human
necessity.