CamKids Winter 2014 /15 Newsletter

Welcome to our Winter 2014/15 Newsletter, which focuses on our project in an extremely poor rural area of Kampong Speu province, where we now operate a school for some 330 children from Kindergarten to Grade 4 and a small medical unit for the whole community, as well as a number of agricultural and other development projects.  

We call this initiative "MEND" - Medical, Education, Nutrition, Development.    MEND was founded on one enduring principle - A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out. Four years on and the project has proved to be a huge success and, more importantly, the children are flourishing as we hope you will see in this Newsletter.

All of this would not be possible without your help.  The Newsletter provides details of some specific  Sponsorship Opportunities or other Fundraising Possibilities but any donation, however small, will help us provide long term support for some of the word's most vulnerable children.  We are very proud to still be able to say that CamKids has no fundraising or administration costs and that only Cambodians receive funds from the charity.

This year, we would therefore urge you not to forget that every penny you raise gets directly to the people in Cambodia and is critical to our continuing aid to many thousands of children and their families.

We wish you all a happy and successful 2015 and hope you enjoy the Newsletter.

The CamKids Trustees

To access the Newsletter, please click This Link or Contact Us and we will send you a copy by e-mail.

Lakeside School student graduates from IT program

Empowering Youth in Cambodia’s (EYC) Lakeside School has been going strong since 2008 with an array of educational programs and activities that have served dynamic young people in slum communities. Fully supported through CamKids, this school has provided support to young people and their families who live in tough conditions but have big dreams. 

One young man is named Chan Ranuy, and he just completed a 2-year Associates Degree in System and Network Administration. Ranuy started to study English in the evenings at Lakeside school in 2009 until he graduated high school in 2012. EYC’s education manager then introduced him to a program where students from poor families can study in an intensive IT and life skills program, and he was accepted into the program. EYC paid the subsidized tuition while he studied full time, and his family supported him with food and transportation costs. 

While many families rely on grown children to support themselves during their advanced studies, or even send money home, Ranuy’s family made the necessary contribution to make this possible. Now he has been placed in a technology company working in computer service, and making a good starting salary while he continues his studies toward a bachelor’s degree. He has long days between a full time job and classes in the evenings, but he is very energized and hopeful for the future. His family is very proud and grateful to the support he has received from EYC. “I very much appreciate all the donors who made it possible for me to get my education and I now believe I can achieve my dreams,” said Ranuy. 

While EYC cannot change many of the problems people in Cambodia face every day, we know that when we give a hand up to young people with potential the results are usually good. Thanks in large part to the great support EYC receives from CamKids, over 30 students currently receive direct support for their advanced studies. With 132 students attending classes daily, Lakeside School has been a pillar in the community and is appreciative of the great partnership with CamKids.