Khmer Sight Perform Miracles!

A few weekends ago, the Khmer Sight team visited our CCC School and Clinic, where we had assembled over 250 elderly villagers to have their vision tested, particularly for cataracts. 

60 villagers were identified as needing treatment, but only 33 agreed to be taken to Phnom Penh (for most of them, their first visit to the Capital) and treated at the Khmer Sight free clinic (see previous post). 

I met a number of the villagers after their operation and they were so grateful to have been given back their sight. 

They promised to spread the word to those who were afraid of undergoing treatment and we are planning on extending the search to the wider community around our project in early 2018. 

A huge thanks to all the team at Khmer Sight and also a special mention for Keith and the children at LIGER School in Phnom Penh, who helped with translation, comforting and reassuring the villagers and accompanying them when back in PP. 

Also a huge thank you to the surgeons and opthalmists from Newcastle, England who came to Cambodia, self-funded and in their own time.

By Royal Appointment!

 

Everyone at CamKids is incredibly proud and honoured to announce that King Sihamoni visited our CCC School and other MEND projects earlier this year, as reported on the King's Facebook Page.

The King gave a very moving speech and was given a tour of the classrooms where he saw classwork, paintings and drawings lining the walls. 

The history and ethos of CamKids’ integrated MEND approach was explained to him and he was particularly interested in our dental program for all of the children. 

The King thanked CamKids for helping his countrymen and the Royal Palace team provided breakfast, t-shirts, scarves, books and pens and some money to every student.

Registering new students at Chbar Chross

The educational reputation of CamKids’ Chbar Chros school has spread far and wide. This week over 100 students came to sit an entrance exam and the staff also interviewed 80 families. Only 8 students who completed the test and 34 who had been interviewed will be able to attend the school this year. Priority is given to students from the local villages of Chbar Chros, Tropaing Mean and Tangov. 

It is hard to see the disappointment that so many experience when they cannot receive the education they desire. All our classes are full to capacity and are being taught by a dedicated staff of 6 teachers. The children also receive English and Art lessons at the weekend. 

Fundraising for CamKids Without any Effort

These days, raising money for charity doesn't need to involve rattling a can or trawling round your friends asking them for the £5 they promised you months ago.  It doesn't even require you to get up out of your chair, if you don't want to!  With online fundraising services such as Justgiving, you only need to email, Tweet or post the details of your own personal fundraising site on Facebook and the rest is taken care of. These services charge a small fee, but they also reclaim the 25% in Gift Aid for us, which means that, in most cases, we receive around 120% of the amount donated (for UK taxpayers) and involves very little administration work for us.

CamKids has signed up to the well-known JustGiving service, as well as Virgin Money Giving, BT's MyDonate and other popular services, where you can also make single or regular donations.  Fundraisers can be located anywhere in the world and funds can be received in a number of currencies.  You don't need to sign up for a Marathon or even pour a bucket of cold water over your head (although you are welcome to, if you want).  Just tell your friends and family that you want to support CamKids in helping some of the poorest children in the world - we can even supply some standard text for you to use and to provide you with pdf factsheets of our projects to forward to your sponsors.

If your friends and family do need an extra reason to part with their money, our JustGiving Page has some possible fundraising suggestions and will also give you an idea what can be done with the money you raise. In the past, CamKids supporters from all around the world have set up pages for the following events:

Marathons

Birthdays

Weddings

Skydiving
Bug Eating

Climbing Kilimanjaro

Beard Shaving
Kick Boxing

Cycling through Asia

Fun Runs ........

Some people also set up fundraising pages before or after a trip to Cambodia, to let their friends know what they are doing, how they have been affected by the country and how they can help the children. If you are thinking of travelling to Cambodia, we can agree on a specific project or programme which your money will fund, so that you can report back to your supporters on how the money was spent. Remember, at CamKids we have absolutely no administration or overhead costs and so we can guarantee that 100% of the money you raise for us will go to helping the Cambodian children.

Why not set up a fundraising page today? A few pounds from all of your friends could make a huge difference to the lives of the children who benefit from our programs. £1 will pay for the dental treatment for a child in a rural village, who would not have access to such treatment and can relive them from the pain of tooth decay and infection. If you can raise £400, this will pay for a teacher in a rural school in Takeo for a year.

JustGiving: www.justgiving.com/tccc

Virgin Giving: www.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/camkids

MyDonate: www.mydonate.bt.com/charities/camkids

If you need any assistance, or would like some other fundraising target ideas, please email us.

CAM API Medical Company - Visit to CCC School

It is rare to see businesses in Cambodia taking such a proactive role in engaging with rural communities, which is why we were so pleased to be contacted by an HR Manager from Cam API Medical Co Ltd, a local company based in Kandal Province. The company is a manufacturer and wholesaler specializing in the production and export of medical and infection control apparel. They expressed to us that a group of senior management staff were interested in visiting our CCC school to learn more about the project and how they could get involved. We therefore arranged a visit for them to come and see our school. 

Before the visit, Cam API asked us what would be the best way to support the school. With the new academic year starting in November, we suggested that the provision of study supplies would be a great help to our students. We were therefore extremely grateful for the generous donation we received from them when they came to visit, which included text books, back packs, pencils, erasers and art books. 

The visitors were given a tour of the classrooms and medical building, and had the opportunity to talk with the students and teachers. Following the tour, each of the students and teachers received a cash donation, which they were all very grateful for. The delegation was also provided with printed information about our GRADE project, which aims to provide sponsorship for an entire year group at the school and included a sample of our GRADE friends report and background information on CCC school. The company’s HR manager said he would look into the possibility of making school uniforms for the school. 

The visit was a great success and we would like to thank the company for their interest and generous donations - we look forward to developing an ongoing relationship between CamKids and Cam API.