Beyond Ordinary Borders

A letter from our Chairman Mr. Chanly Bob commenting on his month long humanitarian mission through Cambodia. Chanly was able to touch many families and individuals through his generosity and compassion.



Dear Friends,

On behalf of my family, thank you kindly for giving us the opportunity to experience the power behind giving. It is a blessing and a life changing experience for us and those impacted by your contributions. As we all know, even a single dollar will go along way for a life of a poor struggling soul in Cambodia. Your kind donation has made a significant impact to struggling souls fortunate enough to benefit from your kind donations. We can not thank you enough for your kindness and generosity. Friends and family contributions made it possible for us to:

• Dig a pond 20x16 Meters in diameter and 5 meters deep that is shared by the people residing in the Ong Village in Thmar Gohl/Battambong Cambodia
• Provide school clothing, supplies, and 10,000 Reils each to 26 orphans who’s parents died of AIDS (Courtesy of Michael and Melanie Lim).
• Provide school supplies such as 12 desks, books, pens, pencils, and money to 350 students (note: not all 350 students are present, but materials purchased from the donations were for 350 students. 640 students in total at this school).
• Provide school supplies and $10 each to 14 teachers and faculty members.
• Provide rice (40 lbs each), soy sauce, fish sauce, msg, noodles, sarong, towel, medicine, and 20,000 Reil to 40,000 Reil ($5 to $10) to 12 families.
• Provide rice (40 lbs each), medicine, sarong, towel, and 20,000 Reil to 40,000 Reil to 50 poor families.
• Provide medicine (thank you Dr. Bryant Lee for the discounts on the medicine) and 40,000 to 50,000 Reil to more than 20 Old Men/Woman encountered during our travels
• Provide jobs to local children and adults to help with additional work needed to complete the pond that will supply water to the local villagers.
• Donated medicine, $20 US Dollars, and 300 lbs of rice to a Buddhist temple.

Please note: The children “volunteered” to assist with the post work needed to complete the village water supply project. Food and refreshments provided. The children volunteering to help are paid 10000 Reil, while the adults get 20,000 to 30,000 Reil per day for their service. Only adults were asked to work, but their children and/or brothers and sisters helped knowing that they are paid for their service. (Jobs are scarce in Cambodia and I didn’t have the heart to tell them that they can not help). Many adults (including my own nieces and nephews, cousins) illegally journey into Thailand to find low paying jobs (6000 Reils per day, or about $1.50 per day.  Some more than others depending on the job). Some risk life and limb simply to provide for the family. This is the year 2005. Reminds me of how blessed I am to live here in America.
Future Plans/Goals:

• Fulfill a dream for the local school in Thmar Gohl/Battambong Cambodia to:
• Dig pond that will be water supply for school and surrounding village
• School supplies (furniture and materials)
• Remodel section of the school
• Build 4 bathrooms for the school (one exist, but does not work too well)
• Collect more technical, science, medicine, engineering books, and retired computer equipment for a public library in Phnom Penh Cambodia. Approxiamately 4 boxes of books were collected and donated to the library in Phnom Penh.
• Provide rice, medicine, food, and school supplies to more villages in Cambodia.

One month in Cambodia seems to be too short, but I can not complain for this rare opportunity to experience the humanitarian work that has helped a handful of poor souls in Cambodia. We can easily make a dollar, but making a difference is a little more difficult. Here and/or abroad, it doesn’t matter, but our efforts to make a difference in someone else’s life will make a difference in our own lives. Thank you all for continuously making a difference here and abroad. Below is the link to some pictures that I’ve been able to post to web containing the humanitarian mission to Cambodia. Let me know if you have any questions. Again, thank you. Please enjoy!