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 December 2012
Wow!! 2012 was one heck of a year! With incredible interest and support from our amazing donors, the list of accomplishments was dramatic: traveling to Cambodia last January (along with 25 supporters) to dedicate the new Kaun Khlong Primary School, rebuilding the road to the school, completing a successful clean water pilot project, providing financial aid to 17 Reach for the Sky girls and organizing an art exchange between the 6th graders at The Bishop's School in San Diego and Kaun Khlong Primary School.

We sincerely thank each and every one of you. You are truly making the world a better place. You are the reason all of this is possible. You are the Cambodian Village Fund.


Trip to Cambodia
In January, 25 CVF supporters joined Bill and Nancy for a memorable trip to Cambodia. After visiting the ancient temples at Angkor Wat, we went to Battambang and the Village of Kaun Khlong to see the new school, meet the Reach for the Sky girls and get to know a part of Cambodia that most tourists never see. We finished the trip with 3 days in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.
School Dedication
Construction on the new Kaun Khlong Primary School was completed in October 2011 for the beginning of the new school year, but the official dedication was held in January when our CVF travelers were there. A huge crowd of students, teachers and villagers greeted us. The Provincial Governor came to give the keynote address. The school is beautiful and everybody loves it. Our traveling group purchased supplies for the new school.
Reach for the Sky
Our Reach for the Sky scholarship program really took off in 2012, thanks to the wonderful girls in Kaun Khlong Village and Ginger Allen, who administers Reach for the Sky. All three of our high school seniors passed their college entry exams and are now attending college in Battambang. They are joined by a fourth college freshman who became a RFTS girl in September. Another RFTS girl, Chanthy Sovann, started college last year. She successfully completed her freshmen year and is now a sophomore at the University of Management in Phnom Penh. Our secondary school program now has 12 girls with the addition of three new middle school students in October.
Rebuilding the Road
Last year, with the torrential monsoon rains, the road to the new Kaun Khlong Primary School flooded. Students had to wade through knee-deep water to get to and from school. When we were in the village in January the school administrator and other officials told us that repairing the road was a high priority. We agreed and sent the money for the road repair in February. The work on the road was completed in March, along with adding fill around the new school to avoid possible flooding in the future.
Clean Water Project
With no plumbing the families in Kaun Khlong collect rain water, dig wells and use water from nearby streams. Unfortunately, most of the water is contaminated, causing a high incidence of dysentery. Boiling the water helps but is time consuming and expensive. We found an inexpensive water filter, made in Cambodia that provides enough clean water for a family of 8. We conducted a pilot study with 15 families to test the filters. With encouraging results from the pilot study we added 150 more families to the study. When we return to the village in January 2013 we will distribute filters to the rest of the families in two villages--Kaun Khlong and Prey Damrey. Funding for the clean drinking water project is provided by Cameron Siskowic, our President of Fundraising.
Art Exchange--Drawing the World Together
The 6th graders at Kaun Khlong Primary School and the 6th graders at The Bishop's School in San Diego are getting to know each other through an art exchange. A committee of 6th graders at Bishop's is spearheading the project, with the guidance of their moms, Amy Dyson, Dawn Calvetti and Jeanie Scott. The children at each school are preparing artwork to send to the other school. The picture above was drawn by one of the artists in Cambodia. We'll be purchasing art supplies for the kids at Kaun Khlong. With the artwork we plan to make tee-shirts, coffee mugs and other items that the Bishop's students will sell to raise funds for CVF. We may even have an art show and auction.
Check out our website for the latest news about the Cambodian Village Fund:
cambodianvillagefund.org.
We will happily accept your donations, which you can make on the website or
by sending a check to:
Cambodian Village Fund
c/o Bill and Nancy Bamberger
4376 Argos Dr.
San Diego, CA 92116-2330
Thanks for your support. Wishing you the happiest of holidays,
Nancy and Bill
Nancy and Bill
Ginger
Ginger
Cameron
Cameron
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