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Newsletter |
Winter 2017 |
A Note from Bill and Nancy
For the past 7 years, the months of January and February have been devoted to a trip to Cambodia. This year it was three trips in one. We escorted a group on a tour of the fabulous sites in Cambodia, with a 5-night stop in Battambang and the villages. We had a wonderful time with a group of students and teachers from San Diego's Francis Parker High School. And we were joined by Cameron Siskowic and Tim Sykes to dedicate two new schools.
A bonus for us was going to the graduation ceremony of Chanthy Sovann, our first scholarship student to graduate from college. |
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Tour of Cambodia
We took a group of 8 women to tour Cambodia in late January / early February. They were amazing people who choose to travel not for “pleasure,” but for “purpose.” We visited Phnom Penh and saw firsthand the terrors of Pol Pot and his regime. Next we saw the great temples of Angkor Wat. However, the best part of the trip was when we visited Battambang and our “group with a purpose” opened their hearts to the people in our village. They were very busy with projects and activities:
- Distributed toothpastes and dental health care information
- Taught English classes
- Conducted feminine hygiene workshop with the scholarship girls
- Gave out solar lanterns to the families in the village
- Partied and bonded with the children and the scholarship girls
- Gave an eye clinic and distributed reading glasses to hundreds of villagers.
It was a beautiful adventure.
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At Wat Ek Phnom Near Battambang
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Sunrise at Angkor Wat
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Group with Scholarship Students
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Eye Clinic
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Party in the Village
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Visiting Samey's Home
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Francis Parker High School Goes to Cambodia
The Francis Parker students from San Diego and the Cambodian scholarship students had already gotten to know each other before the trip; they were paired with pen pals (actually, Facebook pals). They had a great time together – played volleyball, went to the circus, hosted an ice cream party, had several dinners together, went to the village to visit the homes of their pen pals, rode the Bamboo train, climbed Sampov Mountain, took a cooking class together, and had a beautiful farewell party.
Aside from entertaining their Cambodian pals, the Francis Parker students also filled their trip with “purpose.” They spent time in the village teaching English Classes. They not only gave a generous donation to for a new library at Dob Krorsang Primary School, but spent time rolling up their sleeves to installed the beautiful library. Several students reported this was a “life changing” experience for them.
We are thrilled that the Francis Parker teachers and students have adopted the village. They are a wonderful group – they raise funds and work hard to give the kids in Cambodia a chance at a decent education. Parker students have traveled to the village twice and are planning a trip for 2018. We are happy to know such great young people who have found “purpose” in helping others. We applauded their energy and commitment.
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American and Cambodian students working together to set up the library
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Pen pals riding the famous Bamboo Train in Battambang
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Teaching English
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Cooking Class
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Pen pals at the Circus |
Bill and Nancy with the Teachers
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Dedicating Two New Schools
We are thrilled to announce that we dedicated two new schools – Timothy Sykes Learning Center, a Secondary School (grades 7-9) - 5 classrooms in Prey Touch Village and Syed Balkhi Center of Learning, a Primary School (grades K-6) - 3 classrooms in Dob Krorsang Village.
Francis Parker students were there for the dedication of The Timothy Sykes Learning Center along with hundreds of Cambodian students, parents, teachers, local officials and village residents. We were very honored that Tim Sykes, who paid for the school and Cameron Siskowic, CVF’s President of Marketing, travelled to the village for the opening celebration. The monks gave their blessings for the school. The children sang the Cambodian National Anthem. The dignitaries gave speeches and cut the ribbon to officially open the school. Cambodia’s Minister of Justice awarded us with Prime Minister’s Medal of Honor, second highest award in Cambodia. Tim and Cameron gave passionate speeches to motivate and empower the students and even promised a new football stadium, to be built right next to Tim’s school. That brought many cheers. It was a beautiful celebration.
After a catered lunch, we drove down the road to dedicate The Syed Balkhi Center of Learning, the new primary school in Dob Krorsang. We were sorry that Syed and Amanda could not be there in share in the joyful day.
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School Dedication at Prey Touch |
Tim Sykes
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Nancy Receiving Award from Minister of Justice
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The New School |
Ribbon Cutting at Syed Balkhi Center of Learning |
Dob Krorsang Village's New School |
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Two New Projects
True to his word, Tim Sykes wrote another big check to build the football (soccer) stadium he promised the kids in Prey Touch Village. The Venerable Sovechea, the CVF miracle monk, is learning about stadiums and finalizing the contract. The stadium should be complete by next year.
At the same time, Sovechea is overseeing the construction of our 6th school opening in Prey Touch village early in 2018. Thanks again to Brian Dean for giving the primary students a much-needed school. We hope that Brian can join us for the school dedication and that Tim will come to see his stadium open. Of course, we’re planning another trip back to Cambodia next year to be a part of these celebrations. Maybe you’d like to join us.
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Proposed Football (Soccer) Stadium
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Brian Dean Learning Center is Under Construction |
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Thank You for Your Support
Our work is made possible by donations from friends and supporters. We promise to get the most from your donations, with 99.1 % of revenue going to Cambodia. We keep our administrative expenses low because we do most of the administration ourselves, including writing newsletters, maintaining the website, managing finances and accounting. We do this at no cost to the Cambodian Village Fund. If you are able to help, we will put your support to good use. And remember, in Cambodia a little goes a long way.
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Cambodian Village Fund
c/o Bill and Nancy Bamberger
4376 Argos Drive
San Diego, CA 92116-2330 |
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