Nearly time to go

Leavin'........ on a jet plane

The flights are booked for 16th March , back over to Cambodia.  We occasionally get questioned about wether we pay for the flights with donation money.  All flights, accommodation, meals, transport etc are paid for from our own pocket, the donation money goes straight to the peoples of Cambodia.

We have a very generous friend who has offered his time to look after our place. We will only ask him to feed the animals and water the veggies and fruit trees. The rest of the time he can chill out, ride mountain bikes and enjoy the serenity. Thanks Pav

We have a hectic schedule catching up with organisations we support, liaising about on going support and how we can help with future projects.  We will be in Sihanoukville and  then back in Phnom Penh before heading back home via Kuala Lumpur.

Clothing Donations

Clothing donations have been flowing in. The bags we have may not be enough so we'll need to buy a little extra baggage allowance as well as another bag !  We are donating these to children at the Goodwill Centre in Sihanoukville, and were inspired by our friends Ciaran and Audrey from Ireland who did something similar at Rom Dual. We have bought 18 pairs of mini crocs. These are the perfect shoes for Cambodia. Unlike thongs, which all Khmer wear, crocs are very sturdy and will last the children a lot longer.

Donated clothes piled up at home

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FInancials

Financials

Finally we're up to date with the financials for the period 1 July (were we changed to the new accounting software) to 31 December, for those interested, see below

Profit and Loss

For the tech heads amongst you, we now use the FOSS bookkeeping solution, GNUCASH.  Great for groups like us but a cloud based service would be better

Australian Bank Account

We have redacted the personal information of some of the donors.

Cambodian Bank Account

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Microfinance and donations

Microfinance

One of the interesting concepts to explore is micro-finance.  Access to loans is taken for granted in the developed world we have decided to undertake a small loan with a local to purchase a "scooter".  This is a small loan with an agreed repayment schedule each month. The idea is we help but the capital for the loan is repaid, allowing us to use that money again and again.

Sok Mong and his micro financed "scooter" (moto)

We have undertaken one such project several years ago with our own personal money and that has so far proven successful, we hope this continues into the future !

English classes at Goodwill Center

While in Cambodia during 2012 and working at the Goodwill Center we identified, with the help of the Khmer teachers, approximately sixty young children who wanted to learn English but did not have that opportunity. We hired a teacher and paid his wages for the first year and the English classes have been hugely successful. The UK charity who started the Center are having difficulty with fundraising this year so we have agreed to pay the teachers wages for the foreseeable future. 

Sambath 

Donors

Locally, the Lavery family have recently come on board with regular donations. Many thanks for your generosity. It is the committment from regular donors like the Lavery family who make it possible to continue with supporting the English classes and other projects which are ongoing. Also a thank you to Tony Broderick & Deb Repschlager and family for their recent spontaneous donation, as well as Trevor's mother, Ann Smith in Brisbane for her's.  We are always humbled and thankful for the generosity of all the donors.

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Childrens Clothing Donations

We will be travelling to Cambodia at the end of March and will be visiting the villages and organisations that your wonderful donations have helped support. We are seeking donations of childrens clothes to take to the poorer villages. These people are mostly undernourished so the older children are also very small and the weather is warm all year. This means that small items and no jackets etc are best.

Contact Toni on cookie1616@gmail.com to arrange collection if you live locally in the Clarence Valley.

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Art... not Garfunkel

Art 'n stuff.

The art from the Goodwill Centre arrived back in Australia, you may remember a small project we undertook to take the opportunity to show the children of our local community what it was like for children in Cambodia.  They exchanged artwork and pre printed postcards.

Toni was asked by the Principal to present the art to the children and explain some of the intricacies. It was well received and we'll continue with a similar project next year.

A few photos of Toni with the kids at Nymboida School

Mountain Bike Ride Donations

We had a social ride of local Northern NSW mountain bikers at our place the other week.  Several regular faces showed up but numbers were down on previous years, probably because of the hail and thunderstorm the day before.  The ground was so dry that it soaked right in but many assumed it was a no goer.  Those that did show got to enjoy the trails and they all gave generously spontaneously to the fund. We were, as always, humbled by their generosity.  In particular, Geoff and Ryan Gilchrist (Jaye was out ill) Saul and Bregje Thompson, Tony Broderick and Deb Repschlager  You can read more about the ride here

Ryan Gilchrist , followed closely by Dad, Geoff

Local girl, Shiann

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