| Back to School |
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| November 1st was an exciting day in our villages. Like everywhere around the world the first day of school is special. Children don new clothes, sharpen their pencils and tuck new notebooks in their bags. For many children in our schools whose parents make too little to afford the mandatory uniforms, shoes and school supplies this is only possible because of the CCDO and our wonderful partner iHerb who step in every year to fill the gaps. |
| A total of 500 uniforms and 250 shoes were distributed to 250 poor students in both primary schools and secondary school. We are well aware of the shame of coming to school in dirty clothes, so we make sure each student has 2 pairs so one can be in the wash. It is a struggle for the mothers to keep the clothes clean, washing them by hand with limited access to soap. |
| Our 72 preschool munchkins again got their cute red T-Shirts & Uniforms that encourage them to Play-Learn-Dream. The CCDO also provided study materials to 950 students in the Tapang and Kiriminoun schools. |
School Opening Ceremony |
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| To make the first day really special and inspiring CCDO co-facilitated the opening school ceremony. Almost 1,000 students and their parents, from both Tapang and Kiriminoun, attended this event which promoted the importance of education. Speakers from our Cambodian board and local luminaries urged the community to participate in their childs learning experience and to continue supporting them as they attend school. Students prepared a skit which portrayed a young students love of school and his determination in convincing their parents it was beneficial to his future. Like these students, The CCDO is excited for the new school year and is looking forward to working with students to achieve their goals! |
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| High School Students |
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| This year, thanks to all of you, generous sponsors, we have a total of 23 high school scholarship students who have excelled in their classes! The CCDO has provided them two sets of uniforms and stationery to support their studies. Students who were experiencing transportation challenges were also given bicycles to help them get to school. |
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| 2 of our Teachers Graduate |
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| Congratulations to our English teachers, Bunsrak Pan and Sothea Phonn, on receiving their Bachelor degrees in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)! We are very proud of their accomplishments and we are so excited to have them in our classrooms with new knowledge and ideas redesigning curriculum. |
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| Women Community Survey |
| The CCDO is relaunching its Women's Health Program this fall! We want to be mindful of not imposing our (Western) ideas and telling Cambodian women what they need. So we are asking young mothers in 10 villages in a form of a survey. Our surveys measure knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding ante-natal care visits, child development and health, and family planning, among other topics. We will evaluate and analyze these surveys so that we can fill the gaps in knowledge and tailor our workshop to the specific needs of the women in the community. |
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| Vote for the CNN Hero |
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| Special plea to vote for the CNN Hero, one of our partners on the ground who supplies free soap to our health and hygiene programs. Samir Lakhani of Eco Soap Bank has been making a huge difference by collecting used hotel soap bars and recycling them into new soaps for the local communities. He has established a chain of local women selling the soaps to have their own income. Please vote before 12 Dec. |
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| Thanks to Our Fabulous Donors |
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| SUNSET ROTARY, BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL, ILLINOIS raised funds for 10 water wells |
| Maria Rosa, a longtime CCDO supporter, is a member of Sunset Rotary in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Maria approached Paul & Noeli Anderson who then fired up their fellow Rotary members to support our WASH program with 10 wells. We salute their efforts and have already constructed all 10 wells. |
| Our long time partner Lantern Projects and founder Gail Uilkema again came through helping us add more protein into our breakfast program by raising $1119 that will buy 1800 cans of fish to add to the morning meal of rice and vegetables. |
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| A special thanks to Laura Gisborne and her Path to Freedom conference. Our VP, Ksenija Olmer travelled to Los Angeles and gave a presentation to the group of special entrepreneurs and small business owners with a big heart. |
| Jake Seemann, a former volunteer, also shared photos and told first hand of our work on the ground. We are so impressed with Laura's guidance of the group towards incorporating the principle of giving into their business model. We received pledges in the amount of $6,600. |
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