Friday 7 August 2015

When nourished and nurtured the tree bear's fruit......



'We receive good from expected and unexpected sources. We are unlimited beings, accepting from unlimited sources, in an unlimited way...we are blessed beyond our fondest dreams.' E. Honey

After a busy week, I have found a quiet place to just sit still and reflect on the past couple of months. So much has changed, so much has happened and so many experiences to be grateful for and so many people to have been fortunate to meet.

Most of all, I smile at how both YOU and the Universe have provided on so many levels in assisting to make another person's day a happier one.

Since leaving Siem Reap, Cambodia 6 weeks ago, I am still humbled and proud of the work that continues to be accomplished there by Barb, Chris, Margo, Steve and so so many others.

Here is an update of how some of our projects are going.

You will be pleased to know that the progress on David's house, although slow has been productive and is nearing finish.

The roof on David's house is finally being constructed. Unfortunately, there was a delay due to shortage of funds but thanks to Margo Mannix and your contributions to the KICK fund, we have cobbled the money together and so the roof of sheeting was constructed this week which means the family can come in out of the rain. Thanks to everyone who contributed and to the team and volunteers who organised several working bee weekends to assist the family with the building. Although it was tough labor, alot of fun was had by all. David e mailed me the photos last night and he was very excited to report how happy he and his family are but mostly how grateful he is to you all and is thankful for your support and generosity to him and his family.  




More construction projects have also been completed at Prosh's school. Not only do they have the pig 'farm' up and running but now they also have a Chicken coup thanks to a working bee a few weeks ago at Prosh's school. One of Barb and Chris's Khmer friends (Chut Hout) went out to assist them and it proved to be invaluable. Several of the teachers from the school were there and that it was great to be able to work with everyone in such great spirits. Hopefully the eggs will start to flow soon and will then be used to feed the children and/or sold for funds to assist with costs at the school. This will be the final part of the "farm" project. It means that the pigs, vegetable garden, compost and the chickens will all be producing income/protein for the school. 





Another amazing donation and contribution to the school was the installation of solar panels, donated and constructed by the 3 Monkeez Australain Solar company. After a few challenges the solar panels are up and running thanks to the generous time and effort of the people from 3 Monkeez organisation who came to the school and assisted in the implementation of the panels.  This initiative will make a huge difference to the school and village providing free electricity into the future. We were fortunate to have a group arrive to volunteer at the school from Golburn...one was an electrician with skills in solar 
smile emoticon the universe provided



Of course the art classes are a huge success and continue to improve each day. We are thankful to the volunteers who come and help out and we are proud of several local boys who have also volunteered to help out. The children at Daro's school love the classes and being creative. The classes are now getting up to 30 children a class and it is always a great pleasure to see their smiling faces...the affection and welcome they give is unconditional. The team are now starting to look at a breakfast club to feed the children at least one meal a day at Daro and Prosh's schools. 




Barb and Margo Mannix's art classes not only encourage children to be creative but through art their objective is to teach english and in the past weeks the children can identify all their colours and shapes in English! They get so excited on arriving at class. 
Using resources given by Zac Lurz and Robert Viselli the KICK team have also introduced phonics classes....they have more than 20 sounds mastered in just a few sessions. What an exciting and successful achievement by all!!!




It seems that there is only standing room at art class on Fridays at Daro's school. There is always a great team on hand to support the kids. Margo and Barb were joined by Da and Zac. Zac, Margo and Da stayed on to help with the older class as well...some great work was done by the kids.

Another initiative of the team was to purchase Sewing machines and try and develop some textile products that can be sold for profit for the schools.  The first of 2 sewing machines were purchased from the KICK funds to kick start the social enterprise that will support the school and village women.
Thanks to the wonderful Da the team were taken to a shop behind Selours market.
The machines are very old but we were assured that they work really well.....we had faith.
After negotiating a price for the pedal driven machine of 130 USD. This may seem expensive in Aussie terms but we had done our research and knew that we could pay over 180 USD.
We were then told that for another $10 we could have an electric motor for when we have power...after Barb testing the pedals we decided that might be a good idea smile emoticon
We were offered 12 months warranty with the machine and free delivery. The free delivery came with installing the machine at Barb and Chris's home.
smile emoticon Watch this space for the first item off the production line..we hope !!!





So now it was time to buy thread and material. The team ventured back to Psaar Lor market (which apparently means high market, market :)) The challenge was to not only find thread and material to make cool ties but also some scrap material to make prayer flags and for the children's art and sewing classes. The team were able to get material from 3 different women who all refused payment for the material even though we know they are poor and work at the market every day!! Got to love the Cambodian spirit that support the education of their children.



Currently the KICK team are Looking for partner schools in Australia smile emoticon..... We are looking to partner our Cambodian schools with ones in Australia. The idea would be to connect through Skype and other mediums so that the children here could communicate with classes there. The hope is that this will raise awareness and may lead to fund raising activities that can support the schools here. Your thoughts and suggestions would be welcome.




We are grateful for your support and we are happy to share with you how your contributions continue to make a positive difference to the lives of many in several communities in Siem Reap. With heart felt gratitude and thanks to you all and we hope you are enjoying these updates of the progress and achievements of our program.






smile emoticon

Jordan helped out with art classes at Daro's school this week. The children loved the class being creative with outlines of their hands. We are still getting up to 30 children a class and it is always a great pleasure to see their smiling faces...the affection and welcome they give is unconditional. We are starting to look at a breakfast club to feed the children at least one meal a day at Daro and Prosh's schools. Thanks Jordan...hurry back the children will miss you

Jordan helped out with art classes at Daro's school this week. The children loved the class being creative with outlines of their hands. We are still getting up to 30 children a class and it is always a great pleasure to see their smiling faces...the affection and welcome they give is unconditional. We are starting to look at a breakfast club to feed the children at least one meal a day at Daro and Prosh's schools. Thanks Jordan...hurry back the children will miss you

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