One year ago today, a new school building containing a library, classroom and latrines was inaugurated at Koh Kandal School. As a new school year resumes, it is good to know that a new a crop of students will be given greater opportunity to learn and grow in an improved educational environment. We wish them a happy year of studies and good luck in all their endeavours!

John Pilger’s documentary Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia. I bought a copy of this video on DVD in Phnom Penh and found it to be very insightful.

Also very informative, ARTE France’s documentary about Tuol Sleng Prison (better known as S21), featuring interviews and archive footage. S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (split into two parts):

Another good two-part set of videos I picked up in Cambodia is The Prince and the Prophecy and Cambodia/Kampuchea by Australian filmmaker James Gerrand. I found an [unfortunately] incomplete version of The Prince and the Prophecy on YouTube, while a near-complete version of Cambodia/Kampuchea is posted below:

A final video not about Cambodian history but rather addressing the problem of deforestation in Cambodia. As part of the Vanguard documentary series, Current produced this piece entitled Forest of Ecstasy.
In the video, correspondent Adam Yamaguchi explains how demand for the party drug Ecstasy is directly related to deforestation in Cambodia. He follows Forest Rangers as they search for make-shift factories set up to extract Safrole oil from rare Mreah Prew Phnom trees in the Cardamom mountains.

- P.V.

“I know [LWF] has a big impact in the area, and so I’m hoping to see more of that later today,” is the last thing I say in the video. After this video was shot, we ate lunch at a house a few hundred meters away, and then drove to check the progress of an irrigation dam that LWF is helping local farmers with. We also visited with local residents, including the head of the village council, and bought some locally-grown, chemical-free produce, before heading back to Phnom Penh.

- P.V.

Click here to download the full 2009 Annual Report (PDF/~4.3MB)

Click here to visit LWF Cambodia

Good friend Heike Kindermann in Dresden, Germany (head of talent agency Agentur HEADS) organized a night of great entertainment and cool raffle prizes to benefit the Koh Kandal School Project. The event was held on January 29 and raised €950 thanks to Heike’s efforts and the generous organizations that donated prizes (including a Trabant safari!). The funds will go directly to Cambodia to make a difference in rural school children’s lives. To Heike and everyone involved: Herzlichen Dank for the support!

Interesting Dresden connection: LWF Cambodia’s Sam Inn (Deputy Representative) lived in Dresden for multiple years while completing his Ph.D at TU Dresden. He speaks excellent German and delivered a dissertation in 2002 on the social impact of forest management in the Third World viewed through the example of Cambodia (Gesellschaftliche Probleme der Forstverwaltung in der Dritten Welt, dargestellt am Fallbeispiel Kambodschas).

Click ‘Read More’ to view photos from the Tombola Party event.

LWF Communications Coordinator Leak Ratna recently visited Koh Kandal school to see the library in use and talk to the principal about how the recent facilities improvements have impacted the lives of the students. Really great footage of the students in the classroom and library, thank you Ratna!

Leak Ratna is LWF Cambodia’s communications coordinator. Having many years experience in journalism, he now works closely with LWF project managers and facilitators on the ground to record and promote the initiatives of LWF in Cambodia.

For some background information and maps, please click ‘Read More’.

I neglected to include a map in the video. Here is a map of Cambodia:

And a closer view of where I traveled. Koh Kandal village is in Chieb commune, roughly 50km southwest of Kampong Chhnang City in Tuek Phos District of Kampong Chhnang Province:

Here is a copy of the speech I delivered at the ceremony:

Your Excellency, Deputy Provincial Governor, Dauk Sothea

District Governor,

Provincial and District Department Leaders,

Local Authorities,

Dr. Sam Inn, LWF Deputy Representative,

LWF project staff, Parents, Students, ladies and gentlemen, 

In April 2008, my mother and father visited this school together with our friends Marcus Busch and Margaret Sadler, who were volunteering with LWF at the time. They met teachers and students and spent time speaking with families in the area. My mother was so touched by her visit that the next day she went out in the morning to buy books in Phnom Penh to send back to this school. Four months later, my mother passed away in the hospital – the cancer had come back and it was too late to do anything. The morning after she passed, my father thought warmly about the day he and my mother spent here and thought “what if?”: “‘What’ if we could do something for that school in memory of Maureen?” And now, we are here today to inaugurate this building.   

This building is very important to me and my family, but more important for the families and students in this area. My mother believed strongly in the power of education to change lives. She was a teacher and spent her life trying to be a better teacher, and help other teachers to improve. She loved children very much, and saw the many different ways they could show talent and promise. She believed every child has the potential to grow, develop and succeed and every child should have the chance to do so. I am sure she would be pleased with this library and classroom and the books inside.  

My father was also struck by the powerful kindness of the people here and the joy in the children’s eyes when they were at school. Although he could not be here today, I know he is so happy that we were able to put this project together with LWF so efficiently in order to make a difference in people’s lives.  

In Canada, where I am from, it is common for people to donate money to charity in memory of a loved one who has died. Our friends and relatives have been so generous and supportive of this project – more so than my father and I ever dreamed. We thought we could buy some bicycles and books to help the students at this school, but with the overwhelming support we received, it turned out we could do more:

1 building construction with 2 classes (1 class for learning and one class for library) include 3 latrines valued at USD 19,959.00

School and library furniture and 2,509 reading books worth USD 6,752.00

130 bikes for the poorest students worth a total of USD 4,289.00

So I must say a huge thank you to our friends from all over North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia who have allowed this project to become a reality.  

Of course, money is only one piece. Without the support and hard work of LWF Cambodia, we would not be here today, standing in front of this beautiful new building. In particular, I must thank: Lor Bunnath, project manager, Sam Inn, Deputy Representative, Leak Ratna, Communications Coordinator and all of the other project staff who were involved.  

I would also like to extend my respect and thanks to:

The Deputy Provincial Governor of Kampong Chhnang Province H.E. Dauk Sothea, The Tuek Phos District Governor, Chiefs and deputies of Provincial Technical Departments, District, Schools, and the local authorities here.  

Finally, I want to thank the parents and students for welcoming my parents so warmly over one year ago, and welcoming me the same way today. I am so happy to be able to be here and share this moment with you.  

I must sincerely thank Leak Ratna who did not appear in the video because he was the videographer, deftly managing three cameras at once. Aukun! He is part of the team of consummate, thoughtful professionals that make up LWF Cambodia. It was a great pleasure to get to know Leak Ratna, Lor Bunnath, Sam Inn, Sim Kimsan, Horn Chanthorn, David Mueller and others and see how they implement empowerment and development strategies which focus wholly on the concrete needs of the rural poor in Cambodia. Please have a look at their website to read Ratna’s reports on current efforts.

I am freshly back from Cambodia, where I attended the inauguration of the new facilities at Koh Kandal school one week ago today. A great experience to visit Cambodia for the first time, meet the people and get to know the deep cultural roots and recent history of the country more closely. It was also a good chance for me to see rural development and empowerment initiatives at work with my own eyes. I plan to put together a short video to encapsulate the trip with more precision. In the meantime, here is a selection of photos from the Oct. 1 inauguration ceremony:

At the inauguration I was presented with a Cambodian medal for nation building. I would like to share this with the hundreds of people who made memorial donations to make the project at Koh Kandal school a reality. Thank you.

PV

*Top photo from Rasmei Kampuchea, Cambodia’s largest newspaper.
See the article in Khmer (PDF) or read the English version at LWF Cambodia.
Other photos courtesy of Leak Ratna, LWF Communications Coordinator