Feeling good in Cambodia

[Shoeless]

I just got a note today from MolsonX stating he is making a donation of his pay for writing in the Fantasy Hockey Guide this summer. He directed it to the work I do here in Cambodia, with disabled kids.

Support like this makes a huge difference in the lives of these kids who live isolated by geography and by poverty. Support like this encourages me because I know I am not alone in driving towards a better world for these kids.

Just so awesome, MolsonX - thanks for caring.

Shoeless

[Excelsior]

I do not know MolsonX but he's +1 in my books.

Very generous act and an example for all of us. Glad it encourages you in your work too Shoeless.

[GretzkysMullet]

So cool, thumbs up MolsonX!

[Pengwin7]

Great stuff to both Shoeless & MolsonX - little contributions can be big differences.

[reeveta]

I just got a note today from MolsonX stating he is making a donation of his pay for writing in the Fantasy Hockey Guide this summer. He directed it to the work I do here in Cambodia, with disabled kids.

Support like this makes a huge difference in the lives of these kids who live isolated by geography and by poverty. Support like this encourages me because I know I am not alone in driving towards a better world for these kids.

Just so awesome, MolsonX - thanks for caring.

Shoeless

I know you have posted before but could you give a refresher as to the kind of work that you are doing there.

[Magicstew]

Great job Shoeless - but then you are a good Manitoba boy
Karma to you and MolsonX

[Dobber]

I do not know MolsonX but he's +1 in my books.

Very generous act and an example for all of us. Glad it encourages you in your work too Shoeless.

He's Dallas Guzzwell, who pens Wild West every Monday. Absolutely a great gesture

[Shoeless]

Hey Tom,

Not sure I have ever posted a description of what I do here. Let me give you a very brief overview.

2010 - co-founded a free school in a very poor village. Now over 200 kids with a breakfast program, Khmer and English literacy programs, medical and dental. a school farm, clean water for the village, etc., etc. Going strong.

2011 - founded a micro-finance operation focusing on the most marginalized women and persons with disabilities. Unlike any other micro finance I know, we are staffed only by Khmer volunteers, our interest rate is the lowest in the industry at 5%. It's working - can always use more capital because the demand outstrips supply - but we do what we can and lots of good stories about folks climbing slowly out of poverty.

Been sponsoring a single parent family for the past four years - all 5 kids in school and doing well, helped mom get into employment, upgraded housing, etc. Oldest boy now in first year law school in Phnom Pehn and sis is graduating next month from high school and heading there to medical school. Education is the answer long term, there is really no other way out for these folks.

I raise funds for the Cambodia Diabetes Association, particularly for their mobile clinics. 8000 people died last year in Cambodia from diabetes related causes compared to 1000 from HIV and less than 1000 from Malaria. It's all about lack of money and information - people with money get treated, people without - well, they die.

I do pro bono consulting and training to many small NGO's in the areas of strategic planning, capacity building, leadership, transparency and accountability - I have two terrific partners in that work, a Khmer woman, who sorts out the cross cultural stuff and an Englishman who is a marketing and communications wizard.

I run a free English Teacher training program on the weekends for Khmer teachers, from outlying village schools. Primarily I provide them with supplementary materials to support the curriculum and teach them how to apply them. As this grows, I am thinking I need to set up a Skype network of trainers from across the globe.

Presently helping a Khmer restaurant owner and his wife develop a literacy fund that will supply library books to outlying village schools - mostly Khmer titles as English in the rural areas is very limited, unlike Siem Reap town. Neither went past grade 6 in school and now that they have a decent business going, they want to give back to the community, but really didn't know how. The program will be called the Hungry Monkey.

Couple of months ago, a friend from Holland and I started a free yoga program for Khmer women and that's gaining steam - lucky to have volunteer certified instructors helping out there. Plans in the works to set up a world class adaptive yoga center here - grinding out discussion with ING, the Dutch Bank for major corporate sponsorship - fingers crossed.

This week, I launched Access Siem Reap, an action organization to promote improvements in access to jobs, housing, education and community participation for persons with disabilities here. They are treated like and live like dogs. Going to be doing a lot of media stuff with that (in fact have a film team going out this coming weekend to do an interview with the mom of the kid that Smack and MolsonX have kindly supported) and planning a major event for World Disability Day on December 3rd. Looking at developing an Accessibility Rating System for the Tourist Industry here and opening up a jobs office.

And finally as a clinical psychologist, I serve the expat community here - but that is a paid service. Hardly pays the bills - half the expat population are drunks/druggies or pervs who are hardly interested in sorting things out and the other half have their act together.

I'm missing a few things but my mom always told me the way to avoid being boring is to learn when to shut up.

Cheers
Shoeless

[MarmotKing]

Keep the good work going guys.

[Zorro]

Now that is very generous MolsonX, great job buddy!!