CamKids

CamKids' Partnership with GCDF

2012-02-10T10:00:00.012Z

At the end of 2011, the Charity entered into an agreement with The Global Child Dental Fund (GCDF), the world’s leading global dental charity for children, to work together on a number of projects in Cambodia. Our first programme with GCDF will be SEAL CAMBODIA, which was launched in January 2012 and co-funded by CamKids and GCDF. We have partnered to provide 60,000 children with dental sealants over the next three years. The treatment will initially be targeting 6-7 year olds, but could be extended after the initial programme to over 100,000 children.

Sealing provides each child with a greater protection against dental caries and oral pain in the long run because the sealant helps to strengthen teeth in children when they are at their most susceptible to decay. Studies show a 2/3 reduction in decay in children who have had their teeth sealed.

Each of the following SEAL CAMBODIA delivery partners will carry out this dental sealing, together treating a total of 20,000 children each year:

One-2-One Cambodia
The Cambodian Ministry of Health
Faculty of Odonto-Stomatology, University of Health Sciences
Faculty of Dentistry, International University
The Cambodian Dental Association
Cambodia World Family (CWF)

This is expensive work that requires supplies and logistics. We have wonderful and committed help from many Cambodian volunteers, as well as visiting interns from abroad, but we still need funds to continue providing treatment for each of the children. £1 Sponsors one child for a year on the sealant programme - why not support the treatment of 10 children, or get your friends or work colleagues to chip in to treat 100!

If you would like to make a donation to help fund this project, please go to: www.bit.ly/singdonate or www.bit.ly/regdonate if you would like to make a regular donation. Please enter "SEAL", in the Project field. Alternatively, please email medical@camkids.org for more information.

2012-02-09T14:33:00.004Z

You can raise money for CamKids (at no cost you) every time you shop online with 100's of brands including Play.com, John Lewis, Amazon and Dixons. If you sign up by 31st March 2012, Give as you Live will donate an extra £5 to CamKids when you spend £10 or more - www.giveasyoulive.com/join/camkids

Who Will Children's Village

2012-01-23T16:00:00.000Z

We thought that you might like to see some photos from the Who Will Children's Village, including their newly painted children's houses. Thank you to all of the volunteers who put in a great deal of hard work in the baking sun to chip away the old render and repaint the houses.

Progress on CCC school in Kampong Speu

2012-01-16T16:00:00.003Z

Work has started in earnest at our new project in a remote part of Kampong Speu province. We are working with three village communities to build a school and medical facility.

The school will run kindergarten and grade one and two classes at which time the children are old enough to travel the distance to the nearest government school. Future plans will comprise of a range of community activities including running literacy classes for the adults in the villages.

As mentioned in our last newsletter this falls under the umbrella of our new MEND initiative (Medical, Education, Nutrition, Development). See our latest Newsletter for further details.

IU Dental Clinic Report

2011-12-21T17:00:00.000Z

Over the past three months the IU Dental Clinic has seen over 508 of children from 17 different orphanages and NGOs all over Phnom Penh. Many of the children came from Steung Mean Chay – an incredibly poor community where families live in slum conditions next to Phnom Penh’s old municipal dump site. For the majority of these children, it is the first time they have received any dental care. All of this work is funded by CamKids.

As you can imagine, many of the children have very significant dental problems. At the initial examination, most children are listed as having ‘poor oral hygiene’ and their problems include cavities, tooth pain, abscess, bleeding gums and gum disease. The IU team has been able to provide a wide range of treatments including: extraction, filling, scaling, root canal treatment, fissure sealants and topical fluoride. For a few, they have also been able to provide surgery (usually for impacted painful wisdom teeth), crowns and partial dentures.

The aim of the IU staff is not only to treat the children’s immediate problems, but to educate them on how to look after their teeth. The students training with the IU Dental Clinic take turns each day at giving oral health education to groups of children. There is a section of the clinic with mirrors and basins where children can be taken to have supervised tooth brushing. Each child is given a free toothbrush after their visit.

A few of the older children have severe cavities in their permanent teeth. It is often a difficult decision whether to extract, or try to save the tooth with costly root canal treatment and a large filling or crown. Where this involves the front teeth, the IU team does as much as it can to save these teeth so that the children can have a nice smile. Rotten or missing front teeth can place the child or adolescent at a lifelong disadvantage, as well as impacting on their self esteem, ability to make friends or get a job later.

One of the IU’s patients is 15 year old Dalin. Dalin sadly lost her parents due to HIV/AIDS when she was 8 and moved in with her aunt at the Steung Mean Chay dump site, living in extremely poor circumstances. Dalin is currently in grade 8 and aspires to become a medical doctor so she tries to study hard.

Dalin was brought to the IU Dental Clinic for treatment because she had toothache, an abscess and significant fractures to her front teeth. Treatments and oral health education were given by IU dental students and after treatment, she was ecstatic with the result. The opportunity to receive such treatment and care for the first time in her life left Dalin feeling extremely fortunate and grateful to all those who made it possible.

Your support means that we can not only treat hundreds of children and free them from pain but provide valuable practical training for the students of the IU clinic.

If you are are interested in finding out how you can help children like Dalin, please email us or make an one-off online donation here or a regular donation here.

CamKids Winter 2011 Newsletter

2011-12-12T17:30:00.004Z

CamKids In The Community

Strangely, it remains a common misconception that CamKids' work is confined to one orphanage, as we still get asked the question “How is the orphanage going?”. The fact is, we do support 4 children’s centres, to varying degrees and in different ways, but we also do a vast amount of work in the wider community, supporting programs to help keep vulnerable families and communities together, as well as our increasing education and medical programs. We thought, with Christmas approaching, the theme of our newsletter should be “Save the Family. “

One of the major criticisms of orphanages in Cambodia is that the majority of children have some sort of parentage - they are economic orphans. This is not a situation unique to Cambodia but it is a very real problem. With little infrastructure and no help for poor families, it is a viable and sometimes the only option for parents, single parents or extended family, to put their children into orphanages and children's centres to give them the opportunity of an education, healthcare and even the most basic of needs - food.

It is a driving ambition of CamKids to not only help those centres that already exist, but to help lessen the desire for families to look for alternative living arrangements for their children, by providing, or at least, helping to provide their communities with facilities and opportunities for those families to stay together as a unit. A nice sentiment, but how, with your help, do we make this a reality?

In this edition of our newsletter are practical examples of how this is happening, how it can continue to happen and who is helping in the pursuit of these goals.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

In order to fund our the projects shown in this Newsletter, we need to raise £20,000 to build the CC School, £5,000 for Raing Te Kindergarten and a further £5,000 for furniture, equipment and setting up costs.

£15 will pay for a solar light for family use at night, £30 will pay for a desk and bench for the school, £300 will fund the cost of digging a well and £400 will pay for solar equipment to give the school light at night for evening classes.

If you would like to make a donation to help fund these great projects please go to:

www.bit.ly/singdonate.

Regular payments are our life blood and enable us to commit to supporting programmes like this for the long term. If you feel able to commit to a regular donation to CamKids, the following is a guide to how far your money will go:

£10 a month will pay for School Supplies and Consumables

£20 a month will pay for a Junior Teacher’s Salary

£30 a month will pay for a Teacher’s Salary

£100 a month will pay for all the School’s Running Costs

Please go to:

www.bit.ly/regdonate

to make a regular donation or e-mail finance@camkids.org to find out other ways of making a tax-deductible donation in the UK, US or Australia.

To access the Newsletter, please click Here or Contact Us and we will send you a copy by e-mail. If you sign up to our Newsletter below, you will receive future copies by e-mail every 6 months (your details will not be used for commercial or any other purpose).

Thank you once again to all of our donors and supporters, without whom none of this would have been possible. If you would like to find out how to support our work, please Contact Us.

The CamKids Trustees

Subscribe To CamKids' Twice Yearly Email Newsletter

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Spend and Raise Money For CamKids With Give As You Live

2011-12-07T17:00:00.000Z

Brighton Marathon - Final Place Available

2011-11-30T17:30:00.001Z

The last CamKids place is up for grabs for the 2012 Brighton Marathon on Sunday 15th April 2012.

The minimum sponsorship amount is £500 per runner and we already have 12 runners signed up for the event . As an example of how far this money will go, £500 will pay for the running costs of one of our rural schools for a year.

Participants will receive a CamKids T-shirt, Running Vest and Charity Wristbands. We will help you set up a Fundraising Page on JustGiving to collect any sponsorship money, which you can share with friends and family by email or on Facebook.

We have a very short deadline to confirm the places with the organisers. If you are interested, please email: events@camkids.org.

HIV Dental Clinic in Phnom Penh

2011-11-29T18:15:00.000Z

CamKids are pleased to report that we are helping to fund Happy Clinic – a dental clinic established in April this year and operated by One-2-One. The Clinic is located in the grounds of the Happy Tree orphanage in Phnom Penh. The orphanage cares exclusively for children with HIV/Aids and the Happy Clinic is the only clinic in Cambodia to provide dental care to children with HIV/Aids.

Happy Clinic is staffed by a dentist and two dental nurses and provides services not only to the Happy Tree children but also to street children and children from other poor communities.

Between August and September, Happy Clinic examined 322 children from various children’s centres including the ‘River Kids’ organisation and a very poor community called ‘6km Community’ located just outside of Phnom Penh.

The oral health knowledge and consequently the oral hygiene of these children and their carers is very poor, resulting in much dental decay and a great deal of pain and suffering. Happy Clinic was able to provide a range of treatments including 160 fillings, 193 fluoride treatments, 177 sealants and 87 extractions.

The Happy Clinic team strongly believe in prevention before cure and an important part of their work is the provision of oral health education and practical demonstrations are given by the dental team to all children attending the clinic. They also visit other orphanages and communities and provide information on how to maintain oral health and general hygiene.

Happy Clinic staff have been visiting children from ‘6km Community’, a slum community outside Phnom Penh. One-2-One came in to contact with this community through one of it’s dental assistants, who used to be a resident. The community is extremely poor, the majority of the children do not attend school and are left unattended while their parents work. Throughout August, One-2-One took many of the community’s children to Happy Clinic and provided them with dental treatment, many more children still need to be treated and will be seen in the coming months.

Part of a personal message from Dr Kim Sreang the dentist at Happy Clinic:

“The most common problems I have were decay on the permanent teeth, however, after they have been to Happy Clinic I can see that their oral health status has changed a lot. For preventative care: every time children come to Happy Clinic, dental assistant give them oral hygiene instruction and I have applied fluoride vanish which makes the teeth strong and prevents the teeth from decaying, and now I can see that they have a better smile. The thing is when are in pain they cannot speak up, they are shy and embarrassed which make them scared of other people, and then cannot learn well from the school.

I am very happy and enjoy working with the children; I am committed and will try my best to work well with the children and their carers and directors. I am grateful that I can help my own people. Children are the best and brightest future for Cambodia. Thank you CamKids for your partnership. We protect the children together”

Here is a personal story from Srey Nak, one of the children from River Kids:

“My name is Srey Nak, I am14 years old. This is my first that I can have chance to visit Happy Clinic. I got toothache and I could not drink, eat and sleep well. It is really distracted me from studying, and sometime I missed school, because I cannot concentrate in the class, which is really difficult for me. Now my teeth no longer in pain, I am so happy that I can chew the food well. I can now go to school and concentrate. I would like to say thank so much to CamKids and One-2-One for saving my teeth and helping me with my life.”

EYC Summer Camp

2011-10-28T20:00:00.000+01:00

EYC was given a great opportunity to send 150 students to an adventure camp in the jungle of north Cambodia over the past few months (25 per week for 6 weeks). The feedback from the students has been a very positive, as this was a life experience unlike anything they've ever done before. They can't seem to say enough good things and when they return they are bursting with enthusiasm.

The facility, called Jombok Hoas, was provided free of charge, but the total cost for transportation was significant and funds were not available to pay for the bus rental. CamKids therefore offered to cover most of the transportation costs and our students have been travelling across Cambodia to allow them to take part in this great opportunity.

The following is a letter from an EYC student:

Hello! My name is Choum Sopheak. When I went to the adventure camp I was happy, excited and a little afraid. Now I want to tell everybody about my interesting experience there with the other students from EYC.

When I came to Jombok Hoas, I thought that this place was going to be more like an army camp. But when I stayed there and participated in the activities, it was much different to what I thought. Through the many experiences and the learning activities, this place has encouraged a greater consciousness and self confidence in me. Most activities have impacted my social life, my individuality and the people around me. Jombok Hoas is a place for helping people to work together, to build teams and to forgive the other people in the group. All the games always create knowledge, new ideas and we gain experience from it. They showed us methods to solve the problems that we face in our lives, like studying, family, and working.

I learned a lot of creative ideas in leadership, relationships and how to work with co-workers in organisations. Some of the activities were very scary, but I still managed to do them, because of the facilitators and my friends, who always encouraged me. I even managed to survive the high ropes course. Thanks to EYC, CamKids and the organisers of Jambok Hoas who offered the opportunity for me to get more knowledge and experience.

"Big Po" Community School in Takeo District

2011-10-05T13:30:00.002+01:00

Big Po community school is one of 15 locations where CamKids, in conjunction with the local NGO New Futures Organisation, operates rural schools in the Takeo region of Cambodia. CamKids funds all of the running costs of the 15 schools and is working with NFO to improve the quality of the teaching and the buildings where the teaching takes place. The following post is an extract from a report made by CamKids' local staff member, who regularly checks and monitors the schools.

Big Po is located in Pou village, Sambuor commune, Treang district, Takeo province. It is 12km from Takeo town and takes nearly one hour to get there, via the main road. Big Po opened in 2008 in a female teacher’s house in Pou village, for which she charges a nominal rent to use her house. None of the students are charged for the lessons and all of the books and other materials are provided free of charge by CamKids.

There are two English teachers who are qualified teachers at local State schools. One is a teacher in the Pou primary school and the other, a high school teacher. They are hired to teach English to the children after normal school hours, under the rural schools programme developed by NFO and CamKids. The wages which they earn supplement the low wages which are paid in the State schools and help to support their families. They usually teach about three hours per day from Monday to Friday in the afternoon (State schools usually only operate in the mornings). They are often helped by visiting foreign volunteers, which gives both the students and the teachers the opportunity to practice their spoken English and improve their accents.

During the State school vacations, the teaching schedule is changed, as the students are free all day. With the agreement of the Authorities, they move the lessons to the Pou primary school which is located in the village and is better for the children as there are more opportunities to learn and play.

The syllabus depends upon the age and ability of the group which is being taught. For example, some children learn from the Beginner New Headway syllabus, whilst others use Let’s Go Part One. The total number of students being taught in this community school is 116 at an annual cost of around $1,400 (£900) which equates to a cost per child of around $12 or £8. CamKids is also working to provide additional training for the teachers and has also established a teaching English by Phonics course, which all of the teaches have been instructed in, by a visiting educationalist from Australia.

If you would like to support this or any of our other education projects, please send an email to schools@camkids.org. A regular donation of £30 ($50) per month will pay the wages of one of the teachers at Big Po school and £20 per month ($30) will pay all of the costs for 30 children to attend school for a year.

The Al Murray CamKids Golf Classic V

2011-09-30T12:00:00.003+01:00

On July 15th, Effingham Golf Club hosted the Al Murray CamKids Classic V. This is the fifth consecutive year we have held the event and the third consecutive year it has been held at Effingham Golf Club. Steve Hoatson and all his staff were once again, professional and friendly and hosted another flawless day. This is one of the reasons why, in previous years, the golf day has always proven to be hugely popular, great fun and very successful as a fund raiser, allowing CamKids to continue, and expand on, its projects for children in Cambodia. This year was no exception.

Unlike last year, the weather was kind and everybody teed off in glorious sunshine and high spirits. Those spirits, although dampened at times by the golf, were continuously resurrected by the caravan of buggies, led by The Pub Landlord and partner in crime Adam Booker, delivering cold beer and snacks to all on the course. With the addition of the lovely Beccy, from Eye Candy Caddies, also selling refreshments as well as giving putting advise, the mood on the course remained buoyant.

In fact, to be fair, the quality of play this year was of a fairly good standard and after five years, the event is now actually beginning to resemble a golf tournament. Far more golfers than in previous years, graced the fairways with their presence. People were actually entering the clubhouse at the end of the day with smiles still on their faces, although I am sure some of those smiles were a reflection of the refreshments delivered throughout the day, rather than the golf scores.

In the evening, Al was once again merciless with his financial forfeits for supposed improprieties on the day, and his cajoling, badgering and quite frankly, harassment of the bidders in the auction, would definitely have been frowned upon on the floors at Sotheby's. However, for our purposes and for the entertainment of the room, it was pure gold. The auction surpassed expectations and CamKids is honoured and proud to report that the total profit from the day was in excess of £15,000!!!!!!!!!!!!! An amazing amount for which we, but more importantly, the children in Cambodia, are eternally grateful.

So many people help to make these days special, rewarding and successful, and to that end, special thanks must go to Al Murray, Adam Booker, Steve Hoatson and the team, Fullers and all the businesses and individuals who sponsored the day and donated prizes. The day simply would not happen without you all.

Thanks also need to be extended to Gail Taylor, Beccy, Big Bob, Lisa, Win and ALL the golfers on the day and guests who came for the evening. Thank you all for your support, humour, encouragement and faith.

Places for the 2012 Brighton Marathon

2011-09-30T09:00:00.003+01:00

CamKids has been offered some additional places for the 2012 Brighton Marathon. Public places have already sold out and very few charity places are still available. The event will take place on Sunday 15th April 2012.

The minimum sponsorship amount is £500 per runner and we already have 10 runners signed up for the event . As an example of how far this money will go, £500 will pay for the running costs of one of our rural schools for a year.

Participants will receive a CamKids T-shirt, Running Vest and Charity Wristbands and can set up a fundraising page on JustGiving, to make collecting sponsorship money easy.

We have a very short deadline to confirm the places with the organisers. If you are interested, please email: events@camkids.org by Monday 10 October.

UPDATE: We have now filled all of the places for this year. If you would like to put your name down for next year's event or are interested in taking part in any other fundraising event for CamKids, please email: events@camkids.org.

Give While You Spend

2011-08-01T18:00:00.001+01:00

CamKids has established a Fundraising page with Simple Fundraising, to enable our supporters to direct a portion of their spending with High Street Retailers and well-known brand names to CamKids. We earn commission on all sales made via this site and it doesn't cost you a thing.

There is absolutely no catch whatsoever - each of the companies that Simple Fundraising partner with have agreed to pay CamKids the stated commissions (look out for the £ symbol).

For example, if you shop for the following major brand names via this site, CamKids will earn the following commissions:

An order made with Amazon will earn us a minimum of 2.50%;
For each order with WH Smith, CamKids will earn 4% of the sales value;
CamKids will earn £40 from Direct Line for each home insurance policy sold via our web page;
We will earn £50 from Nationwide Building Society for each new mortgage; and
A new contract with Carphone Warehouse will earn CamKids £17.50;

and much more ……

Thank you for supporting CamKids

Happy Shopping !!

CamKids Summer 2011 Newsletter

2011-07-24T13:15:00.000+01:00

Thanks A Million!

Our latest Newsletter marks the passing of an important milestone for CamKids - we have now donated over $1 million to projects in Cambodia to improve the lives and reduce the suffering of 1,000's of children.

In accordance with our philosophy of transparency and full financial disclosure, the newsletter shows, in words, numbers and pictures, how your money has been spent over the past 4 years.

To access the Newsletter, please click Here or Contact Us and we will send you a copy by e-mail. If you sign up to our Newsletter below, you will receive future copies by e-mail every 6 months (your details will not be used for commercial or any other purpose).

Thank you once again to all of our donors and supporters, without whom none of this would have been possible. If you would like to find out how to support our work, please Contact Us.

The CamKids Trustees

Changing Lives - 2 Personal Stories

2011-07-11T16:00:00.000+01:00

In an earlier post, we reported on the work which CamKids and One-2-One are doing, to relieve pain and increase the quality of life for poor children in Cambodia, through our medical and dental programmes.

We thought that you might like to read some personal stories to illustrate the real effects which this work has on the lives of the children.

Both children were brought to the IU Dental Clinic from the Bong Poun NGO, whose aim is to help poor street children, especially those who make a living collecting garbage, to go back to school. The NGO mainly works at the Steung Meanchey dump site, Boeung Tompon slum and several other poor areas of the city.

Name: Sreynet – aged 13 years

My name is Sreynet. I’m studying in grade 5. I have 3 siblings, and I am the youngest in my family. Both of my parents passed away. My oldest sister is a hairdresser. My brother is a laborer, and my other sister still studies with me. I want to be a teacher. Now I’m living with my neighbors. I help them to prepare the meals to eat. I could not go to school before, because I had to work. Today I came to the IU dental clinic – this is the first time I have been to a dentist.

I had my teeth cleaned, a filling, and one tooth extracted. The student was very good, kind and gentle. He helped me to be not afraid. Now I am so happy because my teeth wont be painful any more. I would like to say thank you so much to CamKids and IU for helping me.

Name: Oum Savary – aged 16 years

Ashamed of his appearance, he would not smile and did not like to talk, in case anyone could see his teeth. He had been like this for several years and was so amazed that such a miracle could happen to him. He could not stop smiling and showing every one his new teeth. He says this is the best thing that could have happened to him. He wanted to thank CamKids and IU for making this possible.

If you are are interested in finding out how you can help children like Sreynet and Oum Savary, please email us or make an one-off online donation here or a regular donation here.

National Aerobics Champions

2011-07-03T09:05:00.002+01:00

Twenty-nine children from 6 orphanages belonging to the One-2-One / CamKids TLC Club participated in the National Aerobic Competition at the Olympic Stadium from May 18-21st 2011. The children competed in the Individual, Pair and Trio competitions and we were thrilled when two teams from the Happy Tree-HRB orphanage achieved 1st and 3rd places in the Level 1 Trio Competition! A huge thanks to our hard-working and dedicated team of sports coaches and helpers – Sarith, Makara, Rebekka, Srorn, and Thary.

As part of the programme it is also stressed to the children taking part, that sport is not about winning or losing, it is about the spirit of participation, team building, and good health. We were all encouraged to see that the children participating were very happy to have this sporting opportunity on the national stage, where they were able to show their ability and receive the cheers and applause of the spectators.

Dental Clinic Update

2011-06-21T14:00:00.003+01:00

In the past 12 months, CamKids has significantly increased its funding for projects aimed at relieving the pain and suffering of poor children and young adults, mainly through our joint work with the local medical and dental NGO, One-2-One.

CamKids established its first medical facility at an orphanage in Kampong Speu in 2006 and has since established medical facilities at a number of other organisations. Our projects with One-2-One include the funding of free treatment for poor children and orphans at the International University (IU) Hospital in Phnom Penh, the Ta Kmao clinic, a rural mobile dental / medical clinic, a weekly clinic at Canalside (see previous article) and we have just started a project to send 2 trained dental nurses into rural areas. In addition, CamKids funds the cost of the only dental clinic in Cambodia for HIV children.

The following is a recent report from One-2-One on the IU and Ta Kmao clinics' activities:

"During this quarter we continued to see children from 17 orphanages and NGOs from all over Phnom Penh. In addition, one NGO (“Who Will”) brought a busload of children from Kampong Chhnang Province. Some of the organizations are now bringing children for the second or third time, and it has been so encouraging to see that the children’s teeth have improved. No longer are many of these children in pain, with mouths full of rotting, abscessed teeth. Our use of topical fluorides and fissure sealants, along with basic treatment and oral health education, have been the main reasons for these marked improvements.

However, we are still seeing children from some newer orphanages and organizations, whose dental health is sometimes shocking to see. It is distressing when preschoolers are in pain or have swollen faces, or when teenage children have broken down or missing front teeth. A few of these older teenagers have needed crowns, root canal treatment or partial dentures and this has only been possible because of CamKids. The improvement in their health and appearance is sometimes remarkable.

The details of the 3 month period are summarized below:

Number NGOs and orphanages 18

Number of children seen 1,108

Number of fillings 480
Number of sealants 164
Number of extractions 422

Thank you again, CamKids, without whom this vital work could not be undertaken."

If you are are interested in making a donation to help us extend this extremely valuabe work, if you know any companies or organisations which might be interested in helping or if you have dental or medical skills and are planning a trip to Cambodia and would like to join the team on some of the visits, please email us.

Follow CamKids on Twitter

2011-06-01T18:00:00.000+01:00

Please follow CamKids on Twitter for up to date reports, photos and videos from our projects as well as news of fundraising events.

CamKids is funded entirely by donations and has absolutely no overhead, marketing or other costs - all of the services we need are provided by the Trustees or friends of the charity. Please spread the word by following @camkids and tweeting your followers.

5th Al Murray Golf Classic in aid of CamKids

2011-05-29T23:42:00.005+01:00

The 5th Al Murray Golf Classic, to benefit CamKids, will be held at Effingham Golf Club on 15th July 2011. Due to some late cancellations, we have a few team / individual places available, which will be sold on a first come, first served basis. We also have a few tickets for the evening meal and entertainment only. Pictures of last year's event can be seen: Here.

If you are interested in taking part, or would like to register for next year's event, please email: golf@camkids.org.

The Walkers & Talkers - Across the Divide 40K Walk

2011-05-18T11:17:00.004+01:00

CamKids would like to say a huge "Thank You" to all of the ladies who participated in the recent Walkers & Talkers - Across the Divide 40K Walk and raised £2,000 for CamKids.

"Yes, we made it, after 7 hours of exhausting walking in very difficult terrain – wooded, hilly, rocky, slippery, hot, sticky, and muddy walking. Worth every penny when we were greeted with our families and friends with champagne and picnics.

AND, it is even more worth while to see that we have raised approximately £6,000 for our three chosen charities: The Cambodian Children’s Charity, Pancreatic Cancer Action and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

We want to say an absolutely huge THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us through this venture. It is really appreciated.

With lots of love Louise, Lucinda, Davina, Diane, Elizabeth, Jayne, Julie and Maxine."

Donate to CamKids by Text Message

2011-05-10T12:05:00.018+01:00

CamKids can now receive donations in the UK by text message thanks to Vodafone's partnership with JustGiving. Vodafone is covering JustGiving's 5% fee on donations for two years and donations can be made by mobile phone from any network. There are no hidden costs and CamKids will receive every penny of your donation. As we have absolutely no administration costs or overheads, this means that 100% of your donation will go directly to helping some of the World's poorest children (128%, if you are a UK taxpayer and agree to the addition of Gift Aid).

To make a donation by text, simply send a text message with CAMB20 plus the donation amount (£5 or £10) to 70070. Eg CAMB20 £10

The donation will be added to your next mobile bill. Follow the text instructions to allow us to claim an additional 28% back from the UK Government in Gift Aid, at no cost to you.

If you have any problems or would like to find out other ways to help CamKids, please EMAIL US.

CamKids on Facebook

2011-04-29T18:00:00.001+01:00

Please visit the CamKids Facebook Page for up to date reports, photos and videos from some of our projects.

CamKids is funded entirely by donations from the general public and has absolutely no overhead, marketing or other costs - all of the services we need are provided by the Trustees or friends of the charity. Please spread the word by 'liking' our Page and adding us to your Profile.

Lakeside School at EYC

2011-04-04T18:00:00.000+01:00

CamKids has partnered with an organisation named Empowering Youth in Cambodia ("EYC"), and has been providing funding since January 2010 to help build this project and expand their work. EYC has 3 schools in very poor (slum) communities around Phnom Penh which aim to develop strong young people and thereby help them escape the cycle of poverty. These schools have had a huge impact on the communities which they serve and are a great success.

The schools/community centers offer English language, computer skills, leadership, job placement, medical, dental, sport and art activities, as well as intervention to keep kids on track, such as family support and scholarships. In 2010 CamKids also started funding EYC’s medical program which is a great success and has served thousands of poor children and their families - providing much needed medical and dental care, as well as health training. CamKids also funds EYC's Community Organizer, Nareth, to connect the resources of the schools with the student’s families, as well as to build the capacity of their students and staff.

EYC’s founder Drew McDowell comments: "CamKids' help is appreciated in more ways that can be conveyed, since it has done so much good. They came with the intention of real partnership, asking questions, discussing ideas and have been a huge help to shape the organisation to become more effective, as well as connecting us with resources."

In January 2011 CamKids started to provide funding to cover the cost of operations for EYC’s Lakeside School. Located on the shore of a now filled-in lake (to make way for commercial and residential development), Lakeside School has been helping in this shanty-town community since 2008, and now is seeing many of the students through their transition from High School to University. Thanks to a base of talented and hardworking Student Team Leaders, Lakeside School has enjoyed great success with many programs under local leadership.

Lakeside has regular classes for English language and computer skills for their 120 students who live in the community around the school. However, extra-curricular activities are what really make the school special and are essential for building critical thinking and life skills. Lakeside offers training in various topics of leadership, Youth Legal Rights, Community Organizing, Health and Hygiene, IT, Yoga and Art, as well as a football team, a gym and aerobics club and a traditional dance group that performs for parties. The student team leaders volunteer to run the many activities, including the medical clinic on Saturday nights (medical professionals see an average of 40 patients per night) and trips to the dental university (where they receive free treatment thanks to CamKids funding of this project as well).

By creating a school in the heart of a poor community EYC has been on the frontline in the fight for child rights and CamKids is proud to play a key role in building strong and independent young people. EYC’s WEBSITE provides more detail on all of EYC’s programs and some stories about Lakeside School. The School has a very dynamic manager (former student) named Phearith, who has created a blog for the school, which can be viewed HERE.

Canalside Project

2011-03-24T18:00:00.009Z

We are regularly asked to help fund projects in Cambodia and 2 of our Trustees recently visited a very poor slum community. We have seen many appalling and heart-breaking situations in Cambodia and try not to get emotional at any of the locations we visit, but this stretched their resolve to its limit and we knew straight away that something had to be done to help. This is by far the poorest community CamKids is helping and much more needs to be done.

The community consists of two recycling "villages", where the inhabitants make their money from collecting cans and plastic. At least half of the young children had no clothes at all.

"The sad realisation was that the little ones followed us, talked to us, smiled and laughed with us but the older adolescents and young adults had no hope drive or passion in their eyes - it was devastatingly sad. The young children’s future is unmistakably mapped the same unless something is done".

However, finding the right way to help these people is not at all straightforward. Although these people are living in abject poverty, they are also under threat of eviction, which makes it difficult to put in facilities and resources. We are, again, working with our medical and dental partners, One-2-One and we will take it slowly at first, to ensure that we deal with the issues in the appropriate way. The first step has been to extend our medical programme to provide a regular clinic. As there are no suitable buildings on site, this has involved purchasing tarpaulin, chairs, tables and equipment for a temporary clinic area and also to provide a makeshift classroom, as the education situation is extremely poor. 1hr classes are now a regular event and we hope to be able to extend this in the future, with the cooperation of the community leaders and the Cambodian Authorities.

An extremely generous donor has agreed to fund the cost of purchasing tarpaulin and equipment for the temporary mobile clinic and classroom, but we need more donations to extend our work with this community and regular donors to fund the ongoing cost of the medicines.

If you are able to help in any way - every £1 will make a huge difference - please EMAIL US if you would like to become a regular donor or click on THIS LINK, to make a single donation. Please enter "Canalside" in the project box if you would like your money to be directed solely towards this project.

Donation by Muirkirk Primary School

2011-03-14T13:00:00.000Z

We recently received a cheque for over £400 from the Headmistress of Muirkirk Primary School, which the children raised during various events in 2010. This is an incredible effort from a school of only 102 pupils in a fairly deprived rural area of Scotland.

This money will be used to fund the teaching and other running costs for one year, at one of the 15 rural schools which CamKids funds and which are run by New Futures Organisation, in Takeo.

The CamKids Trustees would like to thank all of the children and their parents, as well as the headmistress and her teachers for their hard work and generosity. If you would like to help by sponsoring a school, a pupil or a college student or are interested in finding out more about any of our education projects, please email us.

CamKids 2010 Annual Report & Accounts

2011-03-11T12:25:00.003Z

The Trustees of CamKids - The Cambodian Children's Charity, are pleased to report that the Charity's Annual Report and Accounts for 2010 have been filed with the Charity Commission well ahead of schedule.

A copy of the report and accounts can be downloaded from HERE.

Please direct any questions about these accounts to CamKids Finance

T-34 Featuring Al Murray The Pub Landlord is playing a one-off show in aid of CamKids

2011-02-17T17:00:00.001Z

Al Murray The Pub Landlord swaps his bar stool for a drum stool to serve up a molotov cocktail of revolutionary jukebox tracks with his band, T-34, in aid of CamKids, The Cambodian Children's Charity.

Armed with an arsenal of killer covers from the 50's, 60's & 70's and fuelled on a diet of black bread, burgers and vodka, T-34's mission is to liberate the masses from the oppressive tyranny of pop fascism with straight ahead, no frills, good time, rock'n'roll.

The evening includes the Air Guitar Hero of the Soviet Union competition and classic rock from DJ Ric Blaxill. Bar until 1am.

To purchase tickets, please visit SeeTickets.

Fundraising for CamKids

2011-02-09T17:00:00.003Z

These days, raising money for charity doesn't need to involve rattling a can or trawling round your friends asking them for the £5 they promised you months ago. With online fundraising services, you only need to email or tell your friends the details of your own personal fundraising site and the rest is taken care of, for you. These services charge a small fee, but they also reclaim the 28% in Gift Aid for us, which means that, in most cases, we receive around 120% of the amount donated (for UK taxpayers).

CamKids has signed up to the popular JustGiving service, as well as the newer Virgin Money Giving and CharityGiving services, where you can also make single or regular donations.

Our JustGiving Page will give you some ideas of possible events. In the past year, supporters from all around the world have set up pages for the following events:

Marathons

Kick Boxing Event

Bug Eating Competition

Birthdays

Weddings

In Memory

Paragliding

Skydiving

Kilimanjaro Climbs

Ultramarathon

Cycling across the USA

Fun Runs

Some people also set up fundraising pages before or after a trip to Cambodia, to let their friends know what they are doing, how they have been affected by the country and how they can help the children.

How about you - why not set up a fundraising page today? A few pounds from all of your friends could make a huge difference to the lives of the children who benefit from our programs. £1 will pay for the dental treatment for a child in a rural village, who would not have access to such treatment and can relive them from the pain of tooth decay and infection. If you can raise £400, this will allow us to run a rural school in Takeo for a year.

JustGiving: www.justgiving.com/tccc

Virgin Giving: www.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/camkids

Charity Giving: www.charitygiving.co.uk/camkids

If you need any assistance, or would like some other fundraising target ideas, please email us.

Mobile Clinic goes to Battambang

2011-01-24T09:00:00.001Z

We have just received the following report from Annie, one of the Directors of One-2-One, which provides free dental and medical treatment to the poor of Cambodia. CamKids is funding the MOBILE Swift projects which travels to remote parts of Cambodia to treat children who would otherwise not have access to any medical or dental care. Annie's report follows:

Thanks to Camkids, the MOBILE Swift went to Battambong from the 13th to the 17th December 2010. The team treated the deaf and blind children of the Krousar Thmey Foundation in the Provincial townships of Battambong and Sisophon.

The team comprised 13 dental students, 5 support staff from One-2-One and 2 dentists from Austalia - Dr Nathan and Dr Shu’an Hu. In total, the team treated 233 children. A typical day was as follows:

8:00AM – 5.00PM. Treated 69 children: 56 extractions, 129 fillings, 39 sealants, 19 Duraphat applications, 10 scaling (by hand), 82 silver fluoride treatments. Dispensed 250 tablets of Paracetamol, 690 tablets of Multivitamins, 135 tablets of Amoxicillin, 10 tablets of Ibuprofen and gave out 69 toothpaste/toothbrushes.

During this visit, One-2-One also ran health education classes for the local community, at the Krousar Thmey School in Battambang.

Classes were held every afternoon from 2pm till 4.30pm and were for teachers and teacher aides - ranging from 12 to 20 students at a time. Basic topics were covered included basic personal hygiene, fever control, control of diarrhoea, treatment of burns and oral hygiene. The teachers were very eager to learn and enjoyed the class discussion. The highlights were the many laughs had when practising basic first aid, wound care and stabilising broken bones.

The school was a very warm and inviting place. As a team we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. The children and staff were excited to teach us sign language, they were very patient as we made many mistakes. At the end of our week at Battambang, both students and teachers asked when we would return. The head teacher asked if we could return every 6 months, so they are very keen to have us back. According to the teachers, all of the children were treated for their most urgent dental need. Dr Shu’An and Dr Nathan were both moved by the courage and the resilience of the wonderful children who had put up so much for so long. It is our hope that we will be able to return to focus on prevention care.

Most of the children had not had any dentistry before, due to the significant challenges of distance and their co-morbidity. The smiles on their face said it all. We felt thanked beyond measures. We felt honoured to be able to do what is, in our culture, a relatively simple procedure - yet, until we came, was out of reach. Now the children are pain free, able to concentrate at school, sleep well at night and enjoy their meals.

Thank you CamKids for making this trip happen.

CamKids and One-2-One are currently seeking donors to help fund the next phase of our rural dental health strategy. This involves equipping 2 nurses to travel to remote locations in order to give primary treatment (focusing on pain relief) to children who would not otherwise have access to any dental services. More serious cases would be reported back for future visits by the MOBILe team. Details of the proposal can be found HERE. The cost of equipment and initial supplies for 2 nurses is approximately £3,000 and the annual salary, travel, accommodation and food costs for both nurses will be approximately £7,000 per annum. The nurses will spend 10 days a month (half their time) in the provinces and the other half working in the Ta Kmao clinic or other community projects which CamKids is funding. It is expected that around 3,000 children in remote locations will be relieved from the terrible agony of dental pain, at a cost of just over £1 per child.

If you are are interested in making a donation to help us extend this extremely valuabe work, if you know any companies or organisations which might be interested or if you have dental or medical skills and are planning a trip to Cambodia and would like to join the team on some of the visits, please email us.

2010-12-19T10:00:00.000Z

Everyone has seen an advert on a lamppost advertising a scrap car scam, but did you know that there is an ethical and environmental way to get rid of your unwanted car, whilst raising money for charity? CamKids has just partnered with Giveacar to launch an exciting new fundraising initiative that will pick up any vehicle, from anywhere in the UK for free.

If you have an unwanted car, Giveacar arranges for the free pick-up and disposal or auction of your vehicle, and a donation generated from the sale or scrap of the car is then directed to CamKids. Every car that is disposed of through the scheme is recycled to high environmental standards and could raise an average of £80.

Do you have a vehicle, in any condition, taking up space in your garage or drive? If so, why not use it to raise money for CamKids and support us to provide services for children in Cambodia? This month alone, generous donations of unwanted cars from the public will raise over £30,000 for UK charities. By raising awareness of this free and easy car donation service with friends and family, you can help us reach our fundraising goals this year.

To donate your scrap car to CamKids, simply call Giveacar on 020 0011 1664 and quote ‘The Cambodian Children’s Charity’ as your chosen charity. If you have any further questions about CamKids’ Giveacar appeal, please call the Giveacar team or see their website at: www.giveacar.co.uk.

CamKids Winter 2010 Newsletter

2010-12-08T11:34:00.000Z

In our latest Newsletter we introduce our 2 new Cambodian fieldworkers, Nareth and Vannak, who will be heavily involved in new community development projects by CamKids. Building upon the medical, education and community support programmes which we have already put into place, this new direction for CamKids goes directly to the heart of the problems we see everyday in Cambodia, by helping whole communities to work together to solve their problems. A relatively small injection of funds into this type of project can yield enormous benefits and improve the life chances of the very poorest in Cambodian society.

The Newsletter also includes a roundup of some of our most recent projects and programmes.

To access the Newsletter, please click Here or Contact Us and we will send you a copy by e-mail. If you sign up to our Newsletter Here, you will receive your copy by e-mail every 6 months (your details will not be used for commercial or any other purpose).

Thank you once again to all of our donors and supporters, without whom none of this would have been possible.

With Best Wishes for the Holiday Season
The CamKids Trustees

EXTRA DATE - Al Murray Xmas Special "Compete For The Meat" Benefit Show for CamKids

2010-12-02T11:44:00.006Z

DUE TO HIGH DEMAND FOR THE 8 DECEMBER SHOW - AL WILL BE PUTTING ON AN ADDITIONAL SHOW ON THURSDAY 9 DECEMBER.

CamKids' Patron, Al Murray, has some exciting news for our supporters:

Cheers! It's the Guv'nor here!

I am bringing my sold out, smash hit Edinburgh quiz show, "Compete For The Meat" to London for 2 Xmas Specials in aid of CamKids, at the George IV Pub in Chiswick on 8th & 9th December.

For tickets, please visit: www.seetickets.com/Tour/AL-MURRAY-S-COMPETE-FOR-THE-MEAT-XMAS-SPECIAL

Al Murray Xmas Special "Compete For The Meat" Benefit Show for CamKids

2010-11-24T13:58:00.019Z

CamKids' Patron, Al Murray, has some exciting news for our supporters:

Cheers! It's the Guv'nor here!

I am bringing my sold out, smash hit Edinburgh quiz show, "Compete For The Meat" to London for an Xmas Special in aid of CamKids, at the George IV Pub in Chiswick on 8th December.

Only 60 tickets up for grabs - limited to two tickets per person, first come, first served!

Grab your tickets right now! Loads of prizes and surprises and a great raffle & auction!

Please contact: Gail Taylor gailt@avalonuk.com, for payment instructions.

Kais Medical Hut

2010-11-19T10:00:00.000Z

Recently, 2 CamKids' trustees, who are still living in Cambodia, visited Kais Village with some sandpaper, pots of paint, rollers, brushes and 2 volunteers who were part of the original team that built the Medical Hut at the orphanage in 2006.

The Medical Hut is used daily by the now on site nurse and used by the doctor who still visits once a week to check on the babies, toddlers and older children. Whilst the inside of the Medical Hut has still retained the beautiful smell of freshly varnished timber, the outside had taken a battering over the years from the harsh weather conditions. The Directors of Kais asked that, if we could possibly find time to rejuvenate the tired exterior, they would greatly appreciate it. Sunny, one of the Directors of Kais, also mentioned that the Ministry of Health love the little Medical Hut and wanted to know where they could get one. Since it was imported from Estonia to London to Ipswich to Cambodia, it’s not that likely, which makes the maintenance even more imperative.

Moya and Lois, 2 volunteers who were here in 2006 helping with the original project, happened to be back in Cambodia for a month, bringing donations for CamKids projects and teaching at one of the centres CamKids helps to support. In fact, all paint and materials were bought with some of the money the ladies had brought from generous donors in Australia.

When Moya and Lois were told of the plan, they jumped at the idea of not only seeing the children again, but getting their hands dirty on some practical level.

The kids from Kais joined in and it was a great weekend, with the end result being a newly invigorated Medical hut. We hope it will serve Kais and its children for many years to come. Enjoy the photos.

NFO Farm Project

2010-11-05T10:20:00.000Z

In January 2010 a small farm was started at NFO with money donated by Sorell school in Tasmania, Australia. Moya Sharpe a teacher at the school and supporter of CamKids has been working with the Sorell children to raise money for disadvantaged children in Cambodia.

The space available for farming at NFO is not large and so it had to be cleverly planned to make the most of the space available. There is now large chicken coup situated over one side of the existing pond. This houses a mixture of chickens in three separate areas - those for consumption and egg laying chickens. The excrement from the chickens that drops through the bamboo flooring gives nutrients to the pond below.

The pond is regularly pumped to oxygenate the water. (Pump also supplied through CamKids from another generous Australian donor). This involves running a pipe to the middle of the pond from another existing pond on adjacent land. There are now many more healthy fish in the pond.

A small pigsty has been added to the area. This is home to a sow donated by Kais Kids in Kampong Speu which CamKids helps support, and two more small sows.

A small vegetable garden has been put in place which grows all sorts of things from local herbs to morning glory and there are even a few banana trees.

The ultimate aim of the farm is to help NFO become more self sustainable. The farm won’t necessarily lower the cost of the food bill but is intended to supply better nutrition for the children and will provide invaluable vocational training for many at the Centre.

We think that the secret aim for Neville the director of the centre is to provide himself with a full English breakfast!

Bacon, eggs, tomatoes - not sure about growing baked beans though – good luck Nev!!

New School Building at Who Will Children's Village

2010-11-01T10:00:00.000Z

In the summer of 2010 CamKids, along with a Hong Kong based charity called the Sakka Foundation, completed the building of a school, office, and toilet block at Who Will Village.

Who-Will Village is set up as a group of houses with 4 bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen/dining/living area in each house. As the children have been learning English now for the past year it became clear that the lessons couldn’t continue in the common area of one of the houses, as it was too disruptive to the house and also too tight for space. Who-Will were also keen to involve the local community in the classes and this could obviously not be done in their homes. Also there was nowhere for the new village director Saroeun to do his work and keep all the files etc.

Therefore it was decided that a new school building was necessary, as it would not only be invaluable for Who-Will, but also the wider community. The school is situated away from the children’s homes and alongside the school is a football pitch (donated by CamKids' supporters Chris Dobson and Silje Hoyden), where the village children and children from the centre can play together. CamKids made a donation of $25,000 for the school building and the Sakka Foundation donated $5,000. The schoolhouse now consists of two large classrooms, one of which will eventually become a computer lab, a large office, storeroom and bathroom, which will also be a facility for a visiting doctor to treat the children.

Who-Will are absolutely delighted with the new building and the children can’t wait to get to their extra classes once Khmer School in the local village is finished. Half of the children attend Khmer School in the morning and half in the afternoon, so English classes are held in both a morning and afternoon session. Who-Will have a fabulous Cambodian lady to teach English and she is now supported by a growing number of visiting volunteers (one month minimum stay required).

The first classroom and the office were furnished with a generous donation from Tom Gillespie, a CamKids donor, a large water tank was donated by Swiss XI directly to WW and funds for the Pagoda over the adjacent fishpond, where the village kids can keep out of the sun while waiting for classes, was donated by Elizabeth Scott, Mika Street and their friends.

The school was blessed by the local monks in a ceremony in June, just after the building was completed and we are pleased to see that a few monks now attend the English classes, as do many of the local village children. Free English classes are always very popular here in Cambodia!

Al Murray CamKids Golf Classic Fooore

2010-10-13T11:15:00.002+01:00

On a miserable day in Surrey on the 24th of September, an amazing event occurred. The fourth annual Al Murray CamKids Golf Day was held at Effingham Golf Club. If you were to believe Al’s rhetoric, we had some of the world’s smallest men playing as well as some of the world’s oldest men and even a couple of pickled eggs joined in, one of whom took second place on the day. The entertainment was fantastic and was only matched by the generosity of all who attended a very special day.

In pouring rain, the golfers made their way out to their respective tees in surprisingly high spirits. Even given the weather conditions, the golf was actually, generally of a higher standard than last year. The cold and rain had failed to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm as they returned to the clubhouse eager for a shower and a beer, not necessarily in that order.

There were many financial forfeits incurred throughout the evening for crimes against golf. A memorable one was a golfer fined for, after having three attempts to get out of a bunker, actually picking the ball up and throwing it out! Shameful! Thankfully his teammates were on hand to report the incident and cost him some money.

It was an evening of first class entertainment as Al weaved his usual magic and insulted just about everyone in the room. Several regular teams were unavoidably unable to attend this year but actually sent through donations in their absence, which we greatly appreciate, and those who were able to attend were incredibly generous as Al gently coaxed money from everyone. The end product resulted in an absolutely amazing profit on the day of over £13,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our deepest thanks go out to:

Al, our Patron, for his tireless work on the day and for his invaluable ongoing support

Our volunteers - Gail, Lisa, Adam, Big Bob, Louise, Win, Ruby and Sam.

Steve Hoatson and all the staff at Effingham Golf Club

The golfers and friends of the charity who could not make the day and yet still donated

All our donors – Fullers, Cadburys, Brian May, Nicky Clarke, Phil Collins, Mark Hughes at the Real Wine Company, Warehouse, La Trompette, Conran’s Bluebird Café, Michael Nadra’s restaurant in Chiswick, Theory, Adam Booker, RAF Cranwell, Snappy Snaps Chiswick, Charlottes Bistro, Cote Brasserie, Chiswick Computers, Melbury’s, Maken Bros Chiswick, Big Jim’s Big Trims, Lauren Fleet, Francesca Murray, Pete Kovacs, Craig Birch, Elemis, Ark, Love Film, Space NK, Club Petit Pierrot, Nicolas in Wimbledon, Westwood Rocks Wimbledon, Zecca Chiswick, Emma Bridgewater, Jeanne Clenet, Pop School and Stage Academy, Pilates Life, John Caiger, Richard Collins, Gardenia Wimbledon, Cath Kidson Wimbledon, Joanne Pinkess, Joules Wimbledon, Smith Bros Wimbledon, Lochfyne Fishmongers Wimbledon, Wimbledon Books and Music, who generously gave prizes for the golfers, the raffle and the auction, without which we would not have had the facility to raise the money we did and, finally......

the golfers, without whom there would be no golf day! SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR!

The CamKids Trustees

CamKids and One-2-One SMILE Project

2010-10-01T16:30:00.005+01:00

CamKids and One-2-One have embarked on another ambitious, but incredibly essential and effective community health development project in Kampong Speu Region. The following short report and accompanying photos were sent to us by one of the directors of One-2-One. Reports of progress on the project will follow as it progresses.

Kampong Speu is the first community for the CamKids SMILe project. We believe this is the first for Cambodia and is another example of successful collaboration between One-2-One and CamKids.

The area is about 1 ½ hours from Phnom Penh and passes through beautiful scenery, which belies the hardship of the people in this community. The nearest Government health clinic is 25 km away, with no public transport and the only moto belongs to the Village Chief. All the villagers we spoke to have never been out of their community. Phnom Penh is another world to them.....

This trip was to gauge community interest and to meet with the Cambodian stakeholders of this community - the Village Chiefs and the local village health care volunteer, as well as villagers themselves, so that we can explain what we hope to do and involve them in the planning of service delivery. In the photos, you can see the One-2-One team lead by Dr Callum explaining and discussing what we hope to do and listening to them, to understand what their needs are and how we achieve the best outcome.

We also set out to have a look at what the dental situation is like and make some friends - show the mums and the children that dentist are friends. For many, seeing foreigners is a first, so it is important for them to see the MOBILE chairs and what the examination and treatment activity may look like when we come back with a larger service delivery team - this created a real buzz in the community. They are excited about the training and the integrated way that we plan to help and work with them. Their faces beamed when we told them that we would run training courses on how to keep healthy - it was a very happy day for all concerned!

We will be back in October for a needs assessment trip and focus group interviews to better understand what the dental and medical needs are and what the pattern of feeding is for the preschoolers, so that we can better educate the mothers and the health care volunteers. This will be a week long visit. During this time our staff will live in the village and be part of village life. In November we will be back with training sessions and in December our service team will commence work with the assistance of the village mums, health care volunteers and community leaders, who we will have trained to work along side us - watch this space.

We are all really proud of this project - a great example of CamKids, One-2-One and our donors working together in partnership for the sake of the children of Cambodia. If you would like to find out more or if you have medical skills and are planning a trip to Cambodia and would like to join the team on some of the visits, please email us.

Kilimanjaro Challenge

2010-09-30T15:45:00.002+01:00

Last month, 3 CamKids supporters took on the challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, to raise money for CamKids. The following is a short report of their adventure.

Our names are John Elsey, Joanne Chiappinelli and Antony Chiappinelli and we have just returned from a trip to Tanzania where we attempted to reach the summit of .

At 19,336 feet (5,895m), snow capped Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest peak. It is the worlds tallest walkable mountain, which takes you through 5 different climatic zones to reach the summit. The climb is a test of endurance, stamina and shear determination, and a test to see how your body copes with the altitude.

We started the climb on 9th of August 2010 with 'Team Kilimanjaro' and after 5 hard days we all successfully reached the summit at 8am on the 14th August. Our experience finished on the 15th August when we all safely descended back to the start of the national park.

So far we have raised over £1,700 for CamKids. Please check out our JustGiving site: www.justgiving.com/JJA2010.

The Trustees of CamKids would like to thank John, Jo and Antony for their incredible efforts and for raising so much for CamKids. John is also travelling out to Cambodia in January, to volunteer at one of the projects we support. We would also like to wish him good luck and are sure that he will have a great time.

If you are interested in fundraising for CamKids, please visit www.justgiving.com/tccc or send us an email.

Empowering Youth in Cambodia - Education Scholarships

2010-09-10T13:30:00.012+01:00

CamKids has been supporting this project, working mainly in the slum communities around the Boeung Kok Lake area in Phnom Penh for over a year now. It is an incredible project providing education, vocational training and other support to vulnerable children and young adults, who would otherwise be susceptible to drugs, sex trafficking or crime.

The following is a short update from Drew, the director of EYC, regarding Education Scholarships for the older children:

Things at the schools are better than ever and we have a lot going on every week. We had a lot of our closest students studying in grade 12 this past year and really got involved with supporting them. We gave them financial support for their studies and they were able to focus on preparing for their final exam. Many did very well, and all passed the exam (about 20% fail country-wide). I created a blog to show the students who want to continue their education now that they finished high school: www.ey-cambodia.blogspot.com.

All of these kids grew up in the slums and have persevered through more than most of us can imagine, yet they are optimistic for their futures. Anything is possible, but I know they have a lot more challenges ahead and I hope we can find funds for them to get scholarships for their first 1-2 years of university. Getting jobs here is very competitive and they need additional education to be able to make informed decisions. They are very committed to their education. I think our program is quite solid to support them and get them off on their own, as we have seen in many cases now.

Our financial situation is bare bones to cover our operating costs, so either we find sponsors or many will not be able to attend. We will ask students to pay a portion of their tuition, but with some it is not possible. After the 2nd year of university they should be able to support themselves, based on what we’re seeing with other students.

Please take a look at the Blog which Drew has compiled, as it includes some incredible stories about kids who have battled appalling conditions and poverty to succeed. If you would like to help sponsor a student (at a cost around £20 per month and upwards) or just support the work of EYC generally, please send an email to: education@camkids.org or set up a regular donation HERE, marking the project "EYC".

Thank you.

Sport & Fitness for Underpriviledged Children

2010-08-09T10:00:00.001+01:00

Sports and exercise should be an important part of every child's life - the benefits of sports and exercise are well known and include better health, enjoyment, and personal development. However, in Cambodian orphanages, many children miss out on these activities. During our visits to orphanages we are saddened to see children with nothing to do or in front of the TV, locked behind high gates for fear of abduction. Surely these children would benefit from educational and recreational opportunities. This prompted the development of CamKids and One-2-One’s sports program in February 2010 - working closely with the Cambodian Gymnastics Federation to introduce an aerobics program in three of the poorest orphanages, including one with only HIV-infected children.

Instructors visited the orphanages twice weekly to teach aerobic exercise classes. This involved senior aerobic athletes and coaches from the Cambodian Gymnastic Federation (overseen by the One-2-One sports coordinator - a former gymnast and coach) going to each orphanage twice a week to provide a one hour recreational aerobics class for all children (to music). From each group of children, those who showed talent and interest in aerobics received some additional training in Aerobic Gymnastics (a sport Cambodia is particularly good at) and learned pre-choreographed aerobic routines. Our goal was for children from each orphanage to take part in the National Championships in May. CamKids sponsored this program, and also paid for the uniforms, the mats and the extra tuition needed in the last 4 weeks leading up to the competition.

The event was a great success, with our proud and hard working children competing against more experienced children from Phnom Penh and 6 provinces. There was jubilation when we were awarded a bronze medal in the Junior Trios and a 4th place in the individual Junior Male category! Because of this programme, all of these children have been given the opportunity to have fun in exercise and feel like a champion. Some of the children could have the opportunity to continue to the top levels of the sport where they may be eligible to receive Government sports scholarships (which provide funds for living expenses and education), and travel to neighbouring countries to compete.

The project also included the training of some disadvantaged youth and young adults as aerobics instructors, so that the program can later be expanded to other orphanages. Unlike artistic gymnastics, aerobics does not require any special equipment at this level - only an area in which the routines can be carried out and this can be inside or outside. The Cambodian Gymnastic Federation is supportive of this project as they wish to grow the sport in Cambodia.

4th Al Murray CamKids Golf Classic

2010-08-08T14:03:00.010+01:00

The 4th Al Murray Golf Classic, to benefit CamKids, will be held at Effingham Golf Club on 24th September 2010. It promises to be a great day, once again, with entertainment throughout the day from the Landlord himself and surprise guests.

The last few playing spaces are still available as well as tickets for the evening meal and entertainment only. Pictures of last year's event can be seen at: CamKids News Blog.

If you are interested in taking part, or would like to register for next year's event, please email: golf@camkids.org by 30 August.

Skydive for CamKids

2010-08-02T10:00:00.001+01:00

One of CamKids' supporters and recent volunteers, Cat, is raising money by organising a skydive next month for a number of friends and fellow CamKids fundraisers. Cat writes:

During 2009-2010 a number of us spent a long while in Cambodia, volunteering, teaching and seeing the AMAZING work which CamKids does for so many kids there.

Cambodia has so many children living below the poverty line - they literally have no money, no food, no clean water - often no parents. CamKids supports so many of them, and without the charity's help, who knows what may have happened to them.

We have seen so many of these children living a happy existence, playing games, going to school in their uniforms, eating huge bowls of food - all thanks to this charity! The trustees work *so* hard on an entirely voluntary basis and they have achieved amazing things in the country - I can guarantee that CamKids is an entirely worthy charity to support.

On the 4th of September 2010 we are completing a Skydive at the North London Parachute Centre and we are urging you all to please please please give as much as you can, however little - it all helps!!!

If you would like to sponsor Cat, please visit: www.justgiving.com/CamKidsSkydive2010.

CamKids Summer Newsletter

2010-07-14T15:08:00.005+01:00

Our Summer 2010 Newsletter includes a short 'on the ground' update from 2 of our Trustees on some recent new projects and a report on our new partnership with the medical and dental NGO, One-2-One.

Who Will Children's Village

2010-06-10T09:00:00.006+01:00

Who Will Children's Village is situated about an hour and a half North of Phnom Penh City in Kampong Chnang Province. It is home to 45 children at present and CamKids has been working closely with them for over a year now.

There have been some amazing changes and improvements since we got involved with Who Will. The centre now has 4 residential houses with one carer in each of the 3 houses and a husband and wife in the fourth. Listed below are some of the significant developments:

There is a shaded play area between two of the houses, with swings, monkey bars, a see saw, a balance bar and some tables and benches to sit at and play or chat. These were donated by Lorna Morris, a volunteer who raised money in her home of Jersey and came to volunteer at Who Will for a month. She was the very first volunteer in a programme CamKids helped set up.
CamKids donated a new generator and housing shed to Who Will as they are too far away from the electric mains in the village. Lights are only used for three hours each night and at the same time the generator is used to pump water from the well into the water tower. The diesel cost for this is approx $500 - $600 per month which is a huge cost, but at the moment there is no alternative.

CamKids funded a new 8 metre deep open well which now provides good quality water for the houses.
The construction of a new football pitch (including leach field), was donated by Chris and Silje’s fundraising efforts in the UK. We are just waiting for the long overdue first rain, before sewing the grass. Chris and Silje emailed CamKids, asking if we had any projects they could help with whilst in Cambodia. They volunteered at Who Will for three months and among other things, ran English classes for the children, implementing some fantastic phonics teaching.

As the land floods in the wet season, a large fishpond has been dug and the land used to infill the affected areas. Fish will be going in to the pond next week!

A new schoolhouse and office has just been completed on the raised land. This was made possible by a very generous donation of $25,000 to CamKids and $5,000 from the Sakka Foundation(a Hong Kong based charity and good friends of CamKids).
A volunteer house and volunteer programme are now in place.

All in all a very successful and busy year for Who Will Children's Village. As well as financing capital projects at Who Will, CamKids gives ongoing support to through our sponsorship of a house and incorporating Who Will into our child sponsorship program. You will see more about some of the above mentioned projects on our news weblog soon.

NFO Workshop

2010-06-01T10:00:00.009+01:00

As referred to in a previous post, we have included an update on the Workshop Project at New Futures organisation ("NFO"), prepared by the director of the organisation. The Workshop forms part of NFO's educational and vocational training centre building, which CamKids funded.

Thanks to CamKids, all the pieces of the jigsaw have come together to make a fantastic result. It all started with a donation for CamKids to enable us to buy a selection of hand and power tools with which could:

Carry out much needed basic maintenance work around the orphanage

be used to provide some vocational training for the kids in 'do-it-yourself' skills, which will be very useful when they have their own homes or some might even be able to use the skills to gain employment when they are adults

However, with CamKids' continued support and inspiration for this project, we have ended up with much more than a set of tools. We now have a fully functional workshop and vocational training area, in which we can do all of the above and much more. We can do just about anything within our workshop and are almost self sufficient in most things we need to repair or even manufacture around the orphanage.

Just to give you an idea, I have outlined below a few of our achievements over the past few months. Please remember that, on top of the physical achievement, most of our children have been involved in the vocational learning process while this work has been carried out and the skills they have gained is incredible.

From the little ones with their “not so delicate painting skills" to the older ones who can now measure, design, select materials and build most of the furniture needed by the orphanage and are even producing tables and seats for local village schools. You should have seen the girls when they helped design , convert, and pimp up our economical fleet (well 3) of "Tuk Tuks", which we use for our local transport (more on this in a later post).

Achievements

We used the tools to construct our new educational and vocational training building. The workshop is based inside that building with other vocational training rooms and a classroom (materials funded by CamKids, building by volunteers and the children)

Conversion of rusty old Tuk Tuks into the most reliable, eye catching run-abouts in town

The construction (helped by a team of volunteers from Hong Kong) of a fantastic new adventure playground

The manufacture of all tables, seats, shelving and other furniture needed by the orphanage

The manufacture of over 50 tables and seats for a CamKids funded Village school, enabling 183 kids to be able to sit down and attend school for the very first time (out of a total over over 1,000 children, which CamKids provides funding for us to educate)

I think that you will agree that it is astounding how a project can grow and help so many people.

Thank you CamKids and thank you to all of your donors and supporters.

If you are thinking about travelling to Cambodia and would like to volunteer at NFO for a few days or even a few months, please send an email to NFO.

CamKids 2009 Report & Accounts

2010-05-27T10:09:00.011+01:00

The Trustees of CamKids - The Cambodian Children's Charity, are pleased to report that the Charity's Annual Report and Accounts for 2009 have been filed with the Charity Commission well ahead of schedule.

A copy of the report and accounts can be downloaded from HERE.

Please direct any questions about these accounts to CamKids Finance

Football Fun!

2010-05-23T10:00:00.005+01:00

A little while ago one of our Trustees was having a drink with the Coach of the Cambodian National Football team and told him that it would really good if he could visit one of the projects which CamKids supports.

Luckily he liked the idea and the deal was done. The next week, the Coach and 2 assistant coaches went off to the Who Will Children's Orphanage and spent the day training the kids. The kids absolutely loved it and they all recognised him and his 2 assistants, who were both ex National Team players.

As you will see from the photos, boys and girls of all ages took part and they all looked very fetching in their oversized bibs and shirts!

One-2-One Dental Treatment and Health Education for Poor Children

2010-05-20T10:03:00.010+01:00

The following is a short report, prepared by one of our Partner Organisations in Cambodia, One-2-One. CamKids is providing all of the funding for this particular project and the impact on the dental health of the children has been remarkable.

Project Goal: Provide basic dental services for children from orphanages and deprived communities in and around Phnom Penh.

Logistics: During January to March, each morning and afternoon, groups of 10-20 children were brought to the International University Dental Clinic for treatment. After an oral health education session, children were examined and a treatment plan made. Some of the children had a mouth full of decay, often with painful abscesses.

Collaborative partners: One-2-One Charitable Trust, Phnom Penh International University and CamKids.

Background information: 6 year olds in Cambodia have an average of 8 decayed teeth! Many children coming to the clinic require extractions, but our focus is on doing what is most important for that particular child, to enhance their long term development and well-being. Our priorities are relief of pain, restoring decayed permanent teeth, and sealing the permanent molar teeth to prevent future decay. Most treatment is carried out using local anaesthesia so that the child does not suffer any pain. In addition, many children receive a fluoride treatment. All children are shown how to brush their teeth. Recently we introduced a new preventive dental product into the clinic – silver diamine fluoride solution. This topical fluoride can be applied directly to the dental decay on primary teeth and has the affect of arresting the decay, so that in many cases a filling can be avoided. We have developed guidelines which indicate when this treatment should be used, and when it should be avoided. Some children require more than one visit to the clinic to carry out the most necessary treatment.

Outcomes: The children accept the treatment well and tears are not common. The dental students who provide the treatment make a lot of effort to talk the children through the procedures and give them a positive experience. The dental students are gaining confidence in treating children, and are even willing to treat the children with HIV. This is excellent training for the students who will be more confident when they graduate. Among the staff supervising the children are two Cambodian paediatric dentists, Dr Sonita and Dr Sopharith.

From January to March, with funding from CamKids, 762 children were treated. Children were seen from 15 orphanages and NGOs.

If you would like to find out more about this or any of our other Medical Programs, please email: medical@camkids.org.

New Virgin Money Giving Site

2010-05-03T17:31:00.011+01:00

We are pleased to report that CamKids has signed up to the Virgin Money Giving service, to enable our supporters to set up their own fundraising page for a sponsored event, special day or just as a way of raising money for CamKids. This is similar to the Justgiving service, which CamKids has used for some time, but the fees are much lower and so more of your supporters' money goes to helping the children in our projects and programmes.

CamKids will continue to be available on JustGiving, so that our supporters will have a choice as to which service they would like to use. Both sites also collect the Gift Aid on our behalf, increasing the funds raised by 28%, for donations by UK taxpayers.

If you would like to set up a fundraising page to benefit CamKids, please visit:

Virgin Giving: www.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/camkids

JustGiving: www.justgiving.com/tccc

Our JustGiving page will also give you some ideas of possible events. In the past few months, supporters from around the world have set up pages for the following events:

Marathons

Kick Boxing Event

Bug Eating Competition

Birthdays

Weddings

Paragliding

Skydiving

Kilimanjaro Climb

Ultramarathon

Cycling

10k Run

How about you - why not be the first to se up a fundraising page on our Virgin Finance Giving site? If you need any assistance, please send an email to finance@camkids.org.

CamKids Phonics Workshop

2010-04-30T14:18:00.002+01:00

In March we were very lucky to have friend of the charity Andrew Gait (a teacher with 22 years experience) return to Cambodia with a fantastic 29 page phonics teaching workbook that he put together himself.

He was inspired to do this after volunteering at a CamKids funded school where he saw the need for an aid to help with pronunciation and understanding of the English sounds.

CamKids brought together 22 Cambodian English teachers from 5 different Provinces to attend a teaching workshop, and covered all associated costs of all transport, accommodation and food.

It was a full day spent on looking at the phonic sounds, letter blending, basic rules and words that break them and then the afternoon moved on to practical activities to carry out in a classroom situation. CamKids Trustee, Dom Sharpe, helped Andrew with the class and everyone had a fantastic day.

Every teacher left with their own resource book and a certificate to show that they had taken part in the day. It also served as an opportunity for many Cambodian teachers to meet with each other and network. The co-operation, integration and enthusiasm to learn was inspiring. Many of the teachers asked for the opportunity to attend more workshops and with this interest and the feedback we have been receiving since the workshop, it is certainly something CamKids is already considering.

Please click the Play button below to see a short video of the day.

NFO TukTuk Project

2010-03-25T14:17:00.000Z

Another report from our friends at New Futures Organisation ("NFO"):

Thanks to the generosity of our friends at CamKids, NFO has recently taken delivery of two TukTuks. The TukTuk (a three-wheeled vehicle pulled by a motorcycle with seating for passengers behind) is a common form of transport in Cambodia and can be seen on the streets of most towns and cities - but most are quite basic and painted in dull colours. As you will see from the pictures, the NFO TukTuks, in contrast, are highly visible!

Painted in bright yellow, decorated with the NFO logo and information about the organisation and kitted out with lights, wheel trims, DVD players and speaker systems, these TukTuks will be based in major tourist centres around Cambodia to serve several purposes. Children from the orphanage and vocational training centre have already had a chance to put their mechanical skills to the test by helping to strip down, renovate, repair and decorate the TukTuks. Some of the older kids have really enjoyed getting involved in the project and are now considering careers in engineering or as mechanics. The TukTuks have also proven useful in helping transport volunteers, equipment and NFO staff around Takeo and out to the rural schools in the countryside.

Their other purpose is to act as three-wheeled mobile advertisements for NFO. Tourists and locals who see (and hear!) the brightly coloured vehicles roaring down the street will see the logos and information and learn about the work we’re doing at New Futures – and hopefully decide to visit Takeo and volunteer with us. The DVD players built into the TukTuks show a short film clip produced by volunteers which shows what life is like here at NFO and drivers have leaflets and information sheets to hand out to potential volunteers and supporters. Of course, each TukTuk also provides a livelihood for its driver, giving him a stable job and income and providing increased security for his family, with any surplus income generated being used to support the orphanage

The first NFO TukTuk is already running in Takeo itself, ferrying volunteers around town and the ‘Phnom Penh Express’ and ‘Siem Reap Flyer’ will be hitting the streets of those cities shortly, with another set to run in Sihanoukville later this year. If you’re planning on visiting Cambodia soon, look out for them!

CamKids Funded Building at New Futures Organisation

2010-02-28T20:01:00.000Z

The following report was received from the director of New Futures Organisation ("NFO"), which is based in Takeo and supported by CamKids. This is one of a number of projects which CamKids has funded at NFO and we will be reporting on more of the projects in the coming weeks.

What happens if you get the fantastic assistance and support from a sensible and knowledgeable funding organisation like CamKids and add it to a wonderful staff team, a group of willing volunteers and 52 kids eager to learn and improve their futures.

Well, in our case, we ended up with a fantastic new education centre that will cover all of our needs for the coming years.

CamKids provided funds and advice, we supplied a willing team construction team and local knowledge, and built in a traditional building style a building which houses the following:-

Multi Purpose Room
A large room which can be used as:

A classroom (complete with furniture built in the workshop mentioned below) which can hold a class of up to 65 children;
An activities room for arts and crafts, board games, doing homework etc;
A TV lounge or for watching on social evenings; or
A home for the largest Lego set in Cambodia.

Library
A room to house our growing library of book, games, DVDs and a small group of old computers which the children learn computer skills on.

A Beauty Room
This is a room in which we teach hairdressing, beauty, nail care. This has two purposes - firstly to teach the girls life skills and secondly to provide vocational training which may develop into a employable skill at a later date.

A Dressmaking room
This is a room in which we teach dressmaking. Once again to provide life skills and vocational training to help the older children find employment, when they leave the orphanage.

A workshop
This is a fully fitted metal and woodworking facility, designed to enable us to carry out most repairs and maintenance on the premises and equipment. We also manufacture our own furniture needed for the orphanage, and our village schools. This is also the room in which we teach DIY skills, once again for life skills and vocational training (we will be posting a separate news entry on this shortly).

You must be thinking all of this must have cost a king's ransom - but you would be wrong!

Because of the commonsense approach of CamKids to funding, the entire project only cost $3,200 (or just over £2,000). Quite an achievement in this day and age of rising costs and is a wonderful and sensible use of donors contributions.

A big thank you to all of our donors and supporters for making this possible. If you would like to find out more about CamKids or our projects at NFO, please send an email to contact@camkids.org.

Mobile Dental Unit

2010-02-12T15:44:00.001Z

The following is a report from a recent trip to Kampong Chhnang from 11th to 15th January 2010 by the One-2-One NGO in Cambodia, which provides free dental and medical treatment to poor children and their families. In addition to donating funds to One-2-One for their general work, CamKids is funding the cost of a mobile dental unit to perform regular visits to outlying areas of Cambodia, where the population is too poor, even to travel to the free clinic in Phnom Penh.

During this trip, 351 patients were seen in total, of which 206 were age 18 and under. 201 extractions and 195 fillings took place and 51 scalings were carried out. We had 2-5 dentist for the 5 days and our numbers were boosted towards the afternoon with a dentist coming over from the prison service to help . During this time 1 dentist was unwell for 1 day but recovered after that to continue the excellent work.

The mobile clinic took place in the local community facilities, and community leaders also helped us find the pockets of the most needy children. The team went in high spirits - all keen to help and make a difference. Everyone had a job to do - registration, dental education, treatment, worming, nits treatment, sterilizing of equipment.

Even though, for many, this was the first time they had met a dentist, they were amazingly brave and coped extremely well. We also provided health education for the children - giving tooth brushes and tooth paste and teaching them how to use them.

We also had a great nit busters team, applying shampoo waiting the appropriate time and then off to rinse and dry and a great team out at the back doing the cleaning and sterilizing.

Thank you again to CamKids and all of your donors and supporters for making this possible.

Please also check out the slideshow of the trip below. If you would like to help us fund this fantastic project, please contact: medical@camkids.org or make a single or regular donation from our website and mark the project 'Dental'. Payment can also be made online from the link in the sidebar on the right of our Weblog or HERE.

Rumdoul School Visit by CamKids Supporters

2010-02-10T14:18:00.000Z

The following report was recently received from one of our longest running supporters, following his visit to Rumdoul Thmei School, which was acquired and is funded entirely by CamKids, with the help of Mark & Lynne and their extended family and other donors:

In mid December my wife, Lynne, son Harley and I were able to combine a cycle trip through Western Cambodia with the chance to see first hand some of the work that CamKids is funding. After a week on the bikes we met up with 2 of the CamKids Trustees, Dom and Benita Sharpe, in Phnom Penh. We had been in contact via email for a number of weeks so it was great to finally put faces to the names and catch up on all the current projects they are overseeing in and around the capital, during their year long stay in Cambodia, en route to Australia.

We headed south for a day to Kais Village Orphanage and then on the school at Rumdoul Thmei. The staff and kids at Kais were very welcoming and only too willing to show us around. We spent most of our time in the new nursery, with any number of kids toddling up to us to be picked up and carried around. We also checked out the mango orchard and Dom’s pride and joy - the methane collector from the pig sty that helps fuel the stoves in the kitchen – pure genius we reckon! The compact little medical centre was also very impressive. It was a wonderful visit, made all the more touching by the warm welcome that everyone gave us.

The Rumdoul Thmei school has been important to our extended family for the past three years. After our friend, Amber Murray, got us involved in CamKids we got together and decided that since we have a number of teachers in the family we would like to support a school. At the time, Rumdoul was just starting up so everything fell into place. Our visit in December was therefore very special to us. On the first afternoon we met the staff and some of the students, but many had gone home for the day. So we returned the next morning and were introduced to each class. It was both inspiring and thought provoking to see the amount of work that had been done to establish the school in such a short space of time but also to realise how rudimentary the facilities were and how much better resourced they could be. What was most obvious though was the the great enthusiasm the kids had for learning and how excited they were to be given the opportunity. I wish that every class I taught back in my well resourced school in Australia was filled with the same thirst for knowledge and sheer exuberance we saw in faces of the children at Rumdoul.

We would very much like to thank Benita and Dom for taking time out of their heavy schedule to take us to visit these two projects. And we urge everyone to continue to give generously to support Camkids. To see the work they are doing first hand was a privilege and an experience that our family will never forget.

MARK SMITH

If you would like to support this or any of our other education projects, please send an email to schools@camkids.org.

CamKids Medical Update

2010-02-03T13:54:00.008Z

CamKids is very pleased to report that the medical hut, built by volunteers in 2006, still has a doctor visiting every week and the general health of the children is unrecognisable from the situation 3 years ago.

As well as paying for the doctor's visit, CamKids covers the cost of necessary medicines and is now paying for a full time nurse to live on site. This will help in the training of the nannies, day to day medical care and aiding the doctor with his visits as well as on going treatment and observation.

Each visit, the doctor sees all the babies and toddlers and all children now have well documented and up to date medical records. Babies are weighed at regular intervals to check growth and development. The doctor also spends half an hour every visit, instructing the nannies on basic first aid and hygiene. CamKids is proud to be able to continue to support such a worthwhile project.

We have been expanding our medical programs to reach more children and details of these projects will follow shortly. However, as we expand such projects (where the benefits to children are obvious and undeniable) our costs also grow. If you feel you could help in any way, please contact medical@camkids.org or make a donation HERE (please insert 'Medical', as the project).

In the slide show below you will see the doctor and the nurse, as well as a number of nannies and the children being treated.

Facebook Updates

2010-01-19T15:47:00.005Z

Check out the CamKids Facebook Page for photos and videos from some of our projects, including the kids having great fun at the recent christmas party - and much more: www.facebook.com/camkids

New CamKids Newsletter

2009-12-10T19:18:00.004Z

Our latest Newsletter is now available in a slightly different format than usual. As 2 of our Trustees and their family are currently living (self-funded) in Cambodia for a year, we thought that you might like to hear what we are doing, directly from them. We have also taken this opportunity of providing a summary of what we have achieved in our first 3 years and some of our plans for the future.

The Newsletter also includes an update on our Education projects, including short reports from two of our supporters who were recently in Cambodia.

To access the Newsletter, please click Here or Contact Us and we will send you a copy by e-mail. If you sign up to our Newsletter Here, you will receive your copy by e-mail every 6 months (your details will not be used for commercial or any other purpose).

Thank you once again to all of our donors and supporters, without whom none of this would have been possible. Finally, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

With Best Wishes
The CamKids Trustees

New Education Projects - A Personal View

2009-11-30T11:59:00.001Z

The following report was received from a great supporter of CamKids from Australia, Andrew Gait, giving a a personal insight into two new education initiatives, being funded by CamKids:

My first involvement with CamKids was to take a Hills Hoist (washing line) to the Kais Village Orphanage and install it there. My son Nick lives in Sihnoukville and I’d asked the sister of one of the CamKids Trustees if there was anything I could take out to Cambodia for the charity, when I visited him in Cambodia. While I was at Kais I helped out in the orphanage school. It felt really good so I made the decision to get involved. It was that easy.

Since then I’ve been back to Cambodia several times to visit Nick and his new family. Every time I bring things over from Australia for the charity and I’ve spent time teaching at the Kais Orphanage and at the Rumdoul Thmei School, funded by CamKids.

On my last visit Dom and Benita Sharpe, who work tirelessly for CamKids, introduced me to Drew McDowell and I became involved, along with some with friends and colleagues in Tasmania, with financially supporting the Boeung Kok School and Community Centre project in Lakeside Phonm Penh. In a matter of weeks what was once an almost derelict building had been transformed into a vibrant school and community centre. The building was repainted, lights and fans fitted and student desks and a whiteboard installed. Almost 200 students attend the school daily and the building is being used constantly by the local community for a myriad of purposes. Every cent we send to CamKids goes directly into the school and centre and we are all kept up to date with what is happening by emails and photos supplied by CamKids and Drew.

I was also fortunate to be able to spend time working with teachers in the Takeo area, where CamKids supports a number of village schools. At the moment colleagues in Tasmania and myself are putting together an English As A Second Language resource for Khmer teachers. I hope to present this resource to the teachers in March next year. I will be working closely with the local CamKids Educational Co-ordinator (Ken) in translating and presenting the resource for teachers in the area.

I have felt privileged to have been allowed to play a small part in expanding the skills of the Cambodian educators and helping to developing their infrastructures with CamKids. It’s a small thing to do and I would recommend to anyone else visiting Cambodia to try it, the rewards are huge.

Andrew Gait, CamKids Supporter

Angkor Wat Cycle and Run by CamKids Trustees

2009-10-28T20:31:00.007Z

Two of our trustees, Dom & Benita, are taking on the Angkor Wat challenge in aid of CamKids. They moved to Cambodia for a year with their 2 children three months ago. They are self funding their trip and are on a very tight budget so when they mentioned the idea to their great friend and CamKids Patron, Al Murray, he immediately said he would pay their costs for entering the race, including the purchase of a bike.

Without his help they would not be able to do it. Please repay his faith in them and their faith in helping Cambodian children by donating what you can. Their children, Jak and Theavy, are both doing the 3km fun run. Benita is doing the 10km run, having never done any running in her life.
Dom is cycling 80km on December 5th and running the half marathon on the following day!

Benita and Dom DO NOT like running but they really want to raise some money for CamKids' projects in Camboda and put your money directly into the hands of those who need it most. That may be in the form of food, education or medicines. You tell us how much we have and we will show you exactly what we can do with it to enhance children's lives.

Change One Life

Change The World

To support Dom & Benita, please go to their Justgiving page: www.justgiving.com/Cambo-Sharpies. Thank You.

STOP PRESS - 8/12/09:
Dom, Benita and their children completed the grueling weekend of sponsored events in Siem Reap at the weekend. Dom cycled 80 km on Saturday in 2 hours 40 mins, followed by a 21 km run on Sunday in 1 hour and 52 minutes. Benita ran 10 km in 1 hour 1½ minutes, whilst their 10 year old son, Jakamo, ran 3km in 16 minutes and their 6 year old daughter, Theavy, ran 3km in 27 minutes – a fantastic effort all round. So far they have raised nearly £1,500 from the event, which will help fund one of our many new projects. If you would like to show your support to the Sharpes and CamKids, please make a donation on their JustGiving fundraising page: www.justgiving.com/Cambo-Sharpies.

New Education Project in Takeo

2009-09-30T18:58:00.003+01:00

CamKids' latest education project involves the creation of a chain of schools in the rural villages surrounding Takeo town, which is being established by New Futures Organisation ("NFO"), to teach English to the children. The area around Takeo is overwhelmingly an agricultural region with remote and often quite poor villages scattered among the rice fields. English language ability is of increasing importance in Cambodia, where the tourism and service sectors are growing the fastest and good written and spoken English will be a great advantage when these children are looking for employment.

NFO has recently opened its sixth rural school and work is ongoing to expand the project further into other villages. The whole cost of the project is being funded by CamKids, from public donations and CamKids has initially committed to fund the cost of 15 teachers in 2009, with further expansion expected in 2010.

Why is there a need for rural schools?
Many of the children who live in these villages are unable to attend regular school. Although education in Cambodia is free, it is compulsory for parents to buy uniforms and books, which are often beyond the financial means of rural farming families. In addition, the main schools for the area are located in Takeo town, which is several miles away from the children's home villages, down unpaved dirt roads which can become virtually impassable during the rainy season.

Finally, a combination of necessity and local custom often dictates that children of all ages are required to help out on the family farm, sowing and harvesting rice or looking after livestock. Again, this prevents them from attending regular school classes.

What does the rural schools project provide?
NFO funds teachers - often public school teachers or education students from local universities - to go out into the communities where access to education is limited and provide lessons to children and young people there. The lessons are held in private premises in the village which are loaned or rented to the organisation, and following discussions with parents and village leaders, classes are scheduled for times which are suitable for the children to attend - often at lunchtime, late afternoon or in the evening, when the agricultural work is finished. A typical rural school has anything from 70 to 150 students enrolled, attending whichever class is most convenient for them.

NFO provides exercise books and pencils, and uniforms are not required. In addition to the regular Khmer teachers, NFO volunteers visit the schools to provide students with the opportunity to listen to and talk with a native speaker, which helps to develop both their pronunciation skills and their cultural awareness.

What are the rural schools like?
The schools' locations and premises vary from village to village. At one school, classes are held in a fisherman's hut overlooking a lake. Others take place in village centres and in one village where children study in a cow shed beneath the teacher's house! The common theme which unites all the schools is the eagerness of the children to learn - every class is packed with young people, carefully repeating and noting down the day's lesson taught by a committed and motivated teacher. The rural schools project has so far proven a great success and is bringing education to children who would otherwise miss out on the opportunity.

CamKids is also funding the cost of an education administrator for the project. Their job will be to coordinate teaching, distribute materials to the teachers and students and control finances. Recently, an Australian teacher spent some time at the project and we are delighted that he, together with colleagues back in Tasmania, have committed to putting together an English As A Second Language course for the project. He will also be assisting the project coordinator in improving the skills of the teachers and with fundraising for the project in Tasmania.

If you are interested in finding out more about this project or if you would like to support our work by way of a single or regular donation, please send an email to schools@camkids.org.

Farming Update

2009-09-03T11:18:00.007+01:00

CamKids have been committed in trying to help communities establish alternative means of subsistence.

In 2007 CamKids was instrumental in contracting the CRDT – The Cambodian Rural Development Team – to establish a working farm at Kais Village Orphanage. CamKids donated over $21,000 to the project in the first year and when the CRDT left in 2008 there were chickens, pigs, fruit and vegetables. They had also installed a bio digester, a means of harnessing the methane gas from the cow and pig manure for cooking. The bio digester has cut the cost of gas for cooking by half.

As with any project of this nature in a country such as Cambodia, there have been new challenges and set backs as well as successes. However, the directors of Kais have found a new farm manager who has transformed the farm in under two months. He has ingeniously and cheaply found a way to aerate the water in the pond that has, up until now, provided no real advantage to the orphanage, but now he has begun to breed fish with the expectation of having fish on the table for the children within six months.

The bio digester remains a huge success and can be seen in the photos. The fruit trees, vegetable gardens and chickens are all thriving. It is hoped that in twelve months the project will be self sufficient, supplying most of the orphanage food and paying for the farmers to work the land by growing and selling off season fruit. For example 1kg of mangoes in season fetches 500 riel, out of season 3000 riel. This is already underway and fruit, which normally appears in December, is already on the trees . Growing out of season also ensures the orphanage farm is not competing with local farmers.CamKids is proud in still helping to support this farm and is always looking for new projects of this nature and new funding to help cover the cost.

If you are interested or can help in any way please contact farming@camkids.org.

Fishery Project by Who Will NGO

2009-08-07T13:30:00.001+01:00

In 2008, CamKids was approached by a potential donor who wanted to invest in a project in Cambodia. After introducing him to the directors of Who Will, it was agreed that he would fund the cost of a sustainable fishery project. The project is now underway and the directors of Who Will have provided us with the following report:

On one of our trips to look at children needing a home, we saw many children running around and we asked the villagers why the children weren’t going to school. No money! The village is extremely poor – family income is $8 - $12 per month. However, the village is on the banks of the river. Fifteen years ago an NGO had started a fishing project in the village but had given them no back-up. The fish had died from lack of food and the villagers had lost money.

A prospective donor came to visit and we mentioned this to him and a new project was born – small scale fishing to generate income so the children can go to school and the whole community will benefit.

Four dams were pinpointed and the farmers were taken through the steps of how the funding will be done – no cash, only product in the form of fuel, pump hire, fish feed, fingerlings and anything else that may be required. The farmers have the money on loan and it must be repaid at the end of the fishing season (approximately 4 months). They also have to hold back enough money to supply their new season.

Three weeks ago 44,000 fingerlings were purchased and to date only 78 have died – a mortality rate of 0.17%! The fish are doing well and growing fast – their progress being measured according to the circumference of the specific farmer’s big toe or middle finger!

This is a great example of a self-sustaining micro-finance project and, if successful, can be rolled out at hundreds of locations throughout rural Cambodia. The total cost of the project is around £1,500, but this 'seed capital' could be enough to create a new project at a different location every year. If you are interested in finding out more, please send an email to farming@camkids.org.

CamKids 2008 Annual Report & Accounts

2009-07-16T11:00:00.004+01:00

The Trustees of CamKids - The Cambodian Children's Charity, are pleased to report that the Charity's Annual Report and Accounts for 2008 have been filed with the Charity Commission ahead of schedule. A copy of the report and accounts can be downloaded from HERE.

The Trustees of CamKids are committed to open and full disclosure of its activities and, although not a requirement, the Charity has opted to make additional voluntary disclosures in line with best practice for large charities.

Please direct any questions about these accounts to finance@camkids.org.

Gulf 4 Good Challenge - Raising Money for Who Will Children's Village

2009-07-01T18:14:00.002+01:00

As reported in an earlier post, CamKids was selected by Gulf for Good as the recipient of funds raised from their Great Asian Cycling Challenge, which took place from 26 March to 4 April 2009 in Vietnam and Cambodia. CamKids nominated the Who Will NGO as the beneficiary and the directors have just sent in this update:

On 1st April, the Gulf for Good challenge participants visited the site of the children’s home, planted trees and had the opportunity to meet the children and some of the villagers. Many photos were taken and, to our absolute delight, Brian Wilkie, chairman of Gulf for Good, announced that $27,000 had been raised for Who Will – enough to complete another home in the children’s village in Kampong Tralach !

The home is nearing completion; the roof is on, tiling is being done, the outside has been painted and within the next three to four weeks, the children will move in.

CamKids and Who Will would like to thank Gulf for Good, the challenge participants and all of their sponsors and supporters for this fantastic achievement.

3rd Al Murray CamKids Golf Classic

2009-06-25T09:53:00.001+01:00

On Friday June 12th, the now legendary Al Murray CamKids Golf Classic hit the fairways, greens and roughs of the magnificent Effingham Golf Club. A very challenging course saw some much improved golf but with some veterans of the event clinging doggedly on to their hacker status.

Al Murray once again delivered liquid refreshments to all golfers, helping to revive flagging spirits as the course challenged every shot. The weather remained dry, which can’t be said of the 72 golfers.

In the evening, 94 guests sat down to a wonderful 3 course dinner, astonishing close up magic by Sav (sav@deceptionist.co.uk), prize giving, entertainment, raffle and auction all presided over by Al Murray who was on absolute top form.

In these times of credit crunch and recession, the golf day made a brilliant profit, in excess of £12,000 which is a testament to everyone involved; from Al, to all our sponsors and donors, golfers, volunteers and the friendly, professional and helpful staff at Effingham Golf Club.

Special thanks to:

Our patron, Al Murray, for his relentless efforts throughout the entire day and evening.
Steve Hoatson, for all his help in making the day run so smoothly and relieving us of much of the stress.
Gail Taylor, for all her organisational efforts over the many months running up to the event and for her help on the day.
Dan Jones, for recommending the course and doing all the initial legwork in securing it for the day and for his continued and valued support of CamKids.
Pete Kovacs, for once again doing so much to help make the day a resounding success.
All our very generous donors and sponsors for supplying us with fabulous prizes and gifts.
Our volunteers, Big Bob and Anne, Lisa, Win, Tim, Cat and Rebecca for their tireless work throughout the day.
All the golfers and evening guests enjoyed an unforgettable day and the feedback has been amazing with the general consensus being, it was the best golf day so far…….until next year!!!!

THANK YOU ALL

CamKids Trustees

Craig & John's Jurassic Walk

2009-06-08T10:23:00.008+01:00

Last week, Craig Birch and John Caiger walked 96 miles from Exmouth to Poole, along the Jurassic Coast Path and raised over £2,000 for CamKids. The Path rises and falls over 34,000 feet along the route - more than the height of Everest! The walk, which was fuelled mainly by beer and curry, took 4 days and was extremely gruelling. The CamKids Trustees would like to thank Craig and John for their outstanding efforts.

The money will pay for the full annual running costs of 4 of the 15 outreach schools being opened by New Futures Organisation and which are being entirely funded by CamKids.

The schools will provide education to children who would otherwise miss schooling because of personal / family circumstances. Primary and secondary education is free in Cambodia and public schools are available in most areas. However, there are various factors that prevent children attending school, particularly in the rural/agricultural villages surrounding Takeo, including:
1. Family cannot afford school clothing.
2. Local government school is not located within easy travelling distance
3. Child is working on family farm at school opening times.
4. Family cannot afford books/pens

If you would like to find out more, or are interested in supporting this project, please contact us at schools@camkids.org.

A Trip To The Dentist

2009-05-27T11:00:00.004+01:00

Karen Butler, a director of Kais Village Orphanage wrote:
In early March we took 14 children to the dentist. This included some children from the local village who needed some urgent treatment. It took most of the day in surgery (everyone had a nice lunch during the noon break). After treatment the children came back to our house for snacks and drinks and to play until dark.

The children visit the dentist every 6 months for check ups (the work is carried out free of charge). CamKids supports these visits by paying for the transport as the surgery is some 2 hours drive away in Phnom Penh. CamKids also pay for emergency unscheduled visits to the dentist.

If you would like to help support one of our medical or dental projects, please contact us at medical@camkids.org.

Changing Lives

2009-05-20T10:49:00.007+01:00

One of our HIV+ boys, who is now being supported by one of our generous donors through our Child Sponsorship programme, has recently had his life completely changed for the better.

Last month CamKids trustees agreed to build this little boy's family a small house for just US$2,500 because their home was dangerously run down. We did it with the support of the local community who all wanted it for them (we always have to be wary of causing jealousy and friction within small communities when singling one family out).

Many thanks to the directors of Kais Village who organised the project and took the before and after photographs for us. The boy's father, who is a builder, designed the new home and says it is perfect; everything he ever wanted. He was completely moved by the gesture and said he never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would be able to build his children a safe house.

If you would like to help support one of our medical projects, please contact us at medical@camkids.org or send an email to sponsorship@camkids.org to find out more about our Child Sponsorship programmes.

Kais Village Nursery Blessing

2009-05-07T13:55:00.004+01:00

We thought that you might like to see some pictures of the recent formal blessing of Kais Village Orphanage Nursery, which was entirely funded by CamKids and built by the Royal Engineers and CamKids volunteers in 2008 (you can see more pictures and read more about the Nursery construction here and here).

The nursery, which is big enough to comfortably sleep 40 babies, looks fantastic and is even better than we could have imagined. Thank you to everyone involved in the project, including our supporters, donors and fundraisers, without whom it would not have been possible.

In these difficult times, we still need to raise more money to help meet the running costs of the nursery. Please contact us or click one of the links if you would like to make make a single donation or a regular donation to help us reach our target. Please mark your donation 'Nursery'.

CamKids Spring 2009 Newsletter

2009-04-30T17:00:00.007+01:00

We are pleased to announce that our Spring 2009 Newsletter is now available.

The Newsletter includes details of projects at New Futures Organisation and Who Will Children's Village, including the extension of our Child Sponsorship programme to these organisations. We also have updates of our Farm and Medical projects at Kais Village Orphanage as well as updates on our Rumdoul Thmei school and other eduction projects.

To access the Newsletter, please click Here or Here or Contact Us and we will send you a copy by e-mail. If you sign up to our Newsletter Here, you will receive your copy by e-mail every 6 months (your details will not be used for commercial or any other purpose).

Thank you once again to all of our donors and supporters, for your continuing support and without whom none of this would have been possible.

With Best Wishes

The CamKids Trustees

A Heroic Effort

2009-04-03T10:30:00.005+01:00

A huge congratulations and thanks to Tara Taing, who completed the Reading Half Marathon last week in a personal best and raised over £1,300 for CamKids in the process.

Tara is a Chinese Cambodian living in the UK, whose family were able to start a new life in Australia after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Tara has asked for the money to go to the Rumdoul Thmei school, in Kampong Speu district, which is financed by CamKids. The funds will be extremely welcome, as 2 new teachers started at the school this year and there are plans to build a further 3 classrooms in 2009.

If you would like to raise money for CamKids, please visit our JustGiving site: www.justgiving.com/tccc or contact us at justgiving@camkids.org for information and fundraising materials.

Giving Children Wings

2009-03-30T09:00:00.001+01:00

It was the best of times (to half quote Charles Dickens) the day Phnom Penh International Airport and Société Concessionnaire des Aéroports (SCA) opened their arms to the children of Who Will, a local NGO based in Phnom Penh, which is supported by CamKids. The request was for a tour of the airport and its various internal divisions in order to give the children an insight into what career opportunities are available. What they were given was much more.

They were met at the Welcome Desk by Monirath SOK, Secretary to the Operations Manager and Samnang CHEY, Assistant Manager – Operations. Each child was given a bright yellow Visitor jacket and an airport pass and then all were taken to a briefing room where Florent de WARREN, Deputy Operation Manager – Airport Services, told them the itinerary and the ‘rules of engagement’ – be conscientious of other passenger, stay together, don’t run, etc.

They were taken to a Check In desk and each given a boarding pass on Flight WW001 of Who Will Air. From here they were taken through Security, into the VIP Lounge and then past Immigration onto a bus driven by the patient and informative Naro YOU. which took them to the Control Tower.

Here they were briefed by Bunkong NOV on all the instruments, the operation of a control tower and what requirements were necessary to become an Air Traffic Controller.

Boarding the bus they were taken to an aircraft of Indo-chine Airlines – a 737-200 – where they were awaited by two pilots Sivanthan DOUONG and Sophea UY. Each child was shown his or her seat, according to the boarding pass, and given the opportunity to sit in the co-pilot seat while being briefed on all the instruments by Sivanthan DUONG who never wavered in his professional, pleasant and repetitive narrative. They had the opportunity to walk through the aircraft, look at the galley, ask many questions and even use the toilets.

They were then driven to the Fire Department, stopping on the way to watch an aircraft land and see all the machinations that occur to ensure people disembark and eventually receive their luggage.

At the Fire Department they were met by the crew led by Sunday SEN, Safety and Rescue FFS Manager, shown the fire engines and allowed to climb inside and ask questions. They were then given a demonstration of the power of the water hose (3 00 litres per minute) and all then headed for the bus to be taken to the VVIP section.

The VVIP section is the separate section of the airport reserved for kings, presidents, prime ministers and other special envoys. They were taken to the reception lounge where each child was given a gift of a cap with the insignia of Cambodia International Airport and a booklet. They were then, by special permission, given the opportunity to visit the premier lounge and, for a while, imagine what it would be like to be a king….

It was then back into the bus to be taken to the terminal building where their journey had started three hours previously. They had been accompanied throughout by Monirath SOK, Samnang CHEY and Florent de WARREN, who had responded to the myriad questions and looked to the comfort and safety of a bunch of boisterous children – Florent also being the photographer of the day and had taken over 150 photos.

There is something about a bunch of happy children that affects everyone that comes into contact with them. And so it was this day. Passengers that normally sit sullenly or morosely waiting for the seemingly interminable hours to pass before boarding their flight, smiled when the children walked past, some even greeted them.

The effort that was put into this trip by the management and staff of Phnom Penh International Airport has ensured that the dreams of a number of children have been realised and their horizons broadened.

You can find out more about CamKids' work with Who Will HERE.

CamKids selected by Dataquest UK as its charity of the year

2009-01-19T09:23:00.014Z

CamKids is delighted to have been chosen by Dataquest UK as their Charity of the Year.

During our fundraising 'Al Murray Golf Classic' last year, the company made a donation of £5,000 and will make a further donation for every transaction generated through their association with CamKids. Dataquest UK are specialists in business technology and supply digital copiers, telecommunications, information technology and document management solutions. For further information, please visit http://www.dataquestuk.com/.

The money donated by Dataquest UK has been put into our medical fund and will support the cost of a much-needed doctor and nurse at Kais Village Orphanage. The doctor visits once a week and the nurse is now a full time member of staff. This has proved to be of great benefit as levels of day to day hygiene have been improved and ongoing medical care will no longer be a problem.

We would like to thank Dataquest UK for selecting CamKids and wish them good luck with their fundraising for CamKids.

CamKids Xmas Appeal

2008-12-15T13:01:00.007Z

The credit crunch is hitting charities hard at the moment, with many donors understandably cutting back on their spending. In addition, for charities like ours, whose expenditure is linked to the US Dollar, our income is being badly eroded by the fall in the value of the £.

If you feel that you can help us to help a child in Cambodia, please give whatever you feel you can afford. A small amount really does go a long way in Cambodia - for example, £3 is enough to send a child to school at our Education Project in Takeo for a whole year!! We can assure you that any amount you raise will be put to great use. At CamKids, we are all volunteers, have all of our services donated to us and so we can guarantee that 100% of any money you raise will go DIRECTLY to the children.

Lots of our supporters have decided to ask friends and family to make donations to CamKids, rather than send them presents this year. If you would also like to do this, please ask them to make the payment to our JustGiving Xmas Appeal site: www.justgiving.com/camkids.

Alternatively, you can set up your own JustGiving site in favour of CamKids, so that you can keep track on how much you have raised. Just go to: www.justgiving.com/tccc. Much easier than chasing people for cash and sending off a cheque. It is quick and easy and means that you don’t need to chase your sponsors / donors for the money. If you are a UK taxpayer, JustGiving will reclaim an additional 28% in Gift Aid from the UK government, on our behalf.

Thank you for supporting CamKids – we are really grateful to all of our friends and supporters and the Trustees would like to wish you a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.

New Project - Who Will Children's Village

2008-11-21T10:35:00.008Z

The slideshow below shows the construction of the first house at a new Cambodian NGO, Who Will's Children's Village, which is supported by CamKids and which I visited on my recent trip to Cambodia.

The village will ultimately comprise 10 family houses and ancillary accommodation to enable the project to function as any normal local village community. Each house will have three children’s bedrooms, a supervisor’s suite of bedroom and en-suite shower room and a kitchen/living room.

Initially each of these will have a house mother with space for up to 12 children. The house mother will be responsible for bringing up her family as if their true mother. She will buy the food from the market, cook, clean and generally be their mother.

As the project evolves, the house mothers will be replaced by married couples with a maximum of 2 of their own children. They will be offered occupation rights to each house that will be conditional on them agreeing to “foster” up to 8 disadvantaged or orphaned children. These couples will probably be from poor local families so should have good connections in the area. Who Will will retain a supervisory role with a local Village Manager living in the village to ensure that the standard of nutrition, health, education and discipline matches the strict rules/code of conduct that will be established.

Ultimately, the directors of Who Will expect that this village will appear to be just another country village and it will be fully integrated into the community and the children will not carry the unjustified stigma of “coming from an orphanage”. Who Will’s role in the future management will likely entail subsidising food and education costs in addition to its general supervisory position.

CamKids is proud to be supporting this project, which is run by a board of directors in Cambodia, which includes a long-term friend of the charity and former Chairman of Sunrise Orphanage in Phnom Penh.

Mark Purser

CamKids Trustee

CamKids wins funding from Gulf For Good

2008-11-20T12:00:00.001Z

Gulf for Good (G4G), is a charitable organisation based in Dubai, which organises international challenge events to raise money for worthwhile causes in the area in which the challenge takes place.

CamKids is pleased to announce that it has been selected by G4G as the recipient of the next event, The Great Asian Cycling Challenge, which takes place from 26 March to 4 April 2009 in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Starting at the ancient city of Ho Chi Minh (formerly known as Saigon), participants will ride through the heartland of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta on paved, small country roads along the flat river valley of the Co Chien River. More flat roads, with a few short small hills surrounded by shimmering rice paddies will take them to the border with Cambodia, via Temples and Khmer villages to the magnificent ruins of the Angkor Wat Temple complex. The last day will take the participants along an excellent route on dirt and sand tracks and rural paved road through typical Cambodian countryside.

This will be G4G's 24th challenge. The challenges have included trekking, cycling & kayaking adventures in Morocco, Egypt, India, Tanzania, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, the UAE, Jordan, Sri Lanka and Peru. So far, around 400 people of 30 different nationalities have taken part, ranging in age from 15 to 70. Over £700,000 has been raised for charities in the above and neighbouring countries.

For more details about the challenge, please follow THIS LINK.

Al Murray - Benefit for CamKids at The Brewery in London

2008-11-11T16:06:00.013Z

LAST 50 TICKETS REMAINING @ £95 each plus VAT to CamKids fans and supporters, including food & booze (full price is £150).

Join us and The Pub Landlord – Al Murray for an afternoon of fun and Christmas cheer at the Brewery on Chiswell Street on Friday 5th December. Hosted by Dr Kevin Jones.

There will be a pints for the gents and a glass of white wine for the ladies!

Al's TV show, Happy Hour, has won a British Comedy award and a National Television award.

You and your guests are guaranteed an afternoon of fun and laughter with one of the UKs finest comedians.

We look forward to welcoming you on the day.

ALL HAIL TO THE ALE !

To book: call MBN Promotions on 0161 926 9569 or email sales@mbnpromotions.co.uk. Mention CamKids when you book, to receive the specially discounted price.

New Futures Organisation

2008-11-05T16:10:00.022Z

During a recent visit to Cambodia, I spent a few days in Takeo, about 2 hours South-West of the capital Phnom Penh, to visit the New Futures Organisation (NFO), which CamKids is now supporting.

NFO consists of an orphanage for 55 children and a nearby Vocational Training and drop-in centre. Some of the children in the orphanage are in their teens and so the aim is to try to equip them with the necessary skills and training to find work when it is time for them to leave. Sponsorship has already been secured to fund the cost of putting some of the children through college, including medical training. However, many more long-term donors are needed to secure the futures of these children.

CamKids is now funding the monthly food costs for all of the children and is also making available our donation collection and payment systems to NFO, to allow them to receive donations in the UK, Australia and the US, without any deductions for administration costs or funds transfer fees. In addition, we have also extended our child sponsorship programme to the younger children at NFO and are helping to find sponsors for those children who are able to secure places at college.

NFO welcomes volunteers from all around the world with particular skills or just the enthusiasm to help with whatever is needed at the time and to help teach English to the children. At the Centre, there are 8 rooms for visitors and volunteers. Guests are charged $5 per night and this helps to cover some of the running costs of the orphanage and the Centre. Alternatively, volunteers can stay at one of the nearby guest houses. Reports from the volunteers have all confirmed what an enjoyable and fulfilling time they have had and many have returned in the following year to stay for longer.

If you would like to volunteer for a day, a week or a year, please contact: neville@newfuturesorganisation.com. If you would like to sponsor a child, a college student or support our work with NFO in any other way, please send an e-mail to sponsorship@camkids.org.

Mark Purser
CamKids Trustee

Quantum of Solace - Exclusive Charity Gala Screening

2008-10-27T09:43:00.009Z

Northwest Vision and Media and ODEON – the UK’s largest cinema operator – are delighted to be joining forces to host an exclusive charity screening of the latest Bond installment, Quantum of Solace, on Thursday 30th October – the day before the hotly anticipated blockbuster goes on national release at cinemas across the UK.

Northwest Vision and Media works on behalf of the digital and creative industries in the Northwest to grow a world-class digital and creative economy within the region. It has teamed up with the city’s brand new 14-screen state-of-the-art cinema, ODEON Liverpool ONE – located at the heart of the Liverpool ONE complex – to celebrate its opening and raise money for two extremely worthwhile charities, First Light Movies and CamKids.

The exclusive charity gala screening promises to be the event to be seen at this year. Stars of the small screen are tipped to be in attendance, as well as Liverpool’s very own Bond girls – modelling the latest collections from the array of stylish shops situated within Liverpool ONE.

VIP tickets to this special event are priced at £25* and include admittance to the film as well as the essential cinema treats, from ODEON Liverpool ONE. Guests will also be invited to dance the night away at a private after-party hosted by the city’s most desirable hot spot, Kingdom. All proceeds from ticket sales will be divided equally between First Light Movies and CamKids.

Phil Westhead, General Manager of ODEON Liverpool ONE, says: “We’re thrilled to be celebrating the recent opening of ODEON Liverpool ONE with an exclusive screening of the most exciting film of the year. The fact that it’s supporting two such worthwhile causes makes it all the more special – we can’t wait to throw our doors open and invite Liverpool’s film fanatics to be a part of the celebrations.”

Doors open at 7.30pm with the screening starting at 8.00pm prompt.

* Tickets for the exclusive charity gala screening of the next Bond adventure, Quantum of Solace, can be purchased on ODEON’s website odeon.co.uk, via the ODEON Filmline on 0871 22 44 007 or by calling in at the ODEON Liverpool ONE cinema box office. A limited number of tickets are available on a first come first served basis.

Vision and Media, which chose CamKids as its charity of the year for 2008, also have a limited number of premier tickets available, priced at £40. This includes your seat and admittance to the pre and post screening private parties. To purchase one of these exclusive tickets, email 007@visionandmedia.co.uk. For more information visit www.visionandmedia.co.uk.

John Barrowman & Scott Gill - a thank you

2008-10-23T14:05:00.013+01:00

We would like to say a big thank you to fans of John Barrowman (who plays Captain Jack from Dr Who, among other roles) for raising $1,200 on his fansite from the sale of John's souvenir flyers. John has very generously matched this with an equivalent donation, bringing the total up to $2,400.

The money will be used to purchase furniture and equipment for the Kais Village nursery, which John's partner, Scott, helped design and worked on in Cambodia earlier this year.

To see John and Scott's video thank you to their fans, follow This Link.

Thanks also to George and everyone at Barrowmanonline for their hard work.

Thankyou to our JustGiving Fundraisers

2008-09-23T15:28:00.004+01:00

We would like to offer a big thanks to all of our supporters who have raised money for CamKids through JustGiving sponsored runs, cycle events, birthdays, weddings and other fundraising initiatives.

Recent heroic work has included Matt and Sophia's epic 1,000 mile cycle ride from Land's End to John O'Groats - battling all the elements during the appalling summer we have just had. Also, Daniel's 100 mile Manchester bike ride and Kamila's 5.6km corporate running challenge. We would also like to wish good luck to Rachel, who competes in a half Marathon on 5 October.

You don’t have to use our JustGiving site just for sponsored or special events - you can also use it as a general fundraising tool to tell your friends and family that you are a CamKids supporter and ask them to join you. Far easier than rattling a tin or chasing donors for cash. Lots of people set up a fundraising page after a trip to Cambodia to let their friends know how they have been affected by the country and how they can help the children. Scroll down to the bottom of this Weblog to see some other ideas from our current fundraisers.

If you would like to raise money for CamKids, please visit our JustGiving site: www.justgiving.com/tccc or contact us at justgiving@camkids.org for information and fundraising materials.

2008 Al Murray Golf Classic

2008-09-08T13:59:00.004+01:00

Following the success of the golf day last year, the 2nd Al Murray CamKids Classic was held at Leatherhead Golf Club on Friday 29th August. Sixty seven golfers hit the fairways ........ actually, 67 golfers teed off and, in truth, considerably fewer hit the fairways. Al Murray, Abi Titmuss and Marc Warren took to the golf carts and headed round the course providing entertainment and refreshments.

Amazingly there was some good golf played on a fantastic course, but we also had our share of hackers. Everyone had a fabulous day and the weather remained kind, even if the course didn’t.

Following their efforts on the course, there was a free pint of London Pride (donated by Fullers) for every golfer. After a few beers, regaled stories of monster drives, long distance putts and greens hit from seemingly impossible positions, 86 people sat down to a wonderful 3 course meal and an evening’s entertainment.

After dinner, Al and Abi drew the raffle and gave away some great prizes donated by various generous sponsors. Al then presided over an unbelievably successful auction which skyrocketed the profit for the day to over £17,000.00!!!! A truly staggering amount that will do so much in Cambodia - and remember that every penny of those profits will make it to Cambodia helping to enrich, and possibly even save, many children’s lives.

Many many thanks to;
Al Murray, Abi Titmuss and Marc Warren for their heroic efforts.
Gail Taylor for all her help in the organization and execution of the day
All our sponsors and donors
Tim Lowe and all the staff at Leatherhead Golf Club
All the volunteers who gave their time

........ and mostly to all the golfers and guests who turned up, had a great day, gave generously and helped to change children’s lives

SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR

July Newsletter

2008-08-30T10:31:00.002+01:00

We are pleased to release the second 6-monthly Newsletter from CamKids - The Cambodian Children's Charity.

This edition starts with news of the completion of a large nursery at Kais Village Orphanage, with the assistance of members of the Royal Engineers and volunteers from the UK and Australia. We also have updates of our Farm project and Child Sponsorship programmes at Kais.

We also include an update on Rumdoul Thmei school, in Kampong Speu Province as well as other ongoing projects and reports of some of the fantastic fundraising work which our supporters have completed recently.

To access the Newsletter, you can either click on the image above, Here or Here or Contact Us and we will send you a copy by e-mail. If you sign up to our Newsletter, you will receive your copy by e-mail every 6 months (your details will not be used for commercial or any other purpose).

Thanks again to all of our donors and supporters, without whom none of this would have been possible.

With Best Wishes

The CamKids Trustees

GIVING FROM ABROAD - If you are an Australian or American taxpayer, you can now make tax deductible donations to CamKids. Please send Mark Purser an e-mail at: finance@camkids.org, for further details.

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