These lovely brochures show the history of the Ankor Children’s Hospital with lovely images from their origin in 1993 to present.

View or download the PDF file here.

Even though I have not lived in Canada for many years I am still very proud to call myself a Canadian. With Canada Day coming up very soon I just wanted to say thank you to all the wonderful Canadians I have met over the last several years who have so generously gone out of their way to support Angkor Hospital for Children and the kids of Cambodia.

For many of you, it was volunteering your precious vacation time, for others it was bringing medicines, hygiene kits, toys and art supplies and for some it was holding dinner parties and presentations to raise awareness of the work of AHC in Siem Reap. To all of you we owe you a very special thank you. Your generous contributions of time and money go a long ways in Cambodia. We are so very appreciative of your participation and charity. You are truly making a difference.

Download the original pdf file here.

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Importance of Clean Water

Metta is a Myanmar based non government organization operating through funds received from international development agencies and private donors. Self-help mechanisms incorporated into the project process encourage self sufficiency within a period of three years. The Village Drugstore is one such example. Fifteen village drugstores are owned, funded and operated by village volunteer housewives trained by Metta Foundation, an amazing program of responsibility, self-help and empowerment.

Metta’s assistance focuses on building community capacity, coordinating sustainable development projects and promoting community controlled social and economic associations. Priority is given to initiatives that are economically viable, technically appropriate and socially acceptable. Three main areas of focus are clean drinking water wells, the village drugstore project and the basic medicines and children’s vitamins program. Additional information can be found at Metta Development Foundation or www.metta-myanmar.org. Financial statements, budgets and field reports are available upon request.

More than 2.6 billion people – forty per cent of the world’s population – lack basic sanitation facilities, and over one billion people still use unsafe drinking water sources. As a result, thousands of children die every day from diarrhoea and other water-, sanitation- and hygiene-related diseases and many more suffer and are weakened by illness.

The lack of access to safe water and sanitation has many other serious repercussions. Children – and particularly girls – are denied their right to education because they are busy fetching water or are deterred by the lack of separate and decent sanitation facilities in schools. Women are forced to spend large parts of their day fetching water. Poor farmers and wage earners are less productive due to illness, and national economies suffer. Without safe water and sanitation, sustainable development is impossible

Photo (top) water ceremony blessing the new village drinking water well in a Northern Myanmar village. Photo (bottom) children pumping clean drinking water from the new donated well.

Friends Without A Border 2007 Annual Report

Download the full report (PDF) here.

In our continuing efforts to keep pace with growing demands, primarily due to the success of the Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC), we needed to evolve to a higher level. 2007 began with the long journey of searching for a new Executive Director (ED). We received about 100 applications from all over the world; this reinforced in my mind the large presence of Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC), which has received recognition from the medical and non-medical world alike for its compassionate and quality care, as well as its nationally influential education programs. With this realization, our expectations of the new ED became highly elevated, and appropriately so. The responsibilities awaiting the new ED would present daunting challenges. READ MORE

Lighting up the world with words!

It should always be impossible for us to accept that during evening hours while more fortunate children can be found safe at home with their families, the poverty stricken boys and girls of the same planet will often only be located roaming the unforgiving streets of the developing world. This is particularly true in various areas throughout Cambodia, where disadvantaged children are commonly found begging, working to generate income in whatever way they can, or being lured in by pedophiles who do nothing but exploit Cambodia’s most precious assets.

Refusing to accept this situation as an inconvenient truth, M’Lop Tapang Centre for Street Children in Sihanoukville decided to extend its Mobile Library which previously only toured in search of these children during the day, to also operate during the night. Says Project Director Maggie Eno:

“Our night time outreach is now more effective and fun because the M’Lop Tapang Mobile Library can be lit up and used regularly, in any location and at any time thanks to Light up the World Foundation’s efficient solar systems!”

Indeed, M’Lop Tapang’s Mobile Library regularly tours throughout deserving areas and serves up to 500 children a month through outreach work carried out by staff and volunteers on the beaches, ports, railway station and slums. But these services can now also reach children at night when they are certainly most vulnerable. Accordingly, the light which is generated by the solar panel on the bus allows the outreach team to attract these curious children and youth when most Cambodian streets are pitch black and only moving with the sounds of young scurrying feet. It is particularly heartbreaking to know that these children have often never been exposed to education and are usually forced to beg at night by their parents (also driven by poverty) to aid in their day to day survival. Although M’Lop Tapang has managed to reintegrate many of these kids back into public school and with their families, it is always important to remember that their first line of contact with our social workers is always on the street. For some kids, the library is the only safe place in their daily lives where they can just be kids, even if for only a little while.

For those children and youth who we are still on the streets but with whom we are working with and also for the ever increasing population of new kids who come to town, the M’Lop Tapang Mobile Library offers a channel of hope that sheds light on positive choices, as well as provides a fun and safe learning environment even when there is no other light for miles and miles. In fact, solar panels and LED lights have been proven to be so beneficial for M’Lop Tapang that there have been serious talks about trying to integrate them into the new M’Lop Tapang Centre that is currently under construction. Electricity prices in Cambodia are always soaring and as an NGO M’Lop Tapang is unjustly charged as a “company or factory”. With this in mind, a sustainable energy program would have a positive impact on the whole community, displaying to the world that street kids are not only bright in every sense of the word, but also environmentally conscious!

Visit Light up the World Foundation, of the University of Calgary.

Visit M’Lop Tapang website to find out more about their programs and projects.