If you‘ve been a donor for a while you know that our progress reports have a rhythm to them: we report that we succeeded in our annual mission of aiding seven grade schools to improve their buildings and grounds.  We supported teachers with a bonus, provided uniforms and supplies to each student, and distributed bicycles to high school students with long commutes.  All the graduates from our technical school were—again—placed in jobs, and employers continue to seek them out.  We share with you

We began supporting a new school, Sam Bou, in Siem Reap province. Thanks to a generous grant from IBM we planted organic gardens at four of our schools. Students at Edgewood College raised $2,000 to buy property for garden plots and fish farming next to our school in Poum Steung.

We made improvements to our schools at JHP, Kok Thmei and Poum Steung and provided uniforms and supplies to the 7 grade schools we support. Thanks to the generous support of Cyclists for Cultural Exchange, we have now given over 700 bikes to our students.

The drought ended, and wells were again full. We helped three American donors to build a school in Sambour. We have seen how our funding process creates a culture of hope in our schools. We shared our 5th year homecoming party at JHP, celebrating having placed every JHP student we have graduated in our first 5 years.

Cambodia suffered its worst drought in 50 years. Funded by an NGO, we dug a deeper well at JHP Skola and shared the water with the neighborhood. We now have gardens at all our elementary schools. Our JHP graduates work at NGO’s, hotels and cafės, jobs they could never have held without their training at JHP.

We mourned the death of our Poum Steung principal, Thai. We helped the schools we have built and the two we support to remain in good shape, funding projects for gates, storage cabinets, doors, a roof and paint. Kok T’mai became our third elementary school with a garden.