CAMBODIA UPDATE

October, 1999

"The work of ensuring peace and dignity has no beginning and no end"- Maha Ghosananda

I have just returned from three weeks in Cambodia to inspect the school and am happy to report much progress. The setbacks were few and minor, as illustrated by the sign I had commissioned to be painted- "Elizabeth Shcol," (named for my mother)! The building is now completely finished and paid for. I was impressed with the sturdiness of the structure, with a sheet metal roof and plank walls and floor. The student desks were cut from local timber. They have only to dig and construct the latrine, the first in the village. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to initiate the construction of a well: an NGO in Battambang agreed to the task, but due to the remoteness of the village, the cost is high ($2,000). I have asked the village committee to survey costs from closer Thai-based companies and report to me.

I had the honor to teach the first lesson, English ABC's, and I must admit to having tears tears in my eyes as the chidren recited back to me in unison. I could sense the excitement in the entire village, and the committee assured me they were now ready to take on the tasks of running the school and supporting the three teachers. I even found a young man in Pailin who tentatively agreed to make the trip one day a week to teach English in the village.

I convened several meetings between the village school committee, Saboras non-profit org., and the local officials in Pailin. There is a new humanitarian organization forming, headed by the wife of Pailin's mayor, Mrs. Y Chhien, "Women in Development." As they share the same general mission as Battambang-based Saboras, I invited them to be the local partner to our work in the Pailin area. Indeed, I just received a report that they hand-delivered 130 Saboras-sewn mosquito nets that I had ordered, 80 to O'Cheukram and 50 to Bauhaey Villages. More importantly, this fledgling organization has now coordinated efforts with Saboras and has made direct contact with the villagers.

The peace of the past two years has brought tremendous dividends to the country. I believe that in a small part the progress we have made in the Pailin countryside, with a very vulnerable group of refugees, provides the foundation toward self-empowerment and a better future. I even witnessed a gun exchange, the surrendering of weapons to the government, while in the village.

However, the problems on the whole in Cambodia remain staggering, nearly to defy imagination. With the HIV-infection rate estimated at 50% of all the sex workers, the future is dim indeed. I distributed 3,000 condoms and taught HIV prevention in the red-light districts in Phnom Penh, Battambang, Pailin, and Kampot; the thousands of girls here have little hope of a better life. To my assistant and guide, I gave $50, the going rate bribery rate for procuring a factory sewing job in Phnom Penh. And the lack of education and employment for young boys has also taken a social toll, as growing numbers of urban youth, many orphaned, turn to petty thievery and drug usage, glue-sniffing in particular. Saboras and myself have talked about the need for vocational training for boys in Battambang, where the problem seems particularly evident. Everything takes money of course, but as the school project demonstrates, with the right coordination, a little investment can make a tremendous difference in Cambodia.

EXPENDITURES (since 5/99)

$2582 total, balance of $416

Total raised to date- $6777

Lance A. Rasbridge, Ph.D.
Cambodia Fund
Refugee Services of North Texas
4113 Junius St.
Dallas, TX 75246
214 266-1127

lrasbr@aol.com

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