How a few people can make a lot of difference…..

Dr Fred Grosse & Victoria Sinclair

On January 17th, 2008, Fred and I watched the sun rise behind the majestic ruins of  Angkor Wat - a breathtaking Buddhist/Hindu Temple complex built by Khmer Kings some 800 years ago. The massive Temples near Siem Reap, Cambodia, rival the splendour of the Pyramids of Egypt and the Taj Mahal as wonders of the World.

By 7 a.m. we had walked over 3 miles through the achingly beautiful remnants of Buddhist statues, stupas and bas reliefs, depicting the religious beliefs of the ancients and the sometimes gruesome war victories of the Khmer royalty. As we walked, our guide, Han, spoke to us of the more recent wartime horrors of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia in the 1970s. His stories of the cruelties inflicted by the Khmer Rouge on their own people made the carved war stories look like childs' play. By the time we got back to our hotel I was filled with despair at man's inhumanity to man.

A couple of hours later, we were in the car of Siddharth, the Manager of the Amansara Hotel, on our way to visit an orphanage. We were accompanied by Nick Griffin, a British social worker who, less than 2 years ago, felt a calling to go to Cambodia. He had a chance meeting with Sean Samnang, a 28 year old Cambodian (Khmer) man, who, with his wife had taken in 5 children a couple of years before and they had just kept coming. Nick told us he gave up all thoughts of returning to his secure job in London and had dedicated his life to supporting the efforts of Samnang and the Cambodian Orphan Save Organisation (COSO) that he had set up. Nick and Samnang are now co-directors of the Orphanage.

Our visit to this Orphanage restored my faith in humanity and my belief that each one of us has the ability to make a difference....

There are now 50 children at COSO. Their ages range from 2 to 14 years old. 50 children under a tin roof with no running water, no electricity, no beds, bedrooms, closets, showers or other amenities we take for granted. What they do have is somewhere safe to sleep, the loving care and attention of Samnang and his wife B'ree, Nick, about 6 Khmer men and women (also volunteers) who cook and clean and teach the children traditional dance and music and a small number of volunteers from the UK and Australia who teach them English and other skills.

Nick said that almost every day a village chief arrives at the building with another child and they are simply not able to take in any more children. What amazed me, was how peaceful the children were. They do their own washing and take responsibility for their few possessions in the 3 rooms they share with each other. Every day they bathe in the 800 year old reservoir across the road. The older children walk to the village school and the younger ones come under the care of the volunteers. As we were leaving we stopped to admire a group of 30 of them all sitting on the floor, proudly clasping the toothbrush and toothpaste they'd just been given and listening to the Australian volunteer explain to them how to use these interesting objects.

To see our pictures of the Orphanage, please use the following link: http://www.flickr.com/gp/23640704@N05/834388

I asked Nick what they needed most urgently. He said they live on land which they rent for US$30 a month. Any day the owner could give them notice to leave. There are hundreds, possibly thousands of orphaned children in the area. Their main priority is to buy some land, near a sealed road and build a village. The village would comprise 30  "mini houses" which could accommodate 10 children plus one adult in each. A school and a children's play area would also be constructed.

Estimates for the cost of land vary from US $50,000 to $100,000 - land prices are rising quickly thanks to the effects of growing tourism.

Our goal is to raise US$50,000 by June 30th, 2008 to enable the land purchase to go ahead. After that, at least US$50,000 for the construction of the houses. A wonderful Australian woman, Natalie McKenzie, has also fallen in love with the children of COSO and she has already raised $14,000 for the project.

Other items on the "wish list" are:

• Solar electric power equipment to power the sleeping areas and an office around US$4,000
• Education sponsorship. Each child has to take his or her teacher around 25 cents a day to pay for their education. The government salaries for teachers are around US$30 a month and they cannot survive on this. No donation too small for this project.
• School books for English teaching - around US$500
• School desks $150 x 3 (3 seaters)
• Clothing and school uniforms
• Laptops and printers
• Timber to make cupboards for the childrens' belongings, about US$750
• First aid cabinet and medications US$500.
• Child sponsorship US$35 per child per month.

General Information

The Orphanage is a registered non-profit NGO (non-governmental organization) registered with the central government in Phnom Penh. Any COSO funds are protected and they do not have to pay tax.

The land and buildings would be owned by the charity - the Cambodia Orphan Save Organization.

How You Can Help

• Financial gifts of any amount can be put towards the purchase of the land or can be earmarked for one of the items above. Right now bank transfers or checks are the preferred means of payment as we do not have the capability of handling credit card payments. Please make checks payable to: Cambodia Orphan Save Organisation.
• Tell friends who might be interested in donating or in volunteering their time to the orphanage on a trip to Cambodia. A minimum of three months time is preferred as the children need stability and get very attached to the volunteers.

Please contact me (Victoria) by email at: vsinclair@zipworld.com.au or Suzy at our office at: mailto:suzy.t@drfredgrosse.co.nz if you are interested in making a contribution to the orphanage. No amount is too small. Victoria will give you the address to mail checks to or the appropriate bank account details.

Are my financial gifts tax-deductible?

• Please note that Dr Fred and I have agreed that we will cover any and all of our own expenses relating to the Orphanage support and will not be subtracting any amount from funds raised for our own administrative, travel, legal or staff- related expenses. 100% of what you donate will go directly to the Orphanage at this time (see later note about a Global organization).
• At the time of writing this article I am investigating the requirements for setting up charitable trusts in the USA, New Zealand and Australia for this purpose. Right now I cannot guarantee that a receipt I give you would be tax-deductible.
• If you make a contribution direct to the bank account of COSO Nick or Samnang will forward a receipt to you - I cannot guarantee that your government tax office will honour the receipt for tax purposes but it's worth a try.
• I am also checking out the possibility of working through an international agency such as Rotary or Global Development Group, which would issue receipts, supervise the project to some degree, provide accountability etc for a fee of 5%.

Thank you - for taking the time to read all this.  It has taken longer than I expected! If you feel called to donate to the project please write to vsinclair@zipworld.com.au) .

The photos on the link (http://www.flickr.com/gp/23640704@N05/834388) will give you an idea of what we experienced on our visit. Their need is urgent.

Visiting COSO in Siem Reap.

Dr Fred and I plan to visit the Orphanage later in the year to keep in touch and to be able to give other donors a report on how the construction is coming along. If you would like to join us on this trip please let us know.

Click here to download the form to make a donation!