Hope For Cambodian Children Fundraiser Dinner
PAPERCHAIN is proud to support
Hope For Cambodian Children Fundraiser Dinner to be held on
Monday September 22 6.30 for 7:00pm start.
Element Restaurant
4 Barker St Griffith (Griffith Shops)
Tickets $80.00, 3 course + Glass of Wine.
Tickets are available at Paperchain Bookstore (inquires at counter or Telephone Daphne 0409 395 392)
There will be a silent auction on the night of locally handcrafted artwork and products from Cambodia.
The Hope for Cambodian Children’s orphanage is a joint Cambodian / Australian venture. It is situated in Battambang, the second largest city in Cambodia, with a provincial population of 1 million people, nearly 60% of whom are under 18 years of age.
Initially Hope for Cambodian Children, catered for orphans whose parents had been killed in the war. The children lived under tin roofs with only concrete floors to sleep on. There were no proper toilets or running water. The children had no access to basic health services and education. The Centre has expanded to include the many children who are orphaned, abandoned and destitute or whose parents have succumbed to AIDS.
Cambodia is a country where great tragedy has occurred during the last fifty years resulting in immense hardship and poverty for many of its people.
The country has a history of oppression, culminating in the devastation and cruelty of Pol Pot’s regime which has left Cambodia well behind its Asian neighbours in terms of infrastructure and standard of living.
Because Cambodia is not a welfare state there is no funding from any government source to alleviate these problems. Abandoned and orphaned children are exposed to a life of dire poverty and abuse. It is highly likely they will become street children which will lead to slave labor or prostitution.
Hope for Cambodian Children, through the generosity of a few Australians, is now housed in new buildings which includes extensive bungalow and dormitory accommodation, a large dining/recreational area, classrooms and library. It is located in a semi rural environment. The children have nutritious food and clean drinking water. They receive clothing, bedding and school uniforms. They are vaccinated and provided with medical and dental assistance. They attend the local government schools in the morning and receive English instruction in the afternoon.
Hope for Cambodian Children encourages concerned and interested people to support the children. If you sponsor these children you give them the gift of a secure homelike environment and hope for the future. You can make a difference to their lives and they will be happy to have a special person interested in them.
The aim is to give the children a head start and as broad and education as possible so they are able to support themselves when they leave the orphanage. They are encouraged to go back to their extended families or communities and share their skills.
This year, the Canberra community, including Schools, ACT Library Services and Paperchain Bookstore, has assisted in establishing Battambang’s biggest library at HfCC.
Many of the children have been orphaned by AIDS or turned out of their homes due to poverty. Due to it’s location near the Thai border, Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, some of the children have come out of drug factories and prostitution and are late starting with their learning but they are all keen for an education and , particularly, the opportunity to learn English, a valuable skill in the area, with tourism the country’s primary industry.
The children go to local a school but this is very basic, they have a thirst for knowledge and are very enthusiastic, lively learners. The orphanage provides an opportunity, through care, better nutrition and education, for these children to escape the awful cycle of poverty, prostitution and AIDS.
The orphanage is run by locals with an Australian manager and relies solely on donations. There is no government funding for orphanages in Cambodia. So far Australian donations have paid for land, cottages for children with a house-mum, who has often lost her own children, a dining and kitchen area and, recently, classrooms. A library will be one of 6 classrooms being built in the current building plan. There will also be craft, music and IT facilities.
There are 2 school sessions daily in Cambodian schools as many of the children work. They can attend a morning school session and work in the afternoon or vice versa. At the orphanage, the children attend morning school and have value added lessons in the afternoon - ESL, music, art, cultural lessons, basic trade and domestic skills and general educational support. The aim is to give the children a head start and as broad and education as possible so they are able to support themselves when they leave the orphanage. They are encouraged to go back to their extended families or communities and share their skills.
