Q4 2020 Newsletter
Notwithstanding that it has been a tumultuous year for many, we remain steadfast in our work for the people especially the children of Cambodia. During the last quarter of 2020, we were able to rollout more school infrastructure for one of our three mainstay programs in particular school facilities.
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To school for a brighter future
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Cambodia has been relatively successful in controlling the epidemic. However, this has been at the expense of significant interruption to the country’s education system to the extent that schools were suspended by more than six months. We hope to mitigate this setback by concentrating on improving on our English class delivery in 2021.
With your strong support, we were able to successfully undertake several projects in 2020 which would go a long way to improve students’ welfare. Be sure to read to the end of this newsletter for a little article on Cambodia Reflections.
WASH Program: We successfully installed 20 Australian made Pioneer water tanks in 17 schools and 3 health centres in Kampot, Kampong Speu and Takeo provinces. Water is harvested from the roofs of school buildings and channelled into the tanks. The total cost of about USD50,000 was primarily funded by the LUFF Foundation and your generous donations.
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While the water liner in the new Pioneer tanks have anti-bacterial features, the next phase of our water improvement initiative in the current year will involve the roll out of a water purification system(WPS) in each school where our tanks have been built. The WPS is based on the use of an ultra high filtration device to eliminate any contaminants including harmful microbes. The introduction of the WPS would go towards making the drinking water safe and to meet WHO standards. We would welcome your contribution to fund the WPS with implementation envisaged in the second quarter of 2021.
Sanitation: It is not just drinking water that we are making available to school children but access to potable water for hygiene is crucial to minimise the risk of contracting diseases. The lack of adequate sanitation limits participation and school attendance, especially for girls.
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We have recently built new toilet facilities with water supply for Pothivong Primary School. The new design incorporates gender separation and handwash facilities outside the toilet. This is a significant improvement over the old two cubicle toilet meant for use by the 125 students.
Classroom Construction: We completed the construction of a 3-classroom project for Kdat Secondary School in December 2020. This is the second building using new materials in the form of pre-fabricated metal sheets which is more economical. The cost savings of about 40% has enabled us to undertake the construction of better sanitation facilities. It goes to show that we are always working to make your contributions go further.
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Community Assist: In addition to support from the public, two other donor organisations, namely LUFF Foundation and Club 500 continue to contribute towards the community through food programs and other forms of family assistance which are implemented by BLCP with oversight by YourAid.
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The Community Assist Program provided was especially helpful during the epidemic as several families were impacted by unemployment following the closure of factories and the return of unemployed workers who had been working abroad. A total of 1,190 parcels were distributed with almost 4,000 poor people deriving benefit since commencement of the program in the second half of last year.
Dental Program: The free dental services which we provide are clinical treatment, oral healthcare education and preventive fluoride applications for toddlers. We are the only organisation which provides these high level of services to the community and school children.
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Dental treatment and oral health education provided by our dental team
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More than 20,000 children benefited from our dental program in the last quarter of 2020. Dental care is a high cost program as it involves the engagement of highly skilled staff and the procurement of medical supplies. Your continued support to make available such a service means that children in Cambodia can stay healthy and grow up in confidence with a wide smile on their face.
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There is extraordinary in the ordinary like this jar containing duckweed, a tiny floating water plant. Photo taken at Samon's Village Guest House, Kampot in Cambodia.
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Reflections: Since it is the start of a new year, it is timely for some reflection on what we could do to make our time on earth meaningful. To transform ourselves to become better human beings and to help others would be a great starting (and ending) point. The several programs you read in our newsletters are your projects which we at YourAid and BLCP are only facilitating to deliver to the best of our abilities.
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