Dear Friends,

We organised our annual goodwill trip from 4 to 8 December 2013 to bond with our residents at the resettlement village in Kampong Speu. 37 Hope Villages volunteers and Singapore students together with 55 Cambodian students and teachers from Phum Trea Hope Centre brought personal gifts, food, friendship, joy and fun for the 800 residents at the resettlement village.

Goodwill Trip

The damaged ‘bridge’ did not discourage the visitors from reaching the project site. The residents were pleased in welcoming them and were thrilled to receive their gifts and the friendship.

It was a day of festivity with food and games. While, the adults were busy preparing the roast beef and chicken on baguettes and sticky rice with banana, the children were enjoying their friendly game of football and hit-that-pot game. Different languages and culture did not deter our Singapore, Kampong Speu and Phum Trea children from their fun.

The 40 homeless Muslim families who are still waiting to be fully settled into the new land also joined in the festivity.

It was also an exciting experience for our young Phum Trea students who have never ventured out of the village.

It wasn’t just all fun, our young student volunteers from Singapore rolled up their sleeves hoeing dirt and lifting beams and bricks with the adults and residents constructing houses so that the residents can have a proper brick house to live.

Sustainability and Progress

The new residents were determined to get out of poverty. They slowly sustained their livelihood by developing their entrepreneurship skills. A family turned their home into a shop selling household utensils and provisions. Another villager leased a mini-mobile rice mill earning a fee for polishing padi for others.

Group Leader, Mr Anh, is another determined man. He was a tut-tuk driver and has no farming skill, but now, his farm land is a golden rice field with multi-crops of vegetable and fruits.

The women are also occupied with their sewing and embroidery crafts earning them an income.

We were impressed with the progress made by the villages. In just over 2 years, from a barren forest it is now covered with rice fields, crops and with chicken and cows running around this ‘green’ pasture.

With the fixing of the broken ‘bridge’ it allows us to continue with the houses building and to settle in another 40 homeless Muslim families and a mosque on this miracle land.

Teachers’ Training & Development

Our teachers from Phum Trea and Kampong Speu have recently attended a 5-day Global Youth Summit organized by Hemispheres Foundation in Singapore from 14 to 19 January 2014. Hemispheres Foundation sponsored their participation at the summit. Together with 450 youths from 13 countries they were guided and coached in leadership, communication, presentation and developing environmental projects that they can carry out in their village. The summit has enhanced their confidence and improved their English.

Post us of your interest to be part of our team in making a difference to others.