A gentle reminder -- bringing Hope and Opportunity to rural Cambodia requires Money

We've experienced the faithfulness of God and the sacrificial commitment of people throughout our 20 years in Cambodia.

The cash balance in the Project Cambodia fund at Mountain View Community Church is at an all-time low (edited--NOW.. end of October). We aren't in panic mode. We have money in Cambodia that will last for about two full months, so we have time to let our friends know and then watch how God prompts some individuals, families and groups to respond. Click here for how you can help. http://ratzloffcambodia.blogspot.com/p/how-to-donate.html

Here's some of the rewards of your gifts, prayers and encouragement.

Cambodian staff: Jumpah currently employs 27 men and women, and we have openings for three additional team members.

Orphans: Of the many children who lost their parents to the effects of HIV-AIDS, only nine remain at Garden of Joy. What happened? They grew up. Some already completed university and are working. A couple are married. Others are attending university or are working. A couple, unfortunately, we've lost track of. Several are back, but no longer children. They now fill roles of pastor, teacher, farm worker and wood worker.

AdVenture Cambodia establishes social enterprises and creates jobs:

Jumpah School - https://www.facebook.com/adventurecambodia

Without a doubt, this school is our most exciting and most successful activity, both in terms of growth and in terms of meeting needs in the community we serve. Local schools are not meeting needs. Jumpah currently is registered with the government to operate preschool, kindergarten and grades 1 through 6.

A new school year begins in a week, and we expect at least 130 children from relatively poor rural families to attend. Parents pay $7 per month for each child; scholarship gifts pay the other $84 per year. http://ratzloffcambodia.blogspot.com/p/how-to-donate.html

We now have started an overflow list for preschool and for kindergarten. If we get enough children registered, we will open two afternoon classes, as well. Obviously, this could require additional teachers and other resources in the coming years.

The former Place of Peace property has been converted to this school. Many moms and dads lost their battles with the effects of HIV-AIDS here, but now some of their children, along with many village children, are growing and learning in a friendly, beautiful, encouraging and safe environment.
 

Homes for families living with HIV-AIDS ... But now a beautiful school for village children

Preschoolers in their bright and cheerful room, and taught by a great teacher

Already learning to read and write

Self discovery in the library

Teachers and students

A BRAND NEW POST

Excited to post after a bit of an absence. Hey, sometimes life gets hectic, daily habits change, and important things are avoided.

Going forward, I still may not post here as often as I'd like, but we've just started a brand new Facebook Page which will provide regular updates.

https://www.facebook.com/adventurecambodia

Jumpah activities have changed as the situation in Cambodia has changed. The crisis brought on by HIV-AIDS, land mines, fighting, orphans and widespread extreme poverty are mostly gone.

Now rural Cambodian families need support, encouragement, training, new ideas, medical advice and jobs -- mostly jobs.

Jumpah continues to raise the children at Garden of Joy who were orphaned when their parents died from the impact of HIV-AIDS. But only nine children remain. Yes, the rest grew up. Some are married, some attend university or are receiving vocational training, and a few have stayed to work with our various activities.

Jumpah also participates in community development activities -- teaching health seminars, counseling families and individuals, offering emergency assistance for those with financial and medical emergencies, providing school scholarships to village children, etc.

Social Enterprises have become a major focus of activities. Small businesses seem to offer the most sustainable model for on-going development. When profitable businesses are established -- offering jobs for rural Cambodians -- economic and social conditions of rural villages improve and families choose to improve their quality of life.

Visit the other pages of this blog to find more information and to see how you can participate in our efforts to make a significant impact - holistically - in the lives of our neighbors in rural Cambodia.

The Good, The Bad, and . . . the Spam?

Thursdays are generally our longest day of the week. We back the truck out of the house before 8:00 am and return after 5:00 pm, sometimes even after dark. I suppose I should also tell you I was up past 1:30 this morning watching the livestream of the Apple Event -- Back to the Mac.

Just outside of town, we encountered more trucks than we've ever seen stopped and blocking traffic in both directions. Coming home, the intersection was similar but less chaotic. Not sure what the problem was, but we could only think of the video we had seen last night on CNN -- Truckers in France. I'm quite sure that wasn't what was happening here. I've never seen that level of organization in our 15 years here.

Anyway, The Good:

We really didn't experience anything "real good" today. So I'll just pick a couple "nice" things.

We found some pretty good quality plywood (made in Cambodia) and the guys in the woodshop began to cut and assemble some shelving units for the children. Dar designed them. Our only real problem this afternoon -- We were told by the saleperson that the plywood's thickness was two centimeters. We cut the pieces accordingly and ended up with about a centimeter gap. That's when we discovered the plywood is actually only 18 millimeters (kind of like America's 2X4s). I guess it's a universal problem that mankind can't resolve. Anyway, with some minor adaptations along the way, our first unit is useable, for sure.

While we were meeting with the leadership team, a truck with a crew of four delivered a couple cement table sets. They are very heavy, can withstand some abuse, and are water proof! Just an hour or so after delivery, they are proving to be a welcome addition to life. When Dar yelled to this group that she was not taking their picture, she got some perplexed responses. She tried to explain her remark in the Cambodian language and got some laughs. Still not sure they understood why she wanted a picture of a 'table,' no matter how 'nice' it is. Anyway, the tables are compliments of the Bribie Team from Australia.

The Bad:

We've had trouble with some of the children's relatives. When kids at Jumpah, previously unwanted, get to an age that is valuable for domestic service, manual labor, and the sex industry, they are suddenly wanted.

One particular combination, a gramma and an aunt of a group of our siblings, have requested that we allow the kids to come home to celebrate various holidays. Ever since our very bad experience a couple years ago when a girl never returned (against her will), we always refuse these requests. We do permit genuine relatives to come visit children here, but they rarely do.

Recently, this particular gramma and aunt have stepped up their requests and expressed interest in 'taking' the children. We are alerting the village leader, neighbors, school teachers, and local police to help us insure the safety of our children and all the children in the village. In Cambodia, powerful people or people with means can make 'deals' with local officials. We are doing what we can, but we urge you to remember the kids before our heavenly father, as well. Thanks.

The Spam:

This probably isn't what you think.

We've been trying to raise pigs for years, as most of you know. Over the past two years, I think, our project activities have had access to artificial insemination. Our local staff weren't so sure about this -- "Oh no," they said. "The boar is better."

Their group view changed quickly when the first sow to be artificially inseminated had 13 piglets. Since then, we have had mixed results with no conclusive evidence that either AI or the boar is better.

So, the discussion came up again this morning. I kept referring to the "spam." After our heated debate, some of the guys went to Dar and asked her why I kept saying, "spam."

Well, I had heard them say "spam" for years. I assumed it was a technical name, either in French or Cambodian, for sperm. Turns out the guys were all trying to say "sperm" but couldn't actually do it, since they don't have that series of consonants and vowels in their language.

We all had a laugh. When I got home, this was the only experience of the day that I thought might fit the end of "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly."

The End of the Day

I'm a night person. So is Dar.

When I walk up the marble stairs to bed earlier than normal, it's likely due to one of three reasons:

-- a middle of the night (here) game, perhaps Packers
-- I have a headache
-- I'm frustrated with something, perhaps farming

Tonight is a slightly different reason. I want to get up to follow the live Apple earnings report on the internet, at 4:00 am in Cambodia.

I told you, I like Apple. Currently, they represent the bulk of our retirement fund. And they need to increase a bit so we (I) can purchase their next 'toy.'

Our good friend, Mary, was over a couple days ago. She commented, as usual, on the 'toys' she saw scattered around our office. "Oh well, they're all just tools," she concluded.

One more Apple tool will board an EVA flight from LA later this week, in the pocket or carry-on bag of friends coming from Hope Chapel, in Manhattan Beach, California. The group has come every October for  eight straight years. They work out at Jumpah for the better part of two weeks.  They bring solar panels, tooth brushes, medicines, children's toys, power tools, craft supplies and more.

Oh, and this year, they will bring the latest iPod Touch with HD video. Hey it's a tool. You should be seeing some pics / video on this blog real soon.

Back to the Hope team -- Tom, Kathy, Dolly and another Kathy have come every year. Tom works on a variety of maintenance and building projects. Kathy leads a bunch of ladies in various craft activities. Dolly and the other Kathy lead the children's activities. This year Greg and Wendy will come and offer dental services to our staff families and to some of the poorer families in the village. Of course, all of us will enjoy some time shopping in the Russian Market and scurrying about town in tuk tuks!

They (it) arrive on Friday. I can hardly wait. I'm going upstairs. Good night.

Every Picture Tells a Story Don't It

That's about all I remember from a Rod Stewart song back in the early 70s.

While the words are obviously true, we often need some help to understand just what that story is.

Here are four random photos I pulled from Dar's iPhoto files.

Each of these boys lost their mom at Place of Peace, Jumpah's center for families living with HIV-AIDS. They don't remember their dads, who all died before we met the families. One can only imagine what they may dream about while taking an after-lunch nap under the large shade tree. 

Three very special brothers. Some of you have met them. We wonder what they remember of their mom. We show them pictures of her often. Vung continues to regain strength in his leg since surgery to repair a clubfoot and other issues. Compared to their condition even one year ago, Chang and Pic, both HIV positive, are growing physically and emotionally in an atmosphere of love, acceptance and opportunity. But Pic still has bouts of depression and takes a long time to recuperate from simple colds, soar throats, and infections.

Three teenagers from three families living with HIV-AIDS are finally enjoying childhood, friendships, education and opportunities at Place of Peace. Here, posing for a quick pic while moving dirt, it is so obvious that their lives have been and are being transformed.

Not every picture tells a 'good' story. These three young sisters and their mom and dad came to Jumpah three weeks ago. Mom and dad, both HIV positive, were gaining strength, and the kids were getting adjusted to a very new life. As the sun came up a few days ago, Jumpah staff members found the house empty. The family had left after dark the night before. We don't know where they went. We don't know why they left. We know the mom had an important doctor's appointment coming up. She has serious health issues that need to be addressed. It is extremely unlikely they will now be diagnosed and treated. Similar stories of families or individuals walking away from Jumpah's help are actually quite common. Our hearts ache especially for the children, who are innocent victims of parental decisions. For the sake of these three little girls, we hope and pray that mom and dad will decide to return.

That agenda item . . . and more

That agenda item was:

How can we quickly increase the amount of methane generated in our biodigester?

In short, we can't.

We will pump the human sewage from three different pits to the digester. That input will produce some additional gas.

As to purchasing piglets or sows from outside and adding them to our pens. Well, apparently the risk of disease (yes, the dreaded 'blue ear') is still too great. There just is no credible expert or agency in Cambodia that farmers can trust to provide useful information. So we will patiently wait and watch and see what our own remaining sows will accomplish.

Surprise -- Wednesday night five piglets were born to one sow. Not a great number, obviously, but all at least seem to be healthy.

. . . and more:

The heavy rains continue, though not like the deluge that fell earlier in the week. Dar took this picture on our way back to town yesterday, one day after I read the following in the Phnom Penh Post newspaper:

"At the Khmer Rouge tribunal, which is located in Dangkor district, flooding forced officials to relocate the five Khmer Rouge leaders currently in custody, said an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press.

The official said all five -- Kaing Guek Eav, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith, Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea -- had been temporarily moved from the detention facilities to another building."

The "detention facilities" and the criminal court building are at the site in the picture -- at the back of the property.

The water has drained away, a bit, over the past two days.

. . . and one more:

Just a couple more kilometers from the Khmer Rouge tribunal, the combination of water and garment workers heading home from the factories slowed traffic again. A bit before 5:00 pm, workers cram into trucks for the long ride back to their home villages.

Recent news articles say garment factories, mostly foreign owned, employ up to 400,000 Cambodians, mostly young women (girls) who are strongly encouraged by their families to go to Phnom Penh to search for a job. International organizations say as much as 50 percent of their wages (which usually run from $45 to $70 per month) are often sent back to their families.

An agenda item - one of many

Preparing for tomorrow’s weekly meeting with the key staff (sort of like a leadership team) out at Sobhan. Dar’s agenda is always much longer than mine. I’m sure tomorrow will be no exception.

But here’s one of the ‘issues’ I have listed.

-- How can we quickly increase the amount of methane generated in our biodigester? 


Jumpah was creating more than we could use when Dar and I left for America a few months ago. And our uses were growing: cooking fuel for all three meals; bright lamps for reading and studying, plus keeping some burning through the night for outdoor security; powering a gas motor used to chop greens for pig food. Just when we were getting proud of our accomplishments, ‘blue ear’ invaded six provinces and infected nearly all of our 125 pigs. Over a two-month period, staff members fought the disease but almost half of the pigs died. 


‘Poo’ from the survivors now generates enough gas for about two meals per day. Nothing else. Twelve breeding sows survived, barely, but it will be a while before any piglets are birthed and can help add to the poo pits.

Some of our options:

-- Buy some piglets (to raise) from the commercial farm.

-- Purchase additional ‘healthy’ sows to eventually get more piglets (a higher cost, but greater investment in the future).

-- Channel sewage from human toilets to the biodigester.

We are working to do the third option, for sure. A newly-purchased pump and 150 meters of soft rubber hose will be delivered to Sobhan tomorrow. The pump will be used to move human sewage once every week or two. The theory says the extra poo will increase the volume of methane.

But the pump will also drain or fill the fishponds, depending on the particular season. It will pump excess rain water from the gardens to neighboring rice fields. Jumpah will also be able to assist poor farmers who need assistance with water issues. Up to now, Jumpah has been paying to rent the equipment each time we have a need. Prices can run as high as $2.50 per hour; A week ago, we rented one for nearly six hours. This morning we paid US$238 for a used system with all the necessary accessories. And eventually, we will try to operate it with methane.

I will come back and post some pics when the system is operating!

Meanwhile, we are still thinking about the other two options, or any others, that will help us rebuild our pig and methane activity. I hope we have time to discuss this tomorrow.