Not long now until Colin heads over to Cambodia to do a water filter run to distribute water filters to some very deserving families.
These water filters are life saving for so many families, as they will provide much needed clean drinking water. Unfortunately many villagers die every week from drinking contaminated and poisonous water.
We are on target and have over 30 filters to distribute in villages North of the Kampot province and in Siem Reap. Colin will be very busy and we are so blessed to have Colin donate his time to help these families.
All pictures will be posted on facebook as the filters get distributed.
f you would like to buy a water filter for a family just click here .
Thank you to everyone who has already donated, we all appreciate your life saving gift.

What an amazing effort for Rick to get the house completed in a week.  The family are over the moon and still can't believe that this has been done for them. 
​The Lighthouse Group donated the money to build the house and Qantas Brisbane Airport Staff donated the money for a well. 
​To complete it, Happy Hub donated mattresses , mosquito nets and a water filter, and Grace Lutheran College donated to build a latrine for the villagers.
​Now, not just the family have got a safe and secure new home but the other villagers have a latrine and well.  It's just so heart warming that so many people have helped to make this dream come true for these very beautiful people.
The Buddhist monks came and blessed the house and then it was time to celebrate.
​It was a double celebration as it was Ricks birthday the day that the house was completed.
A job very well done.
​Thank you everyone that donated :))) 

This is the house that was built on behalf of the Lighthouse Group Brisbane. Rick identified a very deserving family who really needed a new house. They are a family of 5 that were living in a house that was not waterproof and sitting on a pool of water that was leaving them susceptible to water borne disease. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly houses are built in Cambodia. Even the more sophisticated structures go up at break neck speed. Rick tells me that there are 3 shades of blue in the house, seems Cambodian love blue.

We are so pleased to launch our new program that will help assist young at risk men from remote villages to gain building skills and the opportunity of a formal construction education. In conjunction with the Lighthouse Club Queensland and Rick Garson we are hoping to create opportunities for village youth who are in danger of living a life of poverty and no hope of an education. 
​Rick will oversee the project which will launch in Siem Reap in the next week. Rick has identified our first apprentice and we will be monitoring his progress. Once he is competent in building skills, he will be offered an opportunity to further his education to study at a local university where he can learn a trade such as electrical or plumbing. 
​Our program will also provide education on Occupational Health and Safety practices that will show Cambodian builders the importance of safety for life preservation.
​We attended the Lighthouse Club Charity Ball at the start of August and they kindly donated $5000 to start the project.  We would like to thank the Lighthouse Club committee for giving this donation and opportunity.
​ We will post updates here regularly.

 Thank you Colin Norris, Julie & Aja Cordner who accompanied Sok Lin and his family to firstly Royal Phnom Penh hospital for an assessment on the children. Unfortunately Sok Lin and his smaller sister and brother were deemed as congenitally deaf, and the other sibling, a boy is downs syndrome. The 3 mute children have never spoken, never learnt sign language and have no means of communication, yet they are the most beautiful and happy children.
​It is very hard for the mother who works every day in Phnom Penh, which is about a 2 hour drive. Her husband passed away at the beginning of 2017, so you can only imagine how hard life is for them. We managed to get Sok Lin into All Ears in Cambodia (an amazing NGO), where he was given a more thorough check up. They advised us that there isn't anything that can be done for Sok because of his age and condition. He will never talk. Our only option is to try and find a way that we can get him to a place where he can at least learn sign language so that he can communicate.
​While Project Cambodia were visiting the village that Sok Lin is from in Feb 17, Sok Lin borrowed one of the volunteers camera and took some pictures. Seems he has an eye for photography :)
​Thanks to a donation from Noosa Camera House, Colin presented Sok Lin with a camera that he can take pictures with. We have decided to hold photo exhibitions to show Sok Lin's work and to sell and raise money to help with medical and living needs for Sok Lin and his family.
​We will be posting more information and pictures shortly about this project. If you would like to donate to Sok Lins' cause then just follow this link- Sok Lin Donation.
​We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has donated their time and money in this cause :)))
After spending a couple of days in Phnom Penh showing Sok Lin around to take some pictures, they then all headed off to Sok Lins village, where they distributed the water filters, clothes, toothbrushes and educational books that Colin brought from donors in Australia. It was obvious to Colin, Julie and Aja that we have just scratched the surface with medical issues in the village. They met a man who had already had 1 leg amputated and his ankle has gangrene. There are also children in the village that have vision problems, and one little boy who has an enlarged testicle and cannot urinate properly. We are desperate to help these people but unfortunately do not have sufficient funds. Trish will be busy trying to get some other NGO's involved ASAP to get medical treatment.
Colin then headed down to Kampot to visit the Happy Hub house children, where he got to spend some time colouring in with them and playing games.
All in all a heartbreaking yet optimistic trip.

Our amazing member Colin Norris managed to raise enough funds to donate around 20 water filter systems to our villagers. Thank you so much to all of the people that donated.
​The next water filter run will be at the end of June, so if you would like to be involved go to our shop and purchase a water filter.
​Here are some pictures of our first water run, what a great idea Colin Norris :)

This week we transferred payment for 10 water filter units that will be sent to the village and given to very deserving families. This will enable the families to provide clean drinking water for their children. Currently water born illnesses are a major cause of death and illness in children. This is a life changing product for these families.
​Thank you so much to all of the people that donated to make this possible, especially the crew at Qantas, Brisbane Airport.

Trish spent the month of February in Cambodia where she spent time with the children from the Happy Hub House. We had friends and family from Australia visit, including some of our committee members Kathy and Craig. Craig is a paramedic, and showed bora and the kids what to do in case of a snake bite. As there is no anti venom in Cambodia and many dangerous snakes, learning this skill could one day save a life.
We all had some fun times taking the kids to the Epic Arts show and fun family days at the beach.
The Epic Arts show was amazing and not only an eye opener for us westerners but the kids also loved it and enjoyed seeing the story of their country acted out on stage by the wonderful disabled community of Kampot. If ever you are in Kampot, this is a must see, for more information go to Epic Arts . Check out their songs on you tube.
We headed out to the village to see how things are progressing and we were so happy to see the village growing with help from a few NGO's.
​Money raised from the wonderful staff at Qantas Brisbane Airport, who held a Cupcakes for Cambodia fundraiser, raised enough money to install another well. The villagers are so happy and grateful for everyone's help. We will post photos of the new well once it is installed.
​
​All in all the trip was successful and it was interesting to see the growth happening in Cambodia. many of the younger generation that are coming through now from university are setting up some incredible charities to assist their communities.  Two very notable ones are M'Lop Tapang  who support the very needy communities of the Sihanoukville Province. The impoverished children of this region have been very susceptible to the human trafficking trade, but with the amazing work by Pin and the board, every day is bringing hope to these people.  The other one is SCD Orphanage that was founded by Norn, a Cambodian national. We visited the new farm at the village that they assist, it was amazing to see the progress and what he has achieved.  The farm is set up for the younger children, who are cared for and learn at the farm. Norn is currently raising funds to repair a part of the village school that is pretty much falling down. The older children live at the home near Phnom Penh, where they attend school and university.  So refreshing to see such vision and progress.

Nearly time to harvest our first crop, Bora is so excited but also a little sad because some of the crop didn't make it.  Trisha is going to Kampot in February 2017 for a month to help iron out some farming issues and we will be employing a specialist to advise the villagers of the best plants to plant, when and where. We are hoping to plant some long term crops like Durian trees that will eventually give the villagers a steady annual income, as well as short term crops to help with an ongoing income.
​The children are all very settled now in their new life at the house and are doing so well in school. They love playing soccer and are so happy. Alecia is doing an amazing job

​We are currently giving financial assistance to a local village for farming purposes. After visiting the village and meeting with the village chief we have set a plan in place to install 10 water pumps to help irrigate farming land. We are seeking volunteers and donations to assist with agricultural advice for the village to show them how they can farm crops all year around. Currently Cambodians rely on rain for farming and unfortunately it only rains for a few months each year, This restriction has stopped many villagers from earning a sustainable income.
Installing pumps and an irrigation system will enable the villagers to earn an ongoing sustainable income. This in turn will help the whole community grow and improve local services, such as schools.

Teaching them simple farming is imperative for their survival and the future of their children
For more information about our farming project or volunteering, please follow the link.