Beginning of October, Kimsreang Kun, our Country Manager, left Cambodia for the first time in her life. In order to join our National Leadership Conference, she got on the plane and flew 15 hours to ‘the other side of the world’ and had a trip of a lifetime. This post is written by Kimsreang and tells about her experience in Australia.

This trip is the first and most amazing trip for me in my life. I can say that I’m a lucky girl and that not many Cambodian people ever have the chance to visit another country.

There are many things that I have learnt form this trip.

1. Australia is very wonderful country. It is very big, clean, has green everywhere and with nice and comfortable houses. Some part of Cambodia, such as Poipet town is very dirty. You can see waste everywhere in the city, no trees, bad roads and most of the people here live in a very small house. Some houses do not have a bedroom and people just sleep and eat in the same place. Also Cambodia has many beggars with very dirty and broken clothes. I saw few beggars in Australia and they were wearing the same clothes as me and played music on the street. I can understand that Australia’s economic is very high and that there is a very low unemployment rate.

2. Even though Australia people look very busy and not so friendly as Cambodian people, I like that everyone is serious, on time and feel responsible for their work. In Cambodian culture, people never respect time or datelines.

3. I felt very safe while i was in Australia. I could keep my money in  a back pocket or carry my bag on the side of my body without worrying. This, I never do in Cambodia because my money will get stolen, someone can take my bag, or I can get robbed on the street if a motorbike rips my bag.

4. I did not need to discuses the price of taking a taxi. When I go out in Cambodia we need to disuses the price before and we need to be careful all the time with the motor taxi, tuk tuk driver and car diver as some of them a bad people who try to rob you on the way. In Australia i did not worry about this.

5. I was very surprised that most old people who are already retired still spend their free time to listen what is going on in poor countries.  Like in Rotary Clubs, where i did some speaking engagements. In Cambodia old people never care about what is going on with other countries. They only care about their family and only want to stay in the pagoda.

6. I noticed that every house has many books and that most people like reading on the tram or bus. In Cambodia just a few people read books. I feel that Australian people have a high knowledge and have good education. For example, Anna’s Mom is the same age as my mom but she is very different as she likes reading and knows about what is going on in other poor countries.

7. The last thing that I was very excited about is that i visited the house of a poor Australian family. I can say that the house that they are living in is bigger than my house and looks much nicer. Anna’s Mom told me that this family is supported by the government. I think the Australian government takes very good care of their people.

Before my trip I never understand why Australia still has NGOs. I think it is a developed country, so they should not have any poor people. After i visited I understand that they still have some problems with people who need extra support. Especially about the difficulties with the Aboriginal people I had never heard before.

Finally I would like to thank all the people who helped me with a place to stay in Australia.

If you have any questions for Kimsreang, please email info@carpetsforcommunities.org

CfC is currently supporting 3 young, ambitious Cambodian students through University. These students are the sons of mothers we work with in Poipet. They come from poor backgrounds and therefore had no access to a tertiary education before joining our scholarship program. They are now well underway of becoming a laboratory technician, electrical engineer, and IT specialist.

Just 30 years ago, Cambodia was subject to one of the worst genocides in modern history. Some two million  people, one third of the country’s population, was killed under the Khmer Rouge regime. Educated people were killed, and books burned in an attempt to create an agrarian society. Cambodia is still recovering from this terrible time in their history, and is currently in desperate need of young professionals to lead the redevelopment of their country. By being given the chance to attend University, our scholarship students have the change to make a positive contribution to Cambodia’s progress.

Our students are now close to finishing their first year. In order to continue our scholarship program, we are now looking for sponsors who are dedicated to support our students to finish their education. University costs $2250 per year which includes tuition fee, basic living costs and other study costs such as books and materials. This is something that is out of reach for the position our families are in despite the increase in welfare they have received.

Sponsorships starts from $45 dollar per month. This sponsorship comes with an official recognition in the form of a signed sponsorship certificate and the opportunity to place you name or companies logo on our website. Additionally, you’ll receive half year updates on your students progress in University.

MEET OUR STUDENTS

Please consider becoming an official sponsor of Premprey, Kimchhean or Pesith. Sharing this page with your friends is easy. Just use the social media buttons below.

Last June, 10 young professionals from Singapore cycled 400km from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Siem Reap, Cambodia to raise funds for Carpets for Communities. These young change-makers are part of Gone Adventurin’, a Singapore-based initiative consisting of individuals who are united in their passion for sports and giving back to society.  Gone Adventurin’ members embark on endurance sports & adventures such as this one, to raise awareness & funds for sustainable projects.

The Gone Adventurin’ team’s entire expedition was captured by a film crew from LateNite Films based in Melbourne, Australia and made into a feature-length documentary called ‘Spinning Dreams’. This documentary has already been shown in Phnom Penh, Melbourne, Perth, Alice Springs, Adelaide and Singapore. This month it will be shown in Brisbane as a joint event with OXFAM Australia, Launceston, and Siem Reap. Through the project, the team already succesfully raised $60,000 for Carpets for Communities (CfC). “We hope to bring people along for the ride with us via the documentary and ultimately inspire them to take up similar causes,” explained Ashwin, Gone Adventurin’s founder.

At the end of the Gone Adventurin’ expedition, the team spent two days in the town of Poipet on the Thai-Cambodian border to witness first-hand the positive impact made by CfC. “Hearing hope in the mothers’ stories and how passionately they talk about their families’ futures was touching. It is clear that they are grateful for all the work that CfC has done for them,” shared expedition member and banker, Mai Ho.

Though the cycling expedition may have been completed, the journey has only just started for the team. Team members will now share their stories to inspire more people and different events. Individuals interested in supporting the effort can get involved by becoming a supporter and spreading the word on Gone Adventurin’ and Carpets for Communities or by  becoming a sponsor and contribute funds to the projects.

This March multiple city events celebrate the journey made by Gone Adventurin’ and the work that CfC is doing in Poipet. Join us in Brisbane, Launceston or Siem Reap and exepect and evening which combines the screening of Spinning Dreams with speakers and presentations, prizes, sale of fair trade products and food and drinks.

To learn more about Gone Cyclin’ visit: www.gonecyclin.com
Watch the trailer of Spinning Dreams here: http://carpetsforcommunities.org/events/gone-adventurin/

Saturday the 21th of January, Carpets for Communities joined the Mith Samlanh Fun Fair in Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh. Using a local bus company to ship two bags full with fresh colored carpets, we came to the Fair to sell. But while we were in Phnom Penh we also had the opportunities to meet up with Tout Kimchhean, one of our scholarship students now attending university.

Tout Kimchheans family is on the Carpets for Communities program. In the past his mother produced carpets for CFC and now they have successfully transitioned into cricket farming. Meeting this family is a great and inspiring experience. Kimchheans father is a hospitable, friendly and humble man. When talking about Kimchhean his eyes lit up and as he demonstrated one of Kimchhean inventions, he looks so proud.

This invention Kimchhean made has become quite famous amongst CFCs followers. While his mother was making carpets and hand rolled T-shirts off cuts manually into the rolled cotton we make our carpets from, Kimchhean created a machine which rolls the cotton automatically. This piece of equipment, mainly made from scrap wood, saved his family a considerable amount of time while working for CFC. When we found out about this invention, it was clear that Kimchhean would be one of our first scholarship students.

Here at Carpets for Communities we were eager to know how the kid from the village was doing in Phnom Penh. While meeting we first discussed his progress in university and we were proven once again that Kimchhean is a serious, engaged and motivated student. While studying electrical engineering he works on repairing an old house to practice some of the skills he learns in school. Off course we were also interested in how Kimchhean experienced the crowded and busy capitol city. After a long talk we concluded happily that Phnom Penh is treating Kimchhean well, and that although he misses the quietness sometimes, he is having an amazing time in university.

During the market we got to know Kimchhean better, laughed together and sold carpets together. With his family working for CFC in the past, Kimchhean was very engaged in the selling process and told our customers many stories about how the carpets are handmade and about how working with CFC has helped him and his family.

Meeting families or students from our program is always very inspiring . Kimchhean is a positive and energetic young student with a bright future ahead of him. Thank all of you who have supported him in his first year in University and expect to hear more from him soon!

Our national country manager Kimsreang Kun was born in Phav, Kampong Cham province. At age nine, she moved to Battambang, where her parents could earn a better living selling rice. Although her family was never rich, they always had enough food and so Kimsreang and her brothers could go to school. In Battambang Kimsreang successfully finished University in Management, while working full-time as a teacher. She started working as a social worker for Carpets for Communities as she was looking for a job in which she could work directly with Cambodia’s poor people.

Kimsreang is now our National Program Manager. She is in charge of all Cambodian operations for Carpets for Communities and is training and evaluating staff, developing and executing new directions for development and keeping track of logistics. Her motivation for working has however still stayed the same; “To help the poor people of Cambodia.” Although Kimsreangs family was never rich, for Kimsreang there was always enough food and the opportunities to get an education. When she started working with Carpets for Communities in Poipet she experienced what extreme poverty looks like. “When someone in Battambang said to me they were poor, they meant that they cannot buy a motor, or a car. But when someone from the countryside talks about being poor, it means that they really don’t have a 1000 riel ($0,25) in their pockets. Working on improving these people’s situation and to be able to sent their children to school makes this job very rewarding.” 

While Kimsreang is running all Cambodian operations, she would love to see and experience the Australian side of Carpets for Communities. “All of the Poipet staff including me are always wondering what happens to the Carpets after they are shipped from Cambodia. I know that they are sold by volunteers on markets, but I want to know how Australia compares to Cambodia and who the volunteers are that sell them for us. We are very thankful to our volunteers and I would love to get to know them.” Going to Australia would be the first time for Kimsreang to leave Cambodia. While thinking about this she says: “I am very excited to travel to Cambodia and learn and share new things.” And is she going to miss anything from Cambodia? “I hope they serve some good Khmer Noodle Soup in Melbourne!!”

We are now fundraising to bring Kimsreang over for the CfC Conference in February.

Make a donation now at http://pledgie.com/campaigns/16602.

From the 2nd to the 5th of January both the Executive and Poipet teams ventured off to our staff retreat in Mondulkiri. The intention of this trip was to help bridge the gap between both teams; our purposes, goals, visions and expectations.

Mondulkiri is approximately a 10 hour bus ride from Siem Reap, this gave us plenty of time to catch up on reading, sleeping and listening to the entire contents of the Khmer Pop Music charts, Karaoke style! Upon arrival to Mondulkiri the change in temperature was immediately notable, it was much colder there than in Siem Reap! In addition, for the Australians on the team we couldn’t believe how much the landscape replicated something of an Australian country town, was quite the surreal feeling!

Marko kicked us off for the week with a few team building activities; this proved quite the challenge with two different primary languages spoken by team members! Communication certainly involved a lot of creativity and patience on both parts! Kylie led us through a time of reflecting on where the organisation has come from, where we are now and where we are headed, the achievements and challenges alike. This was an interesting time of sharing both the Executive and Poipet team’s perspective leading to a more cohesive appreciation of both Australian and Cambodian operations and priorities. Kat facilitated a session on Empowerment and working from a Strengths Based Perspective with the Poipet staff. The activity involved the team brainstorming and noting ‘two strengths’ per participant followed by a time of sharing with the group. We learnt about some fantastic skills and strengths in this session that our participants have, emphasising much hope for their situations! Lindsey wrapped things up by presenting the 100 day action plan and key priorities for Cambodia which includes focusing on family selection, micro financing, education programs and the scholarship program. We also worked through individual and team expectation settings with both teams. This exercise was incredibly valuable with clear mutual expectations set in order to direct the best and most effective methods of working together this year.

In addition to the above sessions we spent some time exploring the local area with activities such as visiting waterfalls, trekking, elephant rides, watching the amazing sunset and sharing meals together!

Staff retreat was a great way to begin the year, working across both teams and aligning our focuses in achieving key project priorities. It’s safe to say we are all excited about the year ahead which will no doubt have its challenges, hopefully in conjunction with some real positive outcomes for the families CfC is here to support!

Check out our facebook for more pictures http://www.facebook.com/carpetsforcommunities

In October we began our search for the new executive team. As you may know our current team will be finishing their term in January. Long search is finally over. After having interviews with amazing candidates for our CEO position, the decision has been made and our CEO for the next year is selected. Its our great pleasure to welcome Lindsey Ritchie to the CfC family. Originally from Melbourne, Lindsey has studied at ANU and worked with UN Women, Australian Institute International Affairs and other community development organisations. We are excited to have such a great person joining our team and we can’t wait to welcome her in December to Cambodia! It was a really difficult decision as we had a great many wonderful applicants, and thank you to all for applying. Welcome Lindsey!

Our 3 scholarship recipients have arrived in Phnom Penh this week and are getting settled in! All of them are currently in the process of registrering for their degrees.

Attitude Centre for Education (ACE) has agreed to support Hing Premprey and Hourt Pesith as part of their program. This means that the initial funds that we raised for them will be reduced and will be able to be redistributed to further years of study!

We are currently supporting Tout Kimchhean look for accommodation. He was only excluded from ACE due to his degree, as they try to diversify what is studied within the program.

The executive team 2011/2012 is slowly finishing it’t term and it’s time for new people to come on board. This year positions that will be based in Cambodia are Chief Executive Officer, Sales&Marketing Manager and Finance&Production Manager. If you are interested in applying please go here.

Thanks to all of our donors and some amazing events in SA and VIC all of our entrepreneurs have been funded! We still have 7 families we are supporting develop business plans, but we have raised enough funds to support there businesses also! They will be put into a reserve and allocated once the families are ready to start their business.

This continues on from the success of funding the first year of university for our scholarship program.

Thanks from the CfC community for the massive support we have received to empowers these mothers to gain independence and enable their children to gain an education.