While Generosity is a great virtue to cultivate, another attribute, Gratitude or the sense of appreciation is one of the keys to true happinesses. We can be grateful for the wonders of nature and its unconditional gifts of life, from the air that we breathe to the food that we eat. We can be thankful for the kindness of people. By having the awareness to regularly cultivate this positive sentiment, our default disposition will then be of joy and peace. This in turn will be the light that brings happinesses to not just ourselves but to all who are around us. This practice would also help us overcome envy, negativity and cynicism which are all thieves of happinesses. We at BLCP and YourAid owe a debt of gratitude to our supporters as we are privileged recipients of your kindness in the form of your contributions to enable us to do meaningful work for the benefit of the children of Cambodia.

Smiling faces at our community school

In November 2024, a team jointly led by AAL directors, Peter Athaide and Mark Halford inspected our Cambodia operations and met with several NGOs in order to gain insights into their workings. The experience and knowledge gained is being translated into further improvements of our main activities comprising children’s health, education, school improvement and community development.

NGO Support Network

Besides our core programs, we also provide support to three other NGOs which are primarily involved in providing education to children. Chum Kriel Language School (CLS) is one, with over 500 students led by founder, Nget Sothy who also sits on BLCP’s board. Besides the children from the local community, CLS also helps the children of workers from the legendary Kampot Salt Farm by bringing the children to the school for classes.

Our team visited the farm where CLS also has a classroom there for the children. While the salt farm landscape was astounding, we were saddened to learn that the workers make only USD6 a day which is barely enough to feed the family. We intend to increase our support to CLS to enable the school to deepen its reach.

Education

While our education program provides extra coaching to students to enable them to catch up in their studies, our English classes provide students the opportunity to enhance their knowledge in the subject and its use in communication through debates and public speaking.

With English not being a compulsory subject in the public school curriculum, most students have a very weak command of the language. However, participants in our English speaking competition performed remarkably with their efforts recognised with award certificates

In the assessment of our English program effectiveness, we have found that a significant number of our students are able to pass the annual English school examinations and that their marks improved at the end of the year in the subject compared to when they started.

WASHH

The WASHH team completed the installation of 60 units of water purification systems (WPS) making a total of 250 schools with over 50,000 children to not only consume safe drinking water but also enjoy schooling in a clean environment made possible with guidance and support by the team.

We now have 10 Model Schools under our wings. This is an initiative to spur the development of preselected schools based on the commitment of the school staff and their students. This approach enables us to focus our resources in order to bring the standard of these schools to the next level. Through such efforts, the students are able have a better school experience while such schools are able to set the benchmark for other schools to emulate.

A few of our Model schools have gained recognition from the Education Department through various awards for the advancement they have achieved.

The success of these schools is also contributed by the establishment of student councils giving students a voice as stakeholders and the opportunity to practise their leadership skills.

The foods sold at the Model schools are not only healthier but are mostly devoid of plastic packaging. With less waste generated, these schools have more manageable waste management requirements.

Dental Program

BLCP remains as the only NGO in Cambodia with the widest network of four dental clinics treating over 40,000 students a year thus making our service critical in providing dental care to children in the three provinces where we operate. Beyond this, we are a partner with the government in providing health care to the very young from toddlers to preschool children. Our project known as Cambodia Smile involves the application of fluoride varnish at over 23 health centers. In the last quarter, we facilitated this free treatment to over 20,000 children while enabling mothers to gain oral hygiene knowledge during such visits to the health centers.

Dental health continues to be a core program of BLCP because of the lack of fluoridation even where potable water is available in only urban or semiurban areas. However, in much of the country, especially in rural areas alternative sources of water such as subterranean water, rain or bottled water is a common occurrence.

Community Development

The team is responsible for the welfare of children at home in the village of Anglungkuki where we run a community school of about 250 students. We have been able to improve the livelihood of several families by enabling them to carry out husbandry activities at home with each member of the family helping out to enjoy both food security and a decent source of income.

The team attended a community meeting with several participants who expressed their appreciation of being able to send their children for free education in the village. We, however, noted and intend to address social and environmental issues highlighted during the event.

Gratefulness was in the aplenty wherever the team went. The team was able to witness the improvement in the lives of the children and the wider community where we conduct our programs. This is only made possible by your continued support for us to bring happiness to so many.

So, we shall remember to thank life and the opportunities it offers to cultivate this positive sentiment and the happinesses it brings in everything we do and everywhere we go.

Q4 2024

Q1 2025

Q3 2024

YourAid