UPDATE:
We reached our goal of $900, so thank you so much to everyone who voted for us and donated money. We actually had to change our aim a bit, as some improvements were in fact made to the buildings whilst we were fundraising for this project. At the same time, the cost of rice went up by a lot in Cambodia thanks to the rising cost of food & fuel worldwide. Since rice is the main part of the children's diet, this had a major impact on the day-to-day costs of running the orphanage. As a result, we have used the $900 to cover food costs.
We will be posting a new fundraising project here shortly, so watch this space!
Khmer Help Khmer Organisation for Building Youth and Children (KHKOBYC) is a grassroots rural NGO based in Takeo, near Phnom Penh. It was set up initially to provide free alternative education for children who could not go to regular schools because they were expected to work with their parents. It now supports 500 children in 10 rural schools. At the same time, the charity's director was approached by local people, who asked if there was anything he could do to help local orphans.
As a result the New Futures Orphanage was established. It is now home to 49 children aged between 6-17 years old. Currently, the organisation has very little funding, so the orphanage's facilities are very basic, and we are now having to turn children away because we have no more room. We are working to develop additional projects that will help support both the children and hopefully bring in more funding, but in the mean time we need all the help we can get, be it financial, in-kind or volunteering.
Our proposal for GiveMeaning.com is to improve basic facilities at the orphanage. Initially this involves two projects:
1) Emergency Lighting - Takeo is a rural area that experiences frequent power cuts. Currently the only alternative light source at the orphanage is candles - a risky proposition when you have 49 children around. We would like to raise $400 to buy 3-4 12 volt batteries, which can be rigged up to electric lights around key areas in the orphanage, providing light and making the orphanage safer for the children.
2) Improving toilet facilities - At the moment, there are 49 children and 4 staff members all sharing extremely basic toilet facilities. There are 2 indoor toilets and 1 outdoor toilet and all three are shared by boys and girls, staff and children. For $500 we could build a small brick block, with a tin roof, that would house 2 new indoor toilets. This would provide extra facilities for the children and help improve hygiene at the orphanage.