Thank You Everyone

 

Dear Friends,
Two weeks ago we travelled to Ottawa, and on March 21st, at Rideau Hall, we were awarded the Governor General's Meritorious Service Metal by the Canadian Governor General, Mary Simon, for founding and running Kids International Development Society.

We feel, without question, that we would like to share this award and this honour with many people, all of K.I.D.S. private donors, foundations, businesses, individual kids and classrooms full of school children raising money, the many volunteers who have assisted us at our annual fundraisers and the anonymous person who nominated us, and K.I.D.S. board of directors.

We also would like to share it with the many thousands of impoverished children, families, and individuals who K.I.D.S. has served over the years, get up every day to face the horrendous odds stacked against them with ironclad determination, grace, and humility, from who we have learned many life lessons. As well as our international program managers, builders, friends, and drivers who have supported our work overseas in several countries all these years.

And of course, we share it with our daughter Danielle, who loved children and was on her way to becoming a teacher, who’s passing on the 26th of March 2000 ripped our life apart and left a huge hole in our hearts that sent us on a quest in search of answers, meaning, hope and acceptance that led us to receive this award.

We are incredibly humbled and hugely honored to receive this recognition from the Canadian Government. The Meritorious Service Medal is awarded to Canadians who bring great honor to Canada.

Believe us when we say we could never have come close to this award without all your love and support, behind, beside, and around us.

We truly hope you all feel you are a part of this honour too.

Till Next Time,
Rick and Adrianne

Reaksmey's Dream

 Dear Friends,

We hope all is well with you and yours. Today is International Women’s Day. A day when we celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women around the world.

Many years ago Rick and I volunteered at a street children’s shelter in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The shelter helped orphaned, abandoned, very poor, and abused children. Each year we volunteered and worked there helping to paint, fix things, buy clothes, and through K.I.D.S. fund their education and cultural dance programs, etc.

After a few years, the shelter was going to be closed and You Vath (the house mother) decided that she wanted to take in the girls. So we went to her house, and thanks to K.I.D.S., we were able to do a renovation to make it bigger and started K.I.D.S. Girls Home. We had up to 23 girls at times of all ages who lived and grew up there.

Fast forward to today! We recently heard from Reaksmey, one of the girls who lived at the girls' home since she was a young child. Reaksmey is now 21 years old.

K.I.D.S. funded Reaksmey through school and when she graduated high school we enrolled her in a great hospitality training program. Reaksmey’s dream, from a teenager, was to one day travel and work in another country, she especially wanted to go to France. Along the way, with K.I.D.S. support she became fluent in English and French.

Reaksmey recently phoned us to tell us that she had received a scholarship to go to France for her final year of training. Needless to say, she was beside herself with joy and so were we. Recently the French ambassador came and met the graduates who were chosen for this wonderful opportunity.

This month Reaksmey will travel with some other students to work in France at a beautiful resort.

K.I.D.S. helped her to buy a piece of luggage, as she had never had one, and we also bought her a laptop for her work and continuing studies. She leaves Cambodia on the 27th of this month. 

This is just one story of many stories that we have witnessed over the years. Thanks to K.I.D.S. donors, we have helped many girls to get an education and find decent-paying work as teachers, accountants, electrical engineers, hotel and restaurant managers. Where many of these young women would have started having children at young ages and lived a life of poverty, they are now focused on their self-esteem, education, careers, and changing not only their futures, but the futures of the next generation of girls and women. So today, please join us in celebrating all these amazing young women who have worked so hard and for being a part of changing their futures for the better. Reaksmey promised us she would send us a picture of herself in front of the Eiffel Tower and when we receive it we will send it along.

Reaksmey's dream will soon come true.... Thanks To You!!

Until Next Time,
Adrianne and Rick

Bathrooms for Families

Dear Friends,

We hope all is well with you and yours. As many of you know K.I.D.S. is committed to bringing clean drinking water and hygiene to very poor rural areas in Cambodia. Bathrooms are something so many of us around the world take for granted however two out of every five people in the world have no access to safe toilets; more than 3 million people in Cambodia, still defecate in the open, such as in fields, bushes, or bodies of water The United Nations states that: Access to improved water supply and sanitation is one of the basic needs and rights of every person. Poor sanitation kills 1.5 million children a year.

With the wonderful support of our donors, K.I,D.S. is able to build bathrooms for families as well as for schools. This year our great team of builders has been busy building family bathrooms with small septic fields. Even though these bathrooms, which in our world would be called out houses, are very simple, they make a world of difference to the families. Building family bathrooms not only improves health it improves hygiene, self-esteem, dignity, safety for women, sleep quality, work capacity, school attendance and more. The families can also bathe and do their laundry in the bathrooms, rather than outside.

It is difficult to pick who we will build a bathroom for however in our rural education program, many families are in need, so the principal and our education manager choose the families most in need. The other great news is the families will often share their bathrooms with other neighbours or family members who do not have bathrooms and live nearby. It is no wonder that many Cambodians call the bathroom, The Happy Room!!!

We would like to Thank You All very much for your support for improving so many lives. We will you and your all the very best.
Until Next Time,
Adrianne and Rick

Healing Water

 Dear Friends,

We hope all is well with you and yours. As you know K.I.D.S is dedicated to bringing clean drinking water to children, families and communities. Each year, thanks to our donors, we are able to put clean drinking water systems at schools so the children, teachers and community members can access clean water and take it home rather than having to buy it.

Recently our great partner Kim told us about a medical clinic that serves fifteen villages, in a poor rural area. Most poor people cannot afford healthcare or going to hospitals in Cambodia however there are local clinics in village areas, and even though patients still have to pay, it is much less than going to a hospital.

The very basic clinic that Kim told us about has eight nurses who are trained to assess and care for those that need care and send them to hospitals if they are in need of further medical treatment. 

The clinic serves approximately 1500 people a month. One of the main issues they have is that they do not have access to clean drinking water and therefore the patients and staff have to buy drinking water…hard to believe!

So once again, thanks to K.I.D.S. donors, we were able to improve the healthcare of many by getting our terrific water team in there to put in a clean water system at the clinic.

Everyone is very grateful. The patients and staff can also take clean water home as many do not have access to clean water at their own homes. We are always moved by how hard people work in Cambodia and often under very difficult situations. Thanks for easing and improving the lives of many by bringing the gift of clean water healing to those in need.

Until next time,
Adrianne and Rick

Feeding Education

 Dear Friends,

We want to wish you all a Very Happy and Healthy New Year. As the new year begins we want to thank everyone for your continued support, kindness, and generosity and for improving the lives of children and families in Cambodia.

Many children in Cambodia go to school hungry or do not go to school at all because they lack the energy on an empty stomach. Thanks to some International NGOs and the government some schools receive funds for food. Each day students receive a meal at school consisting of rice, fish, and vegetables. In a country like Cambodia where almost one third of children under 5 are stunted as a result of malnutrition, school meals make a huge difference in their health and learning process.

Often the cooking facilities are very basic, and the schools cannot afford to make them better. Most of the cooking is done over wood fires. Thanks to our great team of builders, we were able to create two, safe clean cooking facilities. One is at a primary school for 650 children, where our Smart Kids rural education program is based.

The other is at K.I.D.S Farm School, where approximately 100 children and youth come after school to attend classes at different times to learn English. Sohing, the teacher and her family cook them a nutritious meal each day. Needless to say, the cooks and the children are very grateful to have this new facility.

Thank You for supporting these great kids to live healthier and happier lives by literally
Feeding Their Education
Wishing you and yours all the best.

Until Next Time,
Adrianne and Rick

Rainy Season

Dear Friends

We hope all is well with you and yours. Here on Vancouver Island, the rainy season has begun. The rainy season, which is coming to an end in Cambodia, is very challenging, especially in rural areas. Many students have a difficult time getting to and from school however they endure the flooded roads as do the teachers. Sometimes the schools have to close if it is too dangerous for children to walk or ride their bicycles. A bicycle helps, which we buy for the kids who travel long distances.

Recently we heard from our friend and K.I.D.S. partner that there was a small rural classroom that had a roof that was leaking and has been leaking for a long time. The classroom also has a dirt floor, which gets muddy during the rainy season. The school asked us for help. We will start replacing the roof as well as put in a cement floor in the next few weeks. The teachers and students will be very happy!!!

One of the women we know sent us this picture of her at work!! Yes! That is her standing and working in her office, she is booking hotel rooms for when the floods subside. We are always impressed with the endurance the people have and they rarely complain.

On behalf of all of us at K.I.D.S. we want to Thank You for making life much easier during the rainy season.

Until Next Time,
Adrianne and Rick

Giving Thanks

Dear Friends,

Here in Canada today is Thanksgiving, a day when family and friends gather to share food and appreciation for what and who we have in our lives. Today all of us at K.I.D.S. would like to sincerely Thank You for your support, kindness and generosity. Together we can celebrate the difference we have collectively made in many children, youth and families’ lives

We regularly hear from students, teachers, medical staff, and other people we have been supporting. Their message is always one of gratitude. They are thankful that collectively we can help them with some of the basics in life such as clean drinking water, bathrooms, bicycles, education, decent housing and receive needed medical assistance. Over the years we have seen how the ripple effect of kindness and giving changes lives and the lives of future generations

Today we Celebrate All of You and Thank You for helping to make the world a better place for so many.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Until Next time, all the very best,

Adrianne and Rick