TO ALL SUPPORTERS OF RICE4LIFE
Firstly, may we thank you for your valued support over nearly fifteen years to our work of helping the village schools of Khvien, Kok Beng and Kok Tachan in Siem Reap Province, Cambodia.
Over the years aid in the form of school uniforms, supplies, a library, solar energy, sealed schoolyard, wells, school excursions and, of course, rice during a famine to 65 families and for a few years afterwards to seven teachers has been provided. Well into the six figures in US dollars!
Thank you so much for helping us make it possible.
But now change is upon us!
School Director Mr Kim Hon Hour is retiring in February 2015. He is taking retirement at age 60 which is the compulsory retirement age in Cambodia.
This has a huge impact for us since we operate at these three government schools under a Memorandum of Understanding with him and we have developed a very close relationship and collaboration over many years.
A new School Director is being appointed who is unknown to us and due to our own situation we are unable to visit and build a relationship with him even if he wanted to.
This comes at a time when Margaret’s health has worsened and consequently we are unable to travel to Cambodia. She suffers from Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) and is now in the advanced stage.
Time then for us to retire too! Like many changes this is a sad one to make but we are happy to advise that a NGO called AboutAsia Schools are willing to include Khvien and Kok Beng in the 110 other schools that they help in Siem Reap Province. See www.aboutasiaschools.org.
May we encourage you to consider supporting ABOUTAsia Schools financially knowing that the work that was done by RICE4LIFE will continue.
We have transferred most of our remaining funds to them requesting that they supply 300 school uniforms in the next school year (commencing September/October).
The balance of our funds will be used towards paying university fees for one student who we are sponsoring.
As you can appreciate this has been a hard decision for us to make but we realise that for everything “there is a season” and our season is past.
Again we give heartfelt thanks for your support.
Martin & Margaret Yeomans