History

Founded in September 2006 by Mr Samnang Thoeun from Phnom Penh, Our Friends Orphanage/Organisation (OFO) is a non-profit NGO working to help orphans, HIV+ and vulnerable children and families living in Cambodias Takeo Province. Like 80% of Cambodians, Samnang grew up in a poor, rural village and was struck by severe lack of services and limited access to education affecting 90% of the impoverished population living and working in the countryside. He cycled through miles of fields every day to reach school, and eventually earned a place at Phnom Penh University. Here he studied hard, working part-time teaching English to fund his studies and living in free accommodation first at a Chinese Temple and then at a Christian Church. After graduating and starting a business in Phnom Penh, he set up OFO with the help of friends to help the many people in Cambodia who live below the poverty line, living precariously from day to day, hand to mouth, one fall away from disaster. Observing that the majority of non-profit organisations are aimed at helping children only in urban areas, Samnang decided to set up Our Friends in the rural areas of Takeo Province. Our Friends Organisation began by providing free English classes for disadvantaged children. This rapidly grew to include an Orphanage, after Samnang was made aware of the situation of some of the most desperate children in the Commune. Our Friends Orphanage opened in 2007 with 53 children. OFO and the many other projects it is involved in are aiding over 3,500 children and families in areas of access to education, businesses breaking the poverty cycle and employment to mention but a few. We are currently seeking donations and partnerships with churches, schools, universities, international organizations, foundations and anyone else willing to help. Such assistance will allow us to kick start new initiatives, increase awareness of the issues facing Cambodians, increase the access of rural communities to the outside world, and substantially increase the number of lives we are able to touch.

Why We Help
Our Friends Organisation is working to break the cycle of poverty that is restraining the communities, and their people, in rural Cambodia. A majority of children do not have both of their parents to care for them. These parents are either dead, suffering from AIDS and in some cases have abandoned their children in order to find work in other countries. Other children have fled violent homes. These Children may never have had parents to play with them or show them affection. Some of these children live out in the open, sleeping in Pagodas, fields or in the market place. They scavenge for food to eat fish, crabs, frogs and mice constitute meals of the week. Others live with families in the community in exchange for their labour, looking after the cows in the fields or tending to vegetables or rice paddies. None of these children have any education and thus have no way to escape the extreme poverty they are living in. There are estimated to be over 5,000 homeless children in the Takeo Province living in these conditions. Despite the presence of free government schools, some children do not attend due to their situation: far-flung families may be so poor they do not own a bicycle in order to enable their children to reach the class, or the children may need to work in the fields with their parents and siblings to support their families. Even for the children who live near a school, if they cannot afford even the basic school uniform and stationary, they are not allowed to attend. The work in the rice fields often involve very long hours and the whole family will only earn on average 1 US dollar for a whole days work. This one dollar must feed families of 5-10, sometimes even more. That $1 simply isnt enough The desperation facing these families is evident in the fact that parents may sell their own daughters into prostitution in order to survive. It is for these reasons why OFO works to provide free education for the poorest of the poor and

shelter for those that would otherwise be left living & sleeping on the streets. Happiness doesnt come from money but from the spirit of people around you, but think about it, what future do these children have. Following the same paths as their parents and hence continuing the never ending cycle of poverty.

Our Ultimate Goal

By securing annual funding, OFO can first of all expand their level of assistance throughout Takeo province, thus honing their abilities, then move into the other provinces of Cambodia.

OFOs Programme Objectives:

To see all 5,000* homeless children in Takeo Province fed, sheltered, cared for and with access to educational opportunities that will increase their aspirations and enable them to make the most of their lives. To give vulnerable families the training and start they need to generate their own economic opportunities to break out of the poverty cycle, ultimately preventing more children from becoming homeless. To provide vocational and other training along with support to young people who were not able to complete their education and who have limited opportunities. To increase vulnerable communities' access to free or affordable essential services such as healthcare. To give all children access to education to a minimum of primary school level, working towards universal access to secondary education and beyond. * Current estimation

The Orphanage
There are many reasons there are orphans: parents may have passed away, others are HIV+ and are unable to support their children as they are unable to take care of themselves. Emigration to surrounding countries in search of better work is an issue also as the parents often leave the children in the care of their grandparents who are not in a good enough position to support the children fully. Besides the basic need of a safe home, three hot meals a day and clothing, OFO provides education to the children in order to give them an opportunity for a better future. Support is also given to the children in becoming part of the local community and they maintain a communal vegetable garden; thus improving the Orphanage's self sustainability and their own character development due to the responsibility entrusted to them. Once 18 years old, they are old enough to live in the community but still have the full support of OFO until they finish university. OFOs first Orphanage was set up in 2007 in response to the need of the homeless children in communities throughout Takeo Province. The site of this orphanage is adjoining the OFO base, where after-school classes are held and volunteers are housed separately. This site is also 5 minutes walk from a primary and high- school. Just to give you an idea of what it costs to run this orphanage, here are some figures for an average of 53 children. Please bear in mind when looking at the statistics below that this Orphanage receives no money from the government.

Running cost for 53 children Land Rental Staff (x3) Electricity Internet Office Phone Administration/Office Petrol Drinking Water Rice Other Food Firewood Gas for Cooking Shampoo, soap etc Tooth Paste/Brush Medicine School Uniforms School Stationary Other Costs Total

Per Month

Per Year

Free Owned $240.00 $30.00 $25.00 $10.00 $50.00 $40.00 $20.00 $425.00 $930.00 $30.00 $60.00 $45.00 $42.00 $150.00 $83.33 $50.00 $50.00 $2,430.33 $2,880.00 $360.00 $300.00 $120.00 $600.00 $480.00 $240.00 $5,100.00 $11,160.00 $360.0 $720.00 $540.00 $504.00 $1,800.00 $999.96 $600.00 $600.00 $29,163.96

The Next Steps

The Orphanage Project is planning for expansion throughout Takeo Province thus building a network of Orphan Homes in the local villages, on land donated by the Chief Commune. OFO estimates that there are 5,000 homeless children in Takeo Province with 300 homeless children in Prey Pdao and Prey Kabas Communes alone, the current centre of OFOs' work. Each home will care for 50 orphans originally from that area, enabling the children to keep and develop relationships within their own community. Full support will be given to each home which will include full-time, trained, staff members. Currently the plans involve 6 buildings, each costing $7,000 to set up, omitting furnishings. As funds increase, OFO will build more homes across the province and then expand to include the rest of Cambodia.

 Education Assistance Public School Assistance

We believe that every child is entitled to education. Unfortunately in Cambodia, that right is not as accessible as it may seem. There are free government schools but for many children in remote areas these schools are impossible to reach and for some even when they are able to reach the school, the family cannot afford the necessary school books and uniform. Our Friends strive to help give these children an opportunity at education, by providing every child with 2 sets of uniform per year which includes a white shirt, blue shorts/skirt, footwear and a single school bag for the year. As well as this, each child is provided with the necessary stationary to assist in their learning, every month each child receives a notebook, pens and pencils. Note that a small amount of money is saved through the donation of stationary from volunteers and other organisations thanks go out to those people. OFO are currently in partnership with four government schools, not only supporting the children but the teachers as well. Government school teachers are paid an extremely low wage. Many of them have other jobs in the afternoon when school is closed to supplement their living wage. This means they have little time to give to the children outside of class. To date, OFO sponsor 57 teachers by supplementing their salary with $25 a month, thus enabling them to offer their students support outside the classroom. This money also pays for petrol costs in reaching families to talk about absentees and to discover the cause. The Director, the Commune Chief, and OFO are informed of the situation and discuss solutions to the problem. Some of these teachers are referred to the government schools in remote areas around Preykabas district, to teach English as this is not part of the education program in the primary schools here in

Cambodia. Hence, another 1,500 children benefit from this free education.

The Next Step

For the Public School Assistance Project there are two areas in which to expand: - Firstly, assist a further 1,000 students, providing them with school uniform and stationary. - Secondly, increase the number of schools OFO are partnered with.

After School Classes

Knowledge of English is necessary for access to many of the better paying jobs in Cambodia. English classes, however, are not offered at primary school level. OFO provides free English education to all children in the Kampeng Community aged 7-18 years old. Classes take place Monday to Friday, 12pm to 5pm following school hours, and are given to over 500* children every day. For these classes three Cambodian teachers are employed and between them they teach the five classes. Not only do these classes supplement the education received at the government school but provide a source of learning that children that have to work in the mornings can access. These children are denied a free education at the government schools as they have to work in the rice fields with their family in order to have food at night but the after school classes that OFO provide, mean they can still get an English education which can help to further themselves in the future. The teachers themselves come from remote areas so they know what its like to live in poverty. They are all volunteers and they still study at University. At Our Friends, they can put the skills they learn at University into practice. Education is not the only thing the Our Friends offers.

OFO accepts international volunteers to help with these after school classes, which is a very beneficial interaction for the childrens learning. *However, their ability to provide education is dependent on the presence of local volunteers without their help only 200 children can be taught daily. The Next Step The construction of a second classroom, at OFOs lead site, to accommodate all of the children that attend the after-school classes is in motion. Furthermore, each new orphan home that is opened will also include an afternoon school which will be available to the local village children as well.

Community Service
Countryside villages in South Cambodia often face significant challenges. A generally low educated population means poor work opportunities. OFO hope to bring economic relief to these families who are in desperate need, enabling them to live sustainable lives by digging community wells to provide each family in the community access to clean water, building vegetable gardens & animal farms and offering vocational training.

Bicycle Project In the countryside, schools are few and far between, meaning that those families that cannot afford a bicycle, and are too far from the school to walk, miss out on an education. This year OFO has donated 40 bicycles to these children to help provide them with an education.

The Next Steps

500 more bicycles, of which 300 have been donated from Japan (OFO need to raise the money to pay for the shipping), are planned for donation to those in need.

Supporting OVCs in the Community

Our Friends currently supports 85 OVCs in the community, but with over 2,000 who are still in need of help, they are still far from achieving their goal of supporting all of the OVCs in need. Each OVC receives the following per month: 15 Kg rice 1 litre natural cooking oil 2 Kg salted meat fish, pork, beef 1 Kg salt 1 Kg Sugar As well as being provided with food to cook, they are given training in growing a vegetable garden in order to become more self-sufficient. Money may be generated from selling excess produce. In addition to this, they also receive the school stationary & uniform as mentioned before in the Public School Assistance section. We also teach the children to be part of the community, the poor helping the poor, for example in the rainy season, the fields and roads often flood. Only working together is it possible to keep to roads open which is essential for reaching the rice fields, school, the market etc. The children will learn to help the elderly and disabled and how to work as a team.

Long term benefit of helping the OVCs.

Currently in Cambodia, the rich are becoming richer, whilst the poor are becoming poorer. Thus, the more children that are educated the better chance they have of getting a reasonably paid job, creating a better future for themselves and their prospective families. This way we hope to break to circle of poverty. It is our long term goal to educate the people in the remote areas as well. The money and equipment required for this project all comes from the fundraising we do in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and from generous donations we receive locally and internationally.

The Next Step

The Community Project will help a further 300 children in the community, providing each child with food, a vegetable garden and school uniform & stationary. Depending on the funding available, more children can be helped.

Vegetable and Animal Farms

To break the cycle of poverty that, many Cambodians living in rural areas are trapped in, OFO have set up a phased plan to help the 50 poorest families in the community each year - those that are earning less than US$100 a year.

Phase 1:
Train these families on how to grow and maintain a vegetable garden, the conditions of the families land will determine what vegetables they receive and how they will utilise space efficiently. They are then provided with a stall at the local market from which they sell their produce to earn some revenue. All 50 families receive a one off $50 donation to support the growing and marketing of their produce.

Phase 2:
Only following a successful application of Phase 1, showing their commitment and excelling in their responsibilities, are they taken onto phase 2 . The families are given animals and a donation of $350; Chickens cost $2 each, Pigs $150 and Cows $350. First, the families are given a handful of Chickens and a few pigs to start caring for. After the proper nourishment and breeding of these animals, cows can then be obtained by trading chickens and pigs with Our Friends who then use these chickens and pigs to restart the cycle with another family. By providing donations with a clear end target the money is used effectively. The families benefit from business skills they acquire and the responsibility placed in their hands. These skills can, of course, be passed through the family and friends. Without direction much of the money would be squandered. The one off donations are returned to Our Friends Organisation once the families have begun to make profit from these sustainable developments and are able to support themselves and their children unaided.

The Next Step

The Community Service Project will develop to provide selected families in need with an extra 100 vegetable gardens, 1,000 chickens, 500 pigs and 50 cows. Each year, providing increased funding is secured, these numbers will increase.

Success Story
Mrs. Sokly lives in Kam-peng with her husband and four children. One year ago, they were struggling to live. They had very little income and had been forced to borrow money from the bank. Making repayments was a constant worry because if they couldn't meet that cost they risked losing their house and land. They relied upon the income their daughter could make through weaving silk but they couldn't always find a buyer. They could not afford to send their children to school, and any further education was out of the question. The family all lived together in a small hut with walls of woven palm leaves. Then she received Family Garden and Business training from Our Friends Organisation. Now she has a mushroom garden in the plot in front of her house and the well on her property installed by Our Friends means she can grow her crops all year round. She makes approximately $50 dollars every two weeks from the mushrooms she grows, a sustainable and reliable income for her family. From the profits of her mushroom business she is able to invest in new businesses: Chickens now roam her land, scratching between the mushroom rows and nesting in the rafters of the new pig sty. The four pigs she now owns are also part of her new business ventures. She can expect to make a profit of $100 dollars when she sells them to the city, except for the one that is pregnant each piglet will make her another $50 dollars. Now the family is secure. They have paid off their bank loan. All the children go to school and she is making plans to support them in going to university. The small hut is now a home for her newly married daughter and her husband with the rest of the family living in a large, wooden home built from the profits of her businesses. She and her family no longer have to live day by day or with the support of OFO; they have managed to break the poverty cycle.

Clean Community Water Wells

Water is readily available in the rainy season; however, for the other 6 months of the year, residents in the countryside suffer from a lack of water. Community wells are installed on selected families land and not only are they required for safe drinking water but for the upkeep of vegetable and animal farms of which we have previously discussed. By installing wells on selected families land the security from vandalism and theft is secured. It is important that you understand that these wells are for the community and not just those that the land it is placed on belong to. OFO has to date supported 56 community wells. These wells are checked and maintained monthly through OFO.

The Next Step

In addition to the current wells OFO plan to set up a further 50 wells and provide the required maintenance.

Water Storage Tanks

One project currently in development by OFO is the installation of 15,000L water storage tanks at schools. This will enable collection of water from the school roofs during the rainy season thus giving its students, many of whom are OVCs, access to clean water during the dry season . The whole system with regular maintenance lasts 25-60 years and would be to the benefit of the whole student population of each school.

The Next Step

After establishing this project OFO will expand to include more schools across Takeo Province and then Cambodia.

Vocational Training

For those people who do not wish to have an academic career and instead are interested in vocational jobs, OFO offer support to learn in Phnom Penh. These courses include (but are not limited to): - Motorcycle and car maintenance - Seamstress - Fashion and Beautician

Healthcare Centres
The biggest project due to begin in 2012 is the plan to build healthcare canters. Each will require a full-time doctor and nurse as well as volunteers of health professions and medical donations. Each centre will benefit between 2,000-3,000 people per year. Medical Issues Faced People living in the rural parts of Cambodia simply cannot afford illness or injury. It is often the final push a struggling family takes before falling into impoverishment. Even the free hospital in Phnom Penh requires money as there is no free transport to reach it. The poorer families cannot afford to travel to Phnom Penh and so they resort to selling their home and land to pay for the treatment. Those that have no access to money suffer and most likely die of any serious ailment.

Healthcare Centre Benefit: By providing local healthcare the issues surrounding transport are solved or greatly reduced. The healthcare itself will be free.
Pregnancy itself is a danger to the women who cannot readily seek or afford the required medical attention. Almost all women in rural areas give birth naturally and without the presence of any medical help or guidance, the result of which is a very real risk of fatalities during childbirth for many women and their unborn children.

Healthcare Centre Benefit: The clinics will include proper birthing facilities and trained staff will be available.
Cambodian families are large by Western standards, the average family has between 7-9 children. It is arguably the lack of education, availability of family planning and contraception that is the cause of so many children. Obviously a larger family is harder to support, especially with income so low.

Healthcare Centre Benefits: Education into family planning will be provided along with access to contraception in order to give families more control over their positions and to increase awareness thus reducing unsustainable family sizes.

How can you help?

The poverty here cannot be imagined, only believed when experienced. These children are happy. Smiling, laughing, playing in the fields, on the streets, in the rivers and flood water. Yet they have nothing, only the clothes on their backs and a wooden floor to sleep on. No toys, books, games, shoes, fresh drinking water; everything you and I take for granted. Its only through the support of the volunteers that come and share their time and experience here at OFO, and the generous donations we receive both locally and internationally that ANY of our projects have been brought to life. We are continuing to grow and help more communities and more sufferers to break the poverty cycle, but it is only possible if we have your support. We are currently seeking donations and partnerships with Churches, schools, Universities, international organisations, foundations and anyone else willing to help. Such assistance will allow us to kick start new initiatives, increase awareness of the issues facing Cambodians, increase the access of rural communities to the outside world, and substantially increase the number of lives we are able to touch. The need in Takeo let alone Cambodia is beyond our current resources ability to meet.

Fundraising and Donations

Although OFOs expenditure is funded by 50% of the directors private business profits, it is still left with a large percentage deficit. Percentage wise, the majority of funding comes from donations - at present, however, there is only sporadic funding as no long term partner has as yet been realised. Fundraising initiatives by international volunteers, ran on the streets of Phnom Penh and Siem Riep, bridge some of the gap between income and outcome.

Volunteers and visitors to OFO contribute reading books & workbooks, stationary, clothes and toys which the children in the community and the after-school class stock list benefit from. These kind donations lessen the monetary outgoings in this area of OFOs work money that can be spent elsewhere. Were not asking for a lot but, EVERY LITTLE HELPS. Anything you think may help would be kindly received. Here is a list of ideas: Picture books with English descriptions Notebooks Pens Pencils Toys Clothes Shoes Paints Toothbrushes & Toothpaste Money donations for food, water, electricity etc. (This can be done through our secure site, please visit the Donation tab for more information) Note: Please do not send perishable items. Any items you wish to donate do not need to be new. Have a look in your attics and basements for anything that you have stored away collecting dust or stored for no useful reason. You have the memories already but by donating these objects now you give another child that chance to develop their imagination and have their own memories.

Volunteering

These children crave adult attention, people to teach them, care for them show them that they are important. If you are thinking about volunteering, stop thinking about it and just do it. For a week, two weeks, two months. Whatever amount of your time you can give, give it. The rewards are unimaginable. Yes, you enter into their lives then leave again but for the time you are there you can bring so much joy. This is not one of those volunteer programs where you pay thousands of pounds to help out and then that money ends up in the pockets of the wrong people. This program is free. You can donate what you like, buy the children new clothes, some toys, but that is completely up to you.

The only thing this will cost you is your time. This experience will teach you so much and it will be imprinted in your mind forever. We provide free accommodation for volunteers right at the heart of our work, on the site of OFOs school in the Prey Kabus district of the Takeo Province. Food is provided by one of the local families at a small cost for three meals each day too. If you are interested in volunteering your time, please contact us and we can arrange your transport to our orphanage and school. If you can help in anyway, please contact OFO. These children need your help in order to have a brighter future.

Donate

Please help us to keep these children smiling and to carry on supporting those families in desperate need. If you would like to make contributions, please transfer funds to our account using the following information: Account Name: Account Number: Bank: Address: Swift Code:

Thank you for your kind support!

Please keep spreading the word about our work and dont forget to keep checking the website to see how your funds have helped the people in Cambodia.