News from Aziza's Place April/May 2010

The city of Phnom Penh clears out in mid-April as Cambodians travel to the countryside to celebrate the Khmer New Year. This is a special time for Khmer's to be with their family and friends and take part in traditions that prepare for a successful year. Imagine the fear of one Aziza's Place resident who returned to her province to find that her family had been evicted from their land. Despite owning a land title, the government sold the land to a large sugar cane production company. In compensation, her family received a small plot of land without property rights. Their livelihood has been severely affected without hope of ever being fairly compensated.

In spite of overarching challenges like these in Cambodia, Aziza's Place is a stable, long and short-term resource for children and their families. Our education and development programs strive to prepare children for a future of opportunity, while our community outreach works with families to find solutions for their immediate needs. In this edition of the Courtyard, you will see 5 short films directed and produced by AP film students. The films were made as part of our Film Education program which prepares our children with a vocational skill but (like many of our other programs) also allows them to express their creative voice. As invested members of the AP community, thank you for supporting our efforts on the ground. From the Aziza's Place family to yours, we say Susaday Chol Chnam Thmey! Happy Khmer New Year!

Aziza Foundation awarded $10,000 from GE Foundation on behalf of Marguerite Catanzaro's Eagle Award

The Aziza Foundation is the proud reciepient of the GE Foundation's Eagle Award of $10,000 on behalf of Marugerite Catanzaro. Each year GE gives this award to five employees based on five GE Growth Traits. Marguerite recieved the Eagle Award for External Focus from her business GE Energy Financial Services. She chose the Aziza Foundation to recieve the award on her behalf based upon its mission and donation impact. As the Foundation's most active project, Aziza's Place will be the primary beneficiary of this award. We congratulate Marguerite and thank her for honoring us with her award.

MAP Provides Critical Construction Funds

Aziza's Place has been saved from a dreadful rainy season by Moms Against Poverty, a USA non-profit and ardent supporter of AP since our founding. Thanks to MAP's generous donation, we will be able to repair our extremely leaky roof just in time for the rainy season to begin in June. The leaks were a major disruption and safety hazard to the children. Additionally, MAP has provided the funds to renovate the structurally unsound walls of the girl's living quarters which includes a widening of the girls' living space.

The construction work is being led by two fathers of AP residents. We are proud to have the opportunity to employ families for this important job. This donation is in addition to a $10,000 grant from MAP for the 2009-2010 year. The children and staff of AP send our biggest thanks to Moms Against Poverty for their invested support and assistance.

Aziza's Place Athletics

Weekly Football Matches Begin

AP has partnered with three children's schools and organizations in order to organize weekly football (soccer) matches. Until now the children only had one opportunity to partake in competitive games during the year. The games give both the boys and the girls a regular chance to play competitively, an important way for them to develop team-building skills and a healthy lifestyle.

Karate Kids Take the Podium
Congratulations to the AP Karate kids who participated in a karate competition on May 8 and 9. Five kids won medals and prizes at the event. Channy (left) and Cheng (right) take 1st place in their age group for individual formations. Children from NGOs and private Karate schools took part in the competition. Channy, age 8, and Cheng, age 14, are pictured taking 1st place on podium. Way to go!

Film Students Present Five Short Films

Srey Ny, Rotha, Chiev, Cheng, and Sengkri are proud to present the final product of their film education course- a short film, written, directed, and produced by each of them independently. The five students worked as a team to create their individual short films which premiered to their friends and family on Dec. 6, 2009 at the AP Community Art Gallery and Film Screening. These students, ages 12 to 16, found their creative voice through their short films. Click here to view the films on the AP Vimeo channel.

AP Volunteer News

Lani Warsh - Lani, a trained Pastry Chef, joined AP in January 2010 from Toronto, Canada. She took on the critical role as our first Intern. Lani was instrumental in implementing our Community Outreach program and developed strong and trusting relationships with the families of AP residents. Lani had a great time teaching the intermdiate English class about different cultures around the world and even gave them a cooking lesson! We thank Lani for over four months of dedication and invaluable support to the residents, staff, and community members of AP. We will miss you dearly, Lani.

Michael Johns and Kepi Roberts - Mick and Kepi are from Tasmania, Australia and are currently living in the volunteer apartment next door to AP. Mick is our second Intern and will focus on our Community Outreach program. He is working closely with Makara, AP Program Coordinator, to increase AP's efforts to help our community members in need. Kepi is guiding our 5 film program graduates in creating a documentary video about Aziza's Place. She has a degree in Film Theory and Film and Television Production and is excited to work with the children on this project. Mick is teaching our advanced English class and Kepi is teaching the intermediate level. When they aren't at AP, you can find them cruising on their new motorcycle or braving the mid-day heat playing tennis. Mick and Kepi, we are so happy to welcome you.

Davina Clay- The kids at AP were ecstatic to see Davina back in Cambodia in April. Though many of the kids were away for Khmer New Year, Davina had a chance to hang out at AP and take a field trip to the swimming pool. She first volunteered at AP in the beginning of 2009 and took on helping to establish the Aziza Foundation UK when she returned to the UK. The UK Foundation focuses on funding Aziza's Place and upcoming projects in Cambodia. Davina is now the Finance and Administration Manager at the Aziza Foundation UK, take a look at the Foundation's work here.

To all of our past, present, and potential volunteers- don't forget to keep in touch on our Volunteer Blog

Community Outreach Progress and Update

Six months into the pilot year of our Community Outreach Program, the AP team is still navigating its way through the process and determining the best approach to guide and assist those we serve. In the last issue of the Courtyard we reported on a possible micro loan to two AP mothers. As opposed to taking on this loan project, the AP team has elected to connect the mothers to banks and organizations who specialize in micro-lending and better suited to provide this service as taking on this task would stretch our human resources.

 Recently, community building has become a strong focus of our outreach. Increasing communication and trust amongst our community members is the first step in guiding the community to support and advocate together.

 A positive outcome of this effort has been an increase in attendance at our monthly Family Nights. The AP team has worked diligently to show the parents how much it means to the children to have their family's support. With the help of staff, the children put together a very fun evening of performances for their families including dancing, singing, and Karate showcases.

Urgent Need: PC Computers

AP is in need of one laptop and one desktop in gently used condition. These computers are for our finance and admin needs. If you can help us, please contact Dan at dan@azizafoundation.org

How to Help: Donate, Volunteer, Share

Are you interested in helping the children of Aziza's Place? There are many ways to invest in the lives of Cambodian children: learn about our in-kind and volunteer needs, organize a fundraiser, or simply share this newsletter on Facebook to connect us with your network! You are the key to making the future bright for the children we serve.

Click here to make a donation via PayPal. For donations over $400, please click here for wire transfer information. U.S. donors receive a tax credit receipt for your contribution. UK/EU donors please click here and you may elect the Gift Aid option so the tax-gross up is received by the charity. If you are a perspective volunteer, please take a look at our volunteer needs on idealist.org, or simply contact us.

Aziza’s Place Welcomes Our New Friends and Thanks Our Continuting Supporters
David Quiles Amat - Alicante, Spain
American Women of the Eastern Province - Saudi Arabia
Irina Bogdonova - London, UK
Gemma Pinatell Bove - Barcelona, Spain
J Michael Brennan - Commack, NY
Emmanuel & Marie-Pia Cantel - London, UK
Marguerite Catanzaro - Stamford, CT
Dorothy Devenney - Bearsville, NY
Susan and Arch Elving - Dhahran,Saudi Arabia
Mary Lee Fleischmann - Dover, MA
GE Foundation - Stamford, CT
Hirath Ghori - Tucson, AZ
Wendy Levine - Houston, TX
Stephen & Belinda McMinn -Stephens City, VA
Moms Against Poverty - USA
Megan Reitan - Oakland, CA
Tony Santolocci - San Diego, CA
Stefano Terranova - Rome, Italy
Holger Wessels - Berlin, Germany

Thank you for supporting the children and families of Aziza’s Place