News from Aziza's Place - September 2010

Dear Friends,

Welcoming new children into Aziza's Place is always an exciting time. The look on a newly-accepted resident's face as he/she enters the AP courtyard is memorable as are awe-filled reactions to; the first big meal, the comfort of sleeping on a mattress, a bright clean school uniform, and the relief on their face knowing they don't have to worry what tomorrow will bring. Troubles melt away in their first night. During these times we see the beauty of the AP community unfold with the other children acting as mentors and friends to the new resident, showing them around, helping them adjust, or giving them one of their precious collections of pens and pencils. This community gives our children the unique experience of being a part of a big family and not simply living in a charity-funded complex. Our philosophy centers on grassroots ideas that will keep our center small and focused on the children and their immediate families. This is an attribute AP will never lose.

In this issue you will meet our newest resident, 10-year-old Ream, bringing Aziza's Place to a total of 22 residents. Each year we evaluate our capacity for new children based on a series of factors such as space (AP's maximum stated capacity is 25 residents), family life, living and working conditions, and age. In keeping with our philosophy to improve the lives of the families of our residents, accepting siblings of current residents is always a priority. We now have moved to only accepting school age children as this is the age where they will be able to  experience and take full advantage of  AP's programs. In this issue you will be introduced to our new resident as well as an insight into the many other great endeavors made possible by your support and ever-strengthening and growing circle of friends in Cambodia and around the world.

With Gratitude,

The AP Team

Funding from Friends of AP Aids Renovation of Girl's Living Quarters and New School Uniforms for the 2010-2011 Academic Year

AP girls showing off their beauty skills to

supporter Susan Elving during her visit

This month we would like to highlight AP supporters, Susan and Arch Elving (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia).  Susan and Arch are long-time supporters of the Aziza Foundation and Aziza's Place and we are thrilled that Susan made the effort to visit Cambodia to see our program first-hand earlier in September. Susan and Arch made an additional donation in September of $800 that will provide all the children with new school uniforms and other much needed clothing items for the year. Along with their personal support, Susan has engaged her women's group, the American Women of the Eastern Province, also based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to partner with Aziza's Place. We thank the Elving's and AWEP for their continued partnership in support of the growth of the children and families we serve.

Once again Aziza's Place sends its deepest thanks to our partner,  Moms Against Poverty (MAP), based in the United States. Thanks to MAP, we were able to tear down the walls of the girls' living quarters that were compromising the integrity of the AP house as well as to double the size of their dorm area. Now the girls now have a huge living space and enough room to comfortably accommodate up to 15 girls. We invite you to take a look at the construction process and final product in a Facebook album.

Thank you to our generous supporters

Susan and Arch Elving • Lizzie Lutley • Stephanie McMahon • Moms Against Poverty

Aziza's Place Welcomes 22nd Resident Child

Say 'Hello!' to Ream, Age 10

On 12 September, Aziza's Place welcomed 10 year old Ream to the family.  Ream has seamlessly morphed into life at AP, quickly making friends and finding mentors in the older boys. He is eager to learn and wants to try out all of AP's extracurricular activities. He says he is most excited to learn how to use a computer and has never used one before.

     Ream previously lived in a dilapidated shanty house in one of the most slummy parts of the Steung Meanchey dump site. He was fortunate to have his first grade public school education sponsored by People Improvement Organization (PIO), a local NGO serving children in the Steung Meanchy community. But, in order to help make ends meet, Ream would have to pick through trash for recyclables in the afternoons with his older siblings. His single-mother works strenuous hours in a garment factory and so Ream and his siblings were charged with cooking meals for themselves everyday.

     His family is already a big part of Aziza's Place. AP resident Sreypov is Ream's aunt and Sreypov's older sister, Sreymom is also part of the AP team working as a weekend caretaker for the children. Ream's mother is active in the AP Community Outreach program and is invested in making sure her children have a bright future. AP is a great match for Ream and his strong desire to learn. We look forward to watching him grow in our program over the years to come.

Darley Tom Joins AP as Education Program Officer

Aziza's Place welcomed Darley Tom as our Education Program Officer in September. Darley is a graduate student from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts where she is studying Sustainable International Development with a concentration in developing education programs. For the next six months, she will evaluate and help implement new ideas and structure to the education curriculum and program. Darley and the AP team will work together to establish a series of methods to create a dialogue with children, teachers and volunteers to ensure a more effective and sustainable education curriculum. We are excited about making these positive changes and are so happy to have Darley's expertise on the ground here in Cambodia.

Child Savings Plan Kicks Off With Banking Orientation

Mr. Mony, a representative from AMK Bank gives a

presentation on banking and savings to the children

A representative from Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea bank (AMK) came to Aziza's Place and provided an orientation on banking and savings to the resident children and staff. Aziza's Place and AMK are working together to develop a child savings program, an idea proposed by AP Intern Michael Johns. The public school system in Michael's native country of Australia offered a child savings plan to students and he grew up understanding the importance of saving. While researching Micro-finance Institutions in Cambodia, Michael realized that his childhood experience of building up savings would be a positive concept to translate to the residents of AP. Currently no other child savings plans exist in Cambodia.

     AP residents receive a small weekly allowance and although their savings would initially be rather small, establishing their bank accounts will set the stage for understanding the concept of saving for their future. As the culture in Cambodia tends to be skeptical of banking, AMK and AP are working to create a foundation of trust in banking institutions. Each child will open their own account in the coming weeks and Aziza's Place will be the co-signatory for the accounts. The children will not have the ability to withdraw money until they are 18 years of age. Furthermore, AP intends to create an incentive program for the children to save throughout the year by matching a percentage of their annual savings. When residents graduate from Aziza's Place they will have a small amount of money saved up for their future and have an understanding of the importance of saving for the rest of their lives.

     Michael began researching Micro-finance Institutions in order to create a partnership for the Community Outreach program before realizing it would be a great opportunity for the AP residents. His research identified AMK's operations as one of the most notable and believed the bank to be critical to the micro-finance industry in Cambodia. In the future AP will work to teach the families in the Community Outreach program about banking and savings and use the child savings scheme as a model to for children to incentivize their families to begin saving as well.

Vacationing to Rabbit Island Thanks to Denise and Jasmine Fisher

This month the AP family took a refreshing and relaxing trip to Rabbit Island, a great getaway spot off the coast of the seaside town of Kep in southern Cambodia. The field trip was generously sponsored by Denise Fisher and her daughter Jasmine who volunteered at AP over the summer. Denise and Jasmine wanted the AP children to have the opportunity to breathe some fresh air outside of Phnom Penh. Rabbit Island was the perfect escape and adventure for the children. Traveling to the island involved a long boat ride (many of the children had never before been on a boat), hours and hours of swimming (a few had never seen the ocean before), and a delicious feast of crabs, fish and shrimp every night. We send our deepest thanks to Denise and Jasmine. The kids, staff, and volunteers had a great trip and it left everyone feeling relaxed and ready for the new school year to begin in October.

AP girls and staff posing on the beach of Rabbit Island

How to Help Aziza's Place - Support • Volunteer • Connect

Are you interested in supporting the children and programs of Aziza's Place? We invite you to become a part of our growing global community by donating, volunteering, or simply connecting us to your network of friends and family.

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 donors 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.

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