News from Aziza's Place: August - September

Dear Friends of Aziza's Place,

The summer break from public school certainly doesn't mean the learning stops at Aziza's Place. These last two months have been a time of extra learning and adventures for all the AP residents and a special time for two residents who experienced many 'firsts' during their trip to the UK with Co-Founder Amjad Ghori.

August was an exciting time for visitors, with Amjad visiting AP for the third time this year. We were also delighted to meet Aziza's Place supporter Jenny Dutton who visited for the first time and long-time supporters (through Basmati), Raphaël Surber and Susanne Jäger who came as part of their annual visit to Aziza's Place. All the guests were present for Family Night during which the AP residents performed a well-practiced rendition of 'The Girl Who Cried Wolf', along with a dramatic Khmer dance performance.

As highlighted further below, all the AP residents took part in an exciting new project guided by English teacher Rob that gave the children an opportunity to think practically, problem-solve and even introduced them to physics as they worked together to build a water pump which transports water across horizontal or vertical distances, built with items found in most Cambodian households.

Just prior to the commencement of the 2011-2012 academic year at the Khmer Public Schools, the AP residents were all involved in an Enrolment campaign in the Steung Meanchey community, encouraging families to enrol their children in their local school before this date.

Finally, we want to express our sincere appreciation for the commitment and dedication shown by Intern Elodie Douillard-Potet during her time volunteering at Aziza's Palce for the last five months, and to Maxime Rovere who came to AP for all of August to experience Aziza's Place first-hand. And we were delighted to see former volunteer Emma Horsfall when she returned to Cambodia for a 10-day visit. We are all ever so appreciative of the unique contributions that each of our volunteers brings to Aziza's Place.

Yours Gratefully,

Aziza's Place

 

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This month we thank you for your generosity:

Basmati-Authentic Help - Raphaël Surber and Susanne Jäger

Jenny Dutton • John Xu and Grace Xi Chen (Give Me A Chance Charity)

Hannah Cooper, Anna Allen and Zaria McClement (South Hampstead High School)

Terranova Family • Lisa D'Aguiar

 

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News From Aziza's Place - August 2010

Dear Friends,

This month our Co-Founder, Amjad Ghori made his second trip of the year to Cambodia. His visits are balanced between playing with the kids and working as Director of The Aziza Foundation, reviewing AP's progress and programs. The record high attendance at Family Night and the kids' scholastic achievements are examples of the impact of our programs that he was able to experience first-hand. In the spirit of these successes and to keep this momentum, the Foundation has allocated increased funding to critical programs such as education, staff training and career development, and our community outreach program.

This issue of the Courtyard highlights some of the new programs and partnerships that we have embarked upon in recent months. We we would also like to highlight some stand-out performances from our children in the athletic arena as six children have been selected to participate in an upcoming Karate competition. Also, fifteen-year-old Srey Mach has been selected to join the Cambodian women's U-18 football team later this month. And the heartwarming story of AP football coach, Sreymao, was featured in The Phnom Penh Post along with some great photos of our football stars. (The photo captions mistakenly represent the AP kids as Indochina Starfish Foundation players, who are in fact the sponsor of this great football program).

Without your support, the Aziza Foundation and Aziza's Place would not be able to provide such amazing opportunities for the future of our resident children. We thank you for supporting us.

- The AP Team

Thank you to our generous supporters

Adam Cooper • Denise and Jasmine Fischer • Alex Garrod • Ben and Maria Mays • McIlnay-Rogers Family Foundation • Rafick Ramadan • Joe and Dixie Shulman

This month we would like to highlight the support of Ben and Maria Mays (UK) and Sharon McIlnay and Gifford Rogers(USA). Ben and Maria volunteered with AP in 2009 and have been loyal pen pals and supporters of our program ever since. Sharon and Gifford have supported AP since its founding and have been integral part of our progress. We are grateful for your partnership and continued investment in AP.