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stopped in the street

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

“We saw you in the paper,” the dental nurses enthused when we descended upon them for the children’s annual check (one more item checked off the To Do List).

Walking home afterwards we stopped to chat with a friend (that’s one of the nice things about walking instead of taking a car). As we talked, another local lady walked by and halted long enough to ask if we had seen our piece on tv – we hadn’t. Who knows what that was about? (hopefully it wasn’t based too closely on the newspaper article – our friends have been playing *Spot The Mistake* with that 😉 )

We turned the final corner…….a runner approached, slowed and then stopped. She smilingly panted, “Are you the family in the paper? What you’re doing is amazing – what an experience for your kids. They’ll never forget it. I could never do it, but wow. Good on you.”

At the afternoon visit to the Medical Centre (to arrange immunity-checking-blood tests) conversation turned again to the paper, “We’ve got your picture up in our staffroom”!!

Cross the road and down to the butcher where we were greeted by the ever-friendly assistant, “Hi Famous Lady”.

I flashed her a smile and we all engaged in more-than-polite-conversation. I don’t want to be famous. I just want to do my job well, brighten the day of those I come across, inspire my children and live intentionally. Sure, we’re doing something a bit out of the ordinary…..but that’s just us.

We may not want fame (well, OK, let’s be honest – the kids think that bit’s great, even if it is just in our wee corner of the world), but we do want to use our opportunities to heap as much good on others as we can. And if our smiling picture will put the gift of literacy into the hands of a child in Laos who otherwise would not have had access to a future outside of dire poverty, then I’ll smile all day long. 
 

from Auckland to Kampot takes a very long post

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

We’re in full swing getting ready for the Silent Auction.
Local church hall is booked.
Junk Items For Sale are gathered
(read: piled up in the bedroom).
Handmade cards are nearing completion.
Local newspaper interview has been given.
Fizzing Sherbet production line is in action.
Not wanting to use plastic bags, we’re making our own colourful card envelopes…and then using plastic straws – oh the irony!)
Homemade jams and chutneys need to be repackaged in smaller jars.
Fantastic Friend has offered to man a BBQ, so there’ll be a sausage sizzle as well (and one fewer pairs of roller blades for sale – we’ll keep them aside to thank him for his kindness).

Any locals wanting to come along…here are the details:

6-7pm Friday 23rd May 2008
Titirangi Baptist Church Hall
32 Kaurilands Road

All the items for the auction will be on display and you will be invited to write your name and bid on the accompanying piece of paper. If your name is last on the paper when the bell rings at 7pm, you win. It’s that simple. Better chance than Lotto 😉 $1 reserve on all items, which include: homemade preserves, stroller, power rider, roller blades, bicycle, teddy bears, dress-up set, wooden bead number lines (great educational stocking stuffers – be ready for Christmas!), cards, sleeping bags, portacot, classic books, clothing, balls, moonhopper, craft kits, dollshouse, kitchen gear, duvet sets….and much much more (including, of course, the fizzing sherbet stand and sausage sizzle).
If you’re feeling particularly philanthropic (as in you get absolutely nothing out of this option…..not even some sherbet to rot your teeth or a pre-loved well-thumbed book)….you might like to sign up at the Coast-To-Coast-Walk sponsorship table. We’ll be taking details of anyone who would be willing to sponsor our family walk across town to be undertaken the weekend of the auction (weather dependent)

What’s all this for again?
It’s NOT to finance our trip!!! No way.
It’s part of the kids’ effort to raise money to sponsor the printing of a book in Laos. They’ve already raised enough money to sponsor a book party (a huge flower press run secured that goal) and can hardly wait to go and meet the children who are going to benefit from their efforts. They’ve boosted the book-printing-fund by adding the birthday money just given to them by grandparents……..hopefully Auction Night will see the total rise even higher. 
We cannot imagine it happening, but IF we passed the book total, the excess would go to Chumkriel Language School in Cambodia where we’ll be volunteering for a few weeks – even the older children will be helping out with language classes. Of all the places in the world, this one caught our attention largely due to the whole-community-efforts being made. Many of the organisations are working together instead of all independently doing their own thing. At least, that’s how it looks through our computer screen! We’ll see when we get there. We were advised not to bother going to Kampot “because the beach isn’t nice and there’s nothing there.” There may not be a famous temple or market or Disneyland, but there are people.

In this town there is an orphanage for children who have lost their parents to AIDS.

There are people involved in a Recycled Plastic Bag Project.

There’s a Provincial Training Centre, where students  learn how to dye cotton using extracts from local plants, and then they weave the thread and make clothing to sell.

There’s an Epic Arts Cafe, which offers employment to deaf and disabled members of the community (as well as a workshop and exhibition space in addition – obviously – to the cafe).

There’s the Cambodia Children’s Advocacy Foundation helping support children in the areas of education, intervention and the prevention of child labor, trafficking and oppression. They are attempting to upgrade the nutrition and health of these children and give parents skills to enable them to generate an income for their families.

And there are not just people…..there’s also  Save Cambodia’s Wildlife.

There are some good reasons to visit Kampot.
If only we could raise a million dollars!

of flowers and funds

Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Upon hearing about our upcoming silent auction, a lady who had purchased homemade flower presses from our Entrepreneur Son a couple of years ago, asked if there would be any more at the auction. ... [Continue reading this entry]