HVTO Update in December 2023

HVTO Update in December 2023

Dear HVTO Supporters, Donors and Friends,

Allow me to hop in saying a Happy Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and to your families. May you find Joy, Peace, Safety and Happiness during these Holidays and that the New Year 2024 continues to bring you more good Health, Wealth, Success and Prosperity for the sake of being so kind to HVTO that serves many people’s lives in Cambodia!

If you have been waiting to hear from me very often and that you have been disappointed for not having had many direct emails for the past 8 months, let me say apologies! I have been completely super busy and it has been the good busyness both with the personal guiding job for my own growth and family and with being so flat to overseeing the existing projects of HVTO. Let me share with you below:

For those who have never heard of me from past to July 2022: Please read this newsletter: https://www.hvto.org/hvto-newsletters/HVTO-Newsletter-July-2022.html

From July 2022 to April 2023, I published a short notice referring to this link: https://www.hvto.org/hvto-newsletters/notes-as-an-update-from-mr.-sim-piseth-and-hvto-projects.html

Now if you wanted to read the email below with photos and video, please refer to this link https://www.hvto.org/ and below, I would like to summarize what we have achieved from April 2023 to December 2023.

Personal Note:

Studies: In May 2023, I went to Singapore to attend the Graduation Ceremony for my Ph.D hosted by the Florida based Bodhisastra University (BOU). So, I can say proudly that I have successfully done with the Doctoral Degree in Social Change, the specialized/Professional Doctor in creating the Model of Human Resource Development through the HVTO Sponsorship for Education with the current achievement are the 431 sponsored students being evident. Holding this degree is becoming strong motivation but also with pressure for my personal courage to continue to study and research more and it also helps inspire hundreds of children and students in our educational program. Furthermore, I have decided to enroll myself into another course of this same university doing another academic research to be defended and if passed, I will be an Assistant Professor in 2025, then Associate Professor in 2026 to succeed my ultimate goal – maybe in my late 40s or early 50s, I will be a professor. Again, I dream another big dream since it does not cost me anything.

Work: We have successfully restarted our second Viking Season – August 2023 to March 2024. It has been the greatest second season in my profession after the Covid-19 pandemic. I have been entrusted by the Viking management to be the main local tour guide for the Viking Groups and I have 34 groups in the whole season. I work for every other week- that is to say I am one full week working for the Viking and another week working with HVTO Teams. This is the very job to brings for my personal growth and self-sustainability and to liaising the communication between new prospective sponsors to for our organization. Let me explain what we are doing and accomplishing in the existing 14 projects below:

1.       HVTO CORE TEAM: We are 11 of us who play the key roles to operate HVTO. After my successful graduation from Ph.D., we have decided to provide the scholarships to our 5-core staff to pursue their Master Degrees with the same university. Doing this is for both, motivating our staff and building more role models and inducing more inspiration for our children.

2.       FINANCE: With some strategical increase in salaries for staff and maintenance for the center since it is scaling, we see our yearly operation cost going up to over $35,000 but our four sources of streaming incoming donations are still healthy such as the accumulative donations on site from the Viking visiting guests; the donation from the Studiosus Foundation e.V with additional donation on site from their German guests, Admin cost deducted from the sponsorship program and the interest from the bank we can see our program can be secured for 2024-2025 operation.

3.       ECO TOURISM: So far, only the Studiosus Travel company and the Viking are sending tourist groups to visit our community and HVTO Center and these are the only prospective resources for us to build the future support and it is still the two-sided programs. Tourists enjoy the experiences and we will get more future support.

4.       HOMESTAY VOLUNTEERS: For the past 8 months, we could have welcomed one family of Mr. Carlos Sanchez from Barcelon, Spain who brought his wife and two children to stay in the village for a week. This is to share with you that Carlos Sanchez is one of the earliest sponsors and volunteers to our community since 2006 before the creation of HVTO in 2008. To me, he was from stranger to friend, to inspirator, to sponsor and to God brother. He has really done some remarkable things for our people in the community. You can visit my YouTube channel here. https://youtu.be/UUah9_U5jew

5.       HVTO CENTER: In the last 8 months, there are three families who donated to make the huge improvements in the HVTO Center. Those families are: 1st Mr. Bruce and Mrs. Jeanene Weiner who donated to build the airy brick fence, the big toilet-house, trash burner, flag stance and the walking path.

2nd Mr. Ken and Amy Myer who donated to repair and remodel the existing schoolhouse with leaked roofing, from wooden floor to concrete one, upgrading the ground floor with smooth tile and the joined room to be the elegant computer lab with the purchasing of the additional 10 computer sets.

3rd R Water Thibodeau Family Trust and Frank and Donna Youdelman who donated remarkably to allow HVTO to build another durable schoolhouse, some furnishing and bought other new 20 computer sets with reserve funds to operate the computer lab for 5 years. Now HVTO has the most impressive computer lab with 40 computers to train the children.

Much more than this, a partial donation of theirs allows us to make the necessary expansion and building another HVTO Center in another commune which is 10km away from the current center for other 450 children to get free supplemental classes in English and computer. I will keep you informed in my next update and of course, we will be looking for more sponsors to help grow with this new center.

Schoolhouse under the construction

6.       FREE CLASSES FOR ENGLISH AND COMPUTER: Our key staff teachers and student volunteer teachers are providing free classes in our scheduled three shifts per week day for over 450 children but with reputation of our effective English and computer programs, new educational infrastructures and chance of sponsorship, there is a landslide of sending their children to register in HVTO Center. Mr. Ine Un, our school principal reported to us that there are more 650 children having come to register.

7.       SPONSORSHIP FOR EDUCATION: Still with the strong support from the Viking Management, as the local guide and also the founder with some crucial directing role, I have been able to continue to spread the good words (talking in the bus) to continue to recruit new sponsors to choose new students to receive the financial support. For the past 8 months, we could have welcomed new sponsors to add other 15 sponsorships.

Therefore, in total in our history we see 431 students in this program with the brief status are 67 students graduated from universities, 111 failed from program but become professionals and a few are married and 253 still active in the Secondary, High Schools and universities. Our goal is to have 500 active sponsored students. If you are an existing and active sponsor for one of our students, I believe that you have enjoyed your communication with your student’s behaviors and progress reported by our Sponsorship Coordinator, Mr. Sinh Song. It is also the time we are requesting for the renewal of your kind sponsorship to your students. But if you have paid up front, we are all good!

8.       PROFESSIONAL TRAINING: We are proud to say that two girls that was sent from the village to stay in town to learn the professional tailoring are doing very good and they have offered to make some free clothes for me too. So, some of my tour guide uniforms are made by those ladies. It is not a remarkable success in number but we have done something since its launching in 2014.

9.       CLEAN WATER PROJECT FOR THE HOUSEHOLD: We are still good in the partnership with our great funding partner – A Drop of Life from Hong Kong. For the past 8 months, we installed 800 new water pumps from the projected 1,200. We also thank you to the group of Khmer Families living in the US led by Mr. Seng Kaing to help fund raising to install some pumps. Our 35 men are still actively working in different villages to install those pumps.

In our history, we have installed the total of 8,540 hand water pumps. Good news is that HVTO has launched the MDP Project (Machine Drilled Pump) mainly also sponsored by A Drop of life. This MDP is only for the community, public center, schools and many families gathering together to use this MDP. Each MDP costs $1,560. We have successfully installed 11 MDPs and one was sponsored by Mr. Joe and Christine Ludwig.

10.   BIO SAND FILTER(BSF): In the past 8 months we installed and delivered 987 BSF from the projected 1200 in 2023. In total, we have installed more than 2,500 helping 2,500 families to enjoy having filtered water to drink.

11.   TOILET FOR THE HOUSEHOLD: We also built other new 192 toilets in 2023 which are also mainly sponsored by our partner, A Drop of Life. Totally we have built 962 toilets. Our goal is to help make other villages the ODF (Open Defecation Free)

12.   COMMUNITY DEVEOPMENT: Since HVTO is scaling, we have created the real community committee to support the HVTO Center with 15 responsible members. There are 9 roles for this committee to do starting from encouraging children and parent to go and to send the children to study Engling in HVTO Center, fundraising to help maintain and repair small things, preventing and protecting property of HVTO, cooperating with the core team and etc.

13.   HOUSE CHARITY PROJECT: In 2023 we built other 2 new houses for 2 new families. This means that we have totally built 37 houses since we started the program in 2019. This project can tangibly show the changes of the conditions of the beneficiary families from being PERISHABLE TO CHERISHED. Special thanks to Mr. Joe and Christine Ludwig who built a house for Mr. Sros On and thank you to Mr. John and Deanne Bailey who donated to build a house for the Pon Pai.

14.   FOOD FOR EMERGENCY: in 2022 we received the donations to provide 80 food packages to support the poor families. Each package can help provide foods to a family with 4 members to survive for almost a month. Special thanks to the group of Khmer friends and sponsors living in the US led by Mr. Seng Kaing.

We see 2023 another productive year and we see upcoming 2024 another great year to come and we thank you so much for your kindest involvement and generosity. If we have not mentioned your names here, please bear in mind that we have never forgotten you and we entrust the Gods above us who have well acknowledged your compassion, sympathy and generosity with which you are continue to be blessed for more than yourselves but your families and your beloved ones. Good long newsletter will be put together by our volunteer from Oklahoma who is coming to visit HVTO early 2024.

It is always very good to hear from you.

With warmest wishes and best regards,

Sim Piseth

HVTO Founder and Director

Regional Tour Guide for Siem Reap Angkor.

Tel: +85512237889
Tel: +855974506969

Email: sim@hvto.org | sim2piseth@gmail.com

Website: www.hvto.org

Personal Profile: https://www.facebook.com/ simpiseth81

Personal Page: https://www.facebook.com/ profile.php?id=100087004634856

HVTO Page: https://www.facebook. com/hvto.org/?ref=bbookmark

Postal Address:

Postal Address: P.O Box: 93095,
East Sreth village, Kontreang commune,Brasat Bakong district, Siem Reap Angkor-Cambodia.