A lot of exciting things have happened in our HVTO community the last four months, so let us bring you up to date with the recent strides that we have made
English and Computer Classes
A generous donation from the Studiosus Foundation e.V has been received that will largely fund our 2014-core programs. The HVTO English and Computer classes have expanded from 460 to 615 students, with most now attending in the evening from 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. We have also reached another milestone in this program with over 3,000 English books( 2000 books were donated by BookBridge Cambodia), now available in our library.
Student Sponsorship
The number of HVTO sponsored children has increased from 49 at the end of 2013 to a new total of 60. This continued progress is encouraging to the many students that are hoping for sponsorship. It also ensures the future sustainability of the entire effort, as the older students help teach the younger – and there is no better way to learn than to teach. As these students work through the HVTO system they will form the core of a self-supporting educational system
Clean Water
In the HVTO Clean Water Project we have reached a major milestone in having now provided water wells to the neediest families in all of Kontreang Commune. Since the beginning of the year we have installed an additional 24 water wells, bringing the total to over 300, with the last 16 of these in Rumdeng Village in neighboring Khar Pur Commune. In the future we will post a map and graphs on the HVTO website so that everyone can follow our progress.
Classroom expansion
Another major milestone was recently reached with the agreement of Viking Cruises Corporation to fully fund the purchase of land behind the existing school and the construction of a new, desperately needed building. The project costs, which also include operational funds, total nearly $40,000. We offer our heartfelt gratitude to Viking for this generous donation and will follow up with details of our progress in the next HVTO newsletter.
College Prep Program
High school and university students from HVTO now must either live with friends, extended family or commute 60 kilometers round-trip daily to classes in Siem Reap. In a new initiative called the College Prep Program, HVTO will rent a home in Siem Reap that can be utilized as a dormitory for about 20 students as well as the new HVTO office. (Our current office is comprised of two desks in our founder’s home next to Seaknam’s bed.) This will help take our students off of dangerous streets, give them more study time, and bring them closer to employment possibilities. Please refer to Patti’s message at the end of this newsletter.
Support
Viking River Cruises and the tour groups they bring to the HVTO School in Sophy Village are a wonderful source of support to HVTO. Many of our most active sponsors are former Viking guests that had the opportunity to see up close what we are accomplishing. Living all over the world, and with the aid of modern technology, former Viking guests not only help financially, but also provide administrative assistance. In addition to everything else, recent successes include the reorganization of our website, which will be debuting soon, and the recent creation of Homestay Teachers Volunteer Organization, Inc, a Florida USA 501c3 corporation (HTVO)
Patti G Baker, is a president of this organization, has written the following letter regarding a matching grant that will be used to initiate the College Prep Program already described.
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Dear Friends of HVTO:
The last shots were fired in 1999 by the Khmer Rouge, but experts estimate that between 1,600,000-3,000,000 men, women and children were killed while this brutal regime was in power. Cambodia still struggles with the lack of an educated middle class, and as a result remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Because we educate children, HVTO addresses the most fundamental challenge Cambodia is facing.
Homestay Teachers Volunteer Organization has recently become a 501c3 U.S. organization (tax-exempt status ID # 46-331-155574) that is now working to obtain matching funds in order to receive $12,500 from a family trust in the U.K. called PEWT. We will use these funds to begin the “College Prep Program” to support HVTO students attending Southeast Asia University in Siem Reap.
Our organization closely monitors student progress and provides frequent site checks on all projects. As the international fund-raising arm of our sister organization in Siem Reap (NGO – HVTO.org), we are 100% volunteer with no overhead and all donations going directly to Cambodia.
We ask that you give as much as you can to help us to secure this matching grant. Please email me at pattigbaker@gmail.com for more information or click on the following link to provide your financial assistancehttp://www.gofundme.com/htvo-college-prep
Thank you,
Patti G. Baker
President HTVO
Tax ID# 46-331-15574
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Again, thank you for reviewing our continuing story and we hope that you share our pride in what we have been able to accomplish with your help in so short a time. You have our profound thanks for all that you have done to help.
Sim Piseth Seaknam Meng
HVTO founder HVTO General Manager
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Thank you so much!
HVTO Management Team