Highlights:

Dale’s Sept 30- Oct 5 trip report
Beach trip
Trafficked girls
New school term started
Three kids in mission school Read More...

Six days in Cambodia, including a day at the beach with eighty people, school enrollments, office debates and fat healthy babies. An update also on the two trafficked girls. Read More...

• One of our girls was trafficked, and is still missing.
• Six new children joined, another may join if not sold.
• Medical check-ups for the kids, plus surgery for a palette problem
• Water filters donated, workshop planned
• Field trip to the zoo a success
• Thanks for donations, huge need for specific costs Read More...

Children’s issues
• School holidays for the state school children, although Kindercare kindergarten continued.
• Two children are absent from school, one girl later reported as trafficked, and another later to return after medical issues with a sibling.
• Four new children entered the project, one boy and three girls from divorced Vietnamese families. They will enter kindergarten or grade 1 this coming term. The only parent for one is a grandmother, and two of them have an abusive step-father.
• One kindergarten child who had dropped out has returned to the Riverkids project.
• Riverkids created three house teams (Bear, Elephant and Rabbit) for chores.
• Created points system for children‘s behaviour. Read More...

Children’s issues
• All 4 children in Grade 3 have passed their exams and can go to Grade 4 next school term.
• Among the 22 children in Grade 1, 20 will go to Grade 2 next school term. The other 2 will repeat Grade 1 and get more help from Riverkids’ teachers.
• Among the 12 children regularly attending kindergarten, 3 are ready for Grade 1 next year and will switch to tuition with the other children during the school holidays to prepare.
• No new children were added this month.
• We have space for up to 5-6 more children during August, but then will be completely full. Read More...

• Kids are doing well
• New social worker hired
• Came in under budget (just, but still!)
• Holiday schedule with field trips, Vietnamese and art lessons set up
• First family day sucessful
• Visit to AFESIP’s shelter Read More...

A short intense trip going over paperwork and finances as Lyna prepares to leave for an overseas training course. Mixed news for the children, most of whom are thriving, but with several serious cases that need intervention. We figured out quite clearly what we want to do for the next year and how. We also brought in a little boy who was at high risk for trafficking and visited the relocated river slums. Read More...

I went to Phnom Penh for a couple of days in May. This trip, I went with my older son, Binh, and we stayed at the RiverKids house, camping out on mats in the main room upstairs. I caved and got a foam mattress after the first night of trying to squish myself flat. Read More...

It looks like I will fly up to Phnom Penh again for a couple of days as the moving in period and everything is stretching staff and I can pitch in especially with paperwork.

One little girl who’s been with us for two years from the original batch has been left in our custody - meant to be a couple of days but her father has vanished and there are no relatives nearby. So the legal issues have to be taken care of, and the little girl has to have things explained to her and somehow we have to figure out a balance between respite and full-time foster care which we don’t do yet - it’ll have to be arranged for her somehow.

A better post once I sort all the details out. But, knock wood - no health issues, some minor problems fixed and a lot of promise, beyond this new complication.

The April 1-5 trip report is still being written up. The financials are all done and should go up first. Read More...

Delayed January and February report Read More...

I visited the state school where the River Kids children attend. We have 43 there, with most in the first grade. A big bustling school in a poor neighbourhood with nearly 5,000 students and few resources but a lot of smiling kids. We bought stationary for the entire first grade, instead of the planned art supplies for the River Kids children, as they need it more.
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Shorter report because of detailed trip report. Read More...

Dispute re: Sok Lyna and Janelle Brown. Children, The state school children attend school throughout December as there are no end-of-year holidays. The kindergarten children are off school for December holidays though.
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There were forty-three kids at state school, thanks to late enrollments. A pair of twins took two weeks off during October for a family emergency, but will be back by November. Two other children were withdrawn due to family problems, but we’re hopeful about getting them back into the program soon.
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From an email from Lyna: This morning, one father said to me: “If it were not for you, we would not know what to do for our kids because we are much too busy with eking out a living.” I’m so thankful that someone is able to see the best interest we’re intending for their kids to appreciate our efforts and correspond well to it.
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