This is the last well that was donated as part of our “Toilet No. 1 Project”, in 2007. We hope the family will be happy with it, and have an easier life.
Right now, I’m only missing the pictures of the “piggy banks” our nephew/niece and parents sponsored…
There’s another donation, out of our “Toilet No. 1 project” (click here) that has been handed over: the school gear! Look in these eyes, and you can feel the excitement of these kids!
These sewing machines are just gorgeous!!!! My grandmother must have had one of these, before my grandfather bought her an electrical sewing machine. Well, maybe not a Sang Leng with what seems to be a painting of a wonderful golden dragon on it, but a decent European Elna, as those must have been the times before imports from China. These sewing machines didn’t do patterns and stitches all by their own (or by some chip logic). They just sewed, but they were good at this.
They just sew now in Cambodia, operated by four families in the Banteay Srej District, as part of our donation scheme. Thanks a lot, Chitra, for the news!
More pictures can be found here.
Our Cambodia donation bicycles have been distributed - to 4 students of the culinary school who previously had to take a long walk to get to the school!
We wish them much fun with the bikes!
Check out the webpage about the donation programme I recently created.
This is our personal X-mas story. It is about a toilet. Toilet No 1.
Toilet No 1 is situated in the village of Brei, in the Banteay Srei district in Cambodia, in the hinterland of the famous Angkor temples. There was no toilet in Brei before, the people of Brei went to the jungle if they needed to. The elderly people still do, because they are a bit afraid of this new toilet. But the kids think it is fun. And there are many kids in the village of Brei…
Toilet No 1 was built as part of a donation we made via the Shinta Mani Community Project, along with four water wells, seeds, and gifts of rice and fish sauce. Breeding pigs, bicycles and sewing machines will follow, once the receiving families have reached the first goals set by the project.
Toilet No 1 and the other donations are our Christmas gift - from our families and friends, to us, but above all to the families of Brei and Khnar. During our recent trip to South East Asia, we had the chance to visit the Shinta Mani Project, and together with Sour Vong, the local project leader, meet the families who can profit of our donations. This is probably the most sustainable Christmas gift we ever got, and gave. Many many thanks to Madlen & Roland, Vreni & Berni, Baschi, Hannah, Claudia & Heiner, Martin & Romana, Anne, Jenny, Peter & Tim, Olivier, Andrea & Thomas, but also to Chitra and Sour Vong of Shinta Mani for making this possible! I’m already thinking about the next occasion to collect further donations..
Check out this link for pictures of our visit, and my website with more info on the project.
My biggest ever Christmas present is getting real! The combined donations of our families and friends instead of Christmas presents, plus some addition from my part, summed up to 1742$!!! Thank you, dear families & friends, for this generous present!
After transferring the sum to Chitra at Shinta Mani, in Cambodia, I got the great news back: The village of Bantey Srei, consisting of 10 families, and close to the famous “women’s temple” with the same name, will get our donations:
Chitra’s suggestion to use the “cash” I added for toilets sounded strange to me, first. It’s not what you’d expect to donate for. But so far, there has been no toilet in the Bantey Srei village. This may well be one of the most sustaining parts of the donations.
Chitra is now organizing for the things to be built and purchased. We’ll be visiting Bantey Srei during our holidays in Cambodia, in December. I’m looking forward to see my Christmas present!!!
Instead of xmas gifts, I asked my family & close friends for something else, this year - for a very early Christmas! And their donations just reached 1000$!!!
Their donations will be used to support a village in Cambodia, where we will spend a few days during our vacation in December. Through the community programme of Shinta Mani Hotel in Siem Reap (Angkor) we can support families with wells, “live piggy banks”, bicycles, sewing machines, school uniforms etc.
Makes more sense and and will maybe give even more lasting joy than x-mas gifts.