Yoga arrives at JWOC

Lake Tahoe Yoga and Journeys Within Our Community created smiles this February.  Twelve visitors from Lake Tahoe traveled to Cambodia to donate supplies, energy and financial donations.  The focus of our projects at JWOC were to see the effects of our in-kind donations as well as to make further donations of school supplies and, of course, yoga.  We had no idea that we were going to receive, as well.

Our first day at JWOC was spent meeting and greeting.  Sarah, Tom and Navi showed us around the grounds.  We were impressed when we learned that the program was only 8 years old and had grown so significantly already.  All of us were enthused to help out during the English conversation class.  What an experience to be able to learn about local Khmer and help them to develop stronger English speaking skills!  All of us enjoyed sitting down, some one-to-one and others in groups to engage in casual conversation.  We asked and answered questions about our family life, favorite foods, experiences and more.

For our second day, we both gave and received.   Our morning began with a trip to the countryside.  We had learned, while in Phnom Penh, that many people had been displaced to the countryside during the Pol Pot Regime (Khmer Rouge).  The people living in the countryside are poor in material goods but rich in family and community.  Each "city" is referred to as a family.  While visiting, we were welcomed in as though we were one with them.

JWOC has been working to teach the communities in the countryside how to create sustainable gardens.  Due to their distance from the city and low means, they are unable to purchase the foods and materials that others have.  By learning to grow and maintain their own gardens, they can sustain themselves, their families and the community in which they live.  JWOC's efforts include using a "teaching garden," to help people learn about seeding, liquid and solid manure (all organic) and transplanting techniques in order to continually maintain growth.

[A Khmer woman shows off her "long beans."  She was so proud of her garden, she couldn't stop laughing while she showed us around.]

[A JWOC scholarship student and volunteer shows us the liquid fertilizer at a teaching garden.]

After our tour of the gardens, it was our turn to give.  We had been invited to help out during the art class and had arranged for something special.  Sixty or so children joined us for a short yoga practice.  The children demonstrated an incredible balance of fun and focus.  Amidst giggles, they mimic our yoga poses perfectly and, with patience, they listened to a story.

[The children listen to The Mitten, read by Jenay]

For the craft activities, the JWOC team separated the children into groups based upon age.  Young children cut out paper snowflakes.  Older children read letters from children in Lake Tahoe and wrote their own to send in return.  The rest worked on making Borax snowflakes - they won't see the results of their project for a few days as the water needs to evaporate.  We look forward to receiving photos of their crystallized snowflake.

Jenay, E-RYT, is the director at Lake Tahoe Yoga.  She lives an active life-style and seeks Yoga in everything she does.

New Ideas and Fresh Faces

In all organizations staff turnover is healthy and new faces bring new ideas and fresh perspectives. JWOC is no different and I want to thank those that have left for the hard work they have put in over the years.

Our new Managing Director, Alex, has moved into the position after being with JWOC as our Education Manager. We welcome her enthusiasm and ability to work with the JWOC team as we set our goals for 2014. Filling her place as Education Manager is Sarah who is completing her masters degree in Education and International Development so has JWOC's Free Classes program close to her heart. Stepping into a new position is Tom who is excited to be working as Communications Manager. What a great team they make! Of course supporting the projects are our wonderful team of Project Managers and Vantha our Office Manager - thank you all for all you do to enable JWOC to serve the local community!

Behind the scenes and back in the USA is the JWOC board. Here too we are experiencing changes. After nine years JWOC's co-founders have stepped aside as the Executive Directors. Andrea and Brandon have given so much to JWOC over the years and we are delighted they are not moving on - they will continue to work for JWOC on the board. Stepping up to fill the Executive Director's job is Jane who has been Board Chair for the last few years, and stepping into the Chair role is Philippa who was chair prior to Jane and has been on the board since JWOC's inception. Moving on are two of the founder board members - Dawn and Rebecca. They will be missed and I would like to thank them for their hard work and their support of JWOC over the years.

Stepping into new board positions along with Andrea are Erin, Nicole, and Dudley. All three bring relevant skills and experiences and I welcome them to the board and look forward to working with them.

With new board members as well as the old we feel there is a stability and a fresh enthusiasm in the board and we are excited to be moving into 2014.

If you would like to know more about any of these folk please go to our website where both staff and board members are profiled.

If you would like to join us in continuing to make JWOC the innovative not-for-profit which truly changes lives in SE Asia contact:

me, philippa@JourneysWithinOurCommunity.org to join the board
Alex at md@journeyswithinourcommunity.org to volunteer in Cambodia.
Tom at tom@journeyswithinourcommunity.org to develop a fund raiser to help us achieve our goals.

many thanks
Philippa Nigg

Seng's update on the Clean Water Project

Welcome to the Clean Water Program! I am Seng the project manager and I started working for JWOC in August 2012. I am very grateful to be part of a program that is so helpful to the community and I am really proud of the work I have done in my time with the Clean Water Program.






During 2013, the clean water program worked with 731 families in three villages. Now we are working in a new one, Bang Kaong village, it is to the east of Siem Reap. Since November we have been working with 250 families, doing Filter training. It has been a really busy and exciting time.

Google map for Bang Kaong village 

Recently we have assigned the group leaders for the parts of the village, and drawn up a map of the village to represent this. Designed and started a 5 step training schedule: 1) Warm-up, 2) Model, 3)Check Understanding, 4) Practice and 5) Feedback. We have made sure the scholarship students are clear with their training, and also edited some flipcharts and changed the pictures.

Our follow up survey has shown much improvement in the villages. For example in Kork Thmey village, there has a 69% increase in filter water drinking, 88% increase in washing their hands before eating and washing with soap, and a 71% increase in brushing their teeth with toothbrush and toothpaste every day. I am so proud to see these changes.


Since November we have provided hygiene training to five schools, 1088 students and tested the water quality in the wells; the water is good no nitrate or arsenic was found!

We have created an official letter which is recognized by School CEOs. This has made the schools much more confident to work with us because sometimes they haven’t had time in their schedule for us due to them being so busy. The teachers and students have told us how happy they are with the program. Now we are going to Preah Entarakaosey Primary School, it has 24 classrooms, we have the 4 week schedule ready and we are really excited to get started. Since the project started we have provided hygiene training to 24 schools in Siem Reap, that’s 6776 school children! 

The achievement of the scholarship students volunteers is something that amazes me. They are really team players, very helpful, hard working, honest, and friendly to each other and to the people in the community. Sometimes it is raining or flooded but they are still very happy to work in the village in order to help the villagers. I am really proud of them as the Clean Water Program manager.

That is all for now. Thank you very much for reading my writing about my program, Clean Water Program at schools and villages in Siem Reap province, Cambodia. I am looking forward to writing more about it.

Thanks!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Free Classes Program Manager, Somit,  gives thanks to those that made it possible for JWOC's recent trip to the U.S. where both him and Vantha, our Scholarship Program Manager,  got the chance to travel and speak about the essential work that JWOC does empowering communities through educational and economic opportunities in Siem Reap, Cambodia. 

 

 

It was a great opportunity for me to be traveling to the U.S to do fundraising and meet JWOC’s existing and potential donors. It was the first time for me to travel abroad and even the first experience of being on the plane, so you can imagine how excited I was! Here I would like to share the great experiences and the impressions of the trip as well as the impact that the trip has on my life and work at JWOC.

First of all is about my impressions. Everything impressed and amazed me. Roads are busy and big as well as driving is faster but the traffic is good – it is rare for traffic accidents, and most drivers follow and respect traffic law. In a state or city, traffic is not only on the roads but also underground – I cannot imagine how the underground rails were built even across rivers. Buildings are big and tall, especially in New York City. It was the first time I have seen such tall buildings. People are busy and rush all over; especially in the city (people sometimes eat food while walking to work), but the standard of living is high. Last but not least, education in the US, which I have seen and observed, amazed me. There is enough equipment, facilities and materials for both teachers and students to access to their teaching and learning practices. Students still can continue their education with replacement schools even though they have problems at their state school; for example, a girl who has a baby or is pregnant still can continue their studies, whereas here that cannot happen.

  The main thing the team and I did during the trips is presentations. I did a lot of presentations for different audiences like early age children, high school students, and adults having different experiences.  I have learned a lot from doing those presentations. I also joined 4 events hosted by our donors and JWOC’s board members so I had chance to speak to a lot of people to share about our lives and education in Cambodia, and I learned a lot from them about their cultures and livelihoods. Being on subway trains was also a great experience. Many people there use this kind of transport for traveling instead of cars to reduce traffic jams on roads. Meals there are big! I was served very big meals all the time I went to restaurants. I tried different kind of food there. I appreciate the ways they make breakfast there – it is fast and easy to make. Toast, bacon and fruits are my favorite.

One more thing, the team and I were brought to the 29^th floor of a building in New York– it was the first time for me to be in a  high building, and I can see different views from the building. What is more about the experience is going to watch American Baseball game at Yankee Stadium. The stadium was crowded, and audience was very excited about the match. We ate hot dogs and I bought a big bag of pop corn for all – it was a lot of fun. They are not only the experiences I would share but there is a lot more.

Last is about the impact that it might have on my life and the difference to the work I am doing may be the result of the wonderful experiences. All the experiences I have gained there have changed some of my ideas about education and the ways I would prepare for my life and my community; for instance, keeping life busier and thinking more proactively . The experience has helped me improve a lot like presentation skills, public speaking skills, and knowledge about fundraising and donor relations; that is very useful for me.

 I could see what I used to imagine and saw on movies. I will share everything I experienced with friends, relatives and JWOC’s beneficiaries. I will also use what I have learned from experiences to improve my work at JWOC. And once again, I would like to give a big thanks to all supporters of JWOC which gave me a wonderful opportunity to do the Fundraising Tour and all board members, especially Philippa and Andrea, who helped us to their best and made us feel warm and welcome while we were there as well as all friends and donors who provided us home for us to stay and great meals.

A huge thank-you to all our supporters!

 For more information about our programs or if you wish to make a donation towards our Free Classes Program, or any of our other programs Click here

 

 

Emergency Flood Relief Update

Flood update — JWOC delivers much needed relief

Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC) has been working to deliver much needed relief to Tropeang Ses and Veal Villages.

On Saturday October 12, the JWOC staff worked together to put health and hygiene packs together ready for distribution by the Clean Water and Community Liaison and Assistance (CL&A) teams on Sunday.  Each pack contains 3 bars of soap, 2 10ml iodine bottles and 8 clear water tablets.

Community Liaison and Assistance manager Konthea, Bunroeun and Vantha assemble clean water packages for delivery.

The next day, the teams distributed 285 hygiene packs to as many families.  106 hygiene packs were distributed by our teams in Tropeang Ses and 179 in Veal, both nearby squatter villages where many of the JWOC school students come from.

A scholarship student explains how to use the clean water packages in Tropeang Ses village.

Health and needs assessment is conducted to determine the needs of each individual village.

The heavy rains have stopped for now and the flooding is going down.  However,  the drainage around Tropeang Ses village is still blocked and the area is still severely flooded, with water levels above the knee as there is nowhere for the water to drain to.

A mother accepts a hygiene package.

On Saturday October 19, the CL&A team distributed hygiene packs to 36 families in this block and will continue working with them as they are at high risk still of water-related and mosquito-borne diseases. 

Volunteer students were a key part of getting the emergency services to the people in the villages.

A local woman listens to instructions on how to use the clean water tablets to keep from contracting water-borne diseases and how the iodine can be used to clean cuts to prevent infection.

JWOC is thankful for the support of all donors who helped to make it possible to provide this much-needed immediate relief.