The German architect Michael Weiss came to Cambodia in February 1999 for the first time. He was on vacation with his wife Veronica  - fascinated by the ruins of Angkor and moved by the numerous child beggars in the slums of the capital Phnom Penh. Michael Weiss: "I promised to find a shelter for them as I saw them sleeping in the dirt. I wanted to give them the possibility to attend school. I thought we could find a relief organization which takes care of the children´s needs and pay them. But that was difficult."

So the Weiss family decided to take action on their own when they met a Dutch couple: Billy Barnaart and his wife Jeannine. Jeannine worked at the International School of Phnom Penh. With her salary she financed the social commitment of Billy, who worked for the organisation CLCA (Cambodian Light Children Association) in an inner-city-slum area called "Building". Billy Barnaart: ”I struggled hard to find extra funding for the kids and to improve their situation. Since 1997 they performed traditional Khmer Dances which could earn them money and food. A school in the Netherlands financed schooling for 75 children. Paul Blanche-Horgan (CEO of the communication company Telstra Bigpond), friends of my soccer team and teachers of ISPP also donated money. In October 2001 I introduced Michael Weiss to CLCA.”

Michael and Veronika Weiss took over the costs for 23 children. In 2001 they had 72 children to look after; 31 of them went to public school. Michael Weiss: ”Until the end of 2001 we could secure the financing with funds from our own family. In 2002 friends joined in. But then some unexpected problems occured: A fire destroyed large parts of the "Building" area. The Cambodian director of CLCA was accused of sexual abuse of one the girls. He was arrested at the end of 2002 and taken into custody. Moreover Jeannine Barnaart died unexpectedly.”

On Christmas Day 2002 former CLCA caretakers and a group of children showed up at Billy Barnaart`s home and asked him for help. Billy Barnaart: ”I had already received a letter from the Minister of Social Affairs with the urgent request to establish a new organisation. The Ministry of Interior approved the new local NGO on the 21st February 2003. At this time we had already found a new home for the kids in Toul Kork District/Phnom Penh." Billy Barnaart and Michael Weiss named it ”Jeannine”s Children Association” (JCA) after Billy”s wife to keep her memory alive.

In the beginning of 2004 JCA had to change the house again. In their new home near Indra Devi high school in Toul Kork the organisation takes care of 86 children. Nearly all of them go to school. The local director Kong Sovanlay is committed to lead the kids to a better future through English lessons and vocational training. Though this orphanage is a happy place Michael Weiss and Billy Barnaart have already found a new aim: Building a children`s village at the outskirts of Phnom - as most of the kids are coming from rural areas. Michael Weiss: ”Veronika and I have purchased 2.5 hectares of land Anlong Khrnang near the Phnom Penh airport. The plans for the new village were made together with the children. They were eager to work with us over months. The model that we built was so good that the authorities gave us a building permission without plans and drawings."

Filmmaker Nico Mesterharm and his Khmer cameraman Lach Chantha follow this unique aid from the scratch.  The long-term documentary BUILDING A DREAM will show how locals and foreigner can work hand in hand and learn from each other. Through their aid work in Cambodia Weiss and Barnaart learned almost everything about the importance of community development within a country where social structures were almost completely destroyed by the "Khmer Rouge" and their infamous leader Pol Pot. Billy Barnaart: "In Anloung Khrnang we ask for the full participation of the near-by village and its inhabitants. 15.000 people are living there under questionable living conditions. It is a so-called ´relocation site´ where squatters from different slum areas in Phnom Penh were given a new home by the government. We will help them to develop an infrastructure - when they help us to build and protect the children`s village."

The JCA village will consist of everything what is needed to be self-supporting: Ten residential buildings, meeting and working rooms, kitchen, administration and gate house, generator, fish pond, school gardens, sporting and recreational facilities. For the project makers issues with top priority are right now: Purification of drinking water, sewage clarification, boiling with solar energy, small animal and fish farming. The building process will be completed in 2006. Michael Weiss: "We have a lot of work to do within the next months but I am sure we are gonna make it in time. Billy and I promised that to each of the children - and this is what counts to us..."

For more informations please contact mwp@a1-mail.com.

SCC is a Cambodian non-profit NGO established in 1994 to respond to the urgent need of Cambodian people for education, care and support relating to HIV/AIDS. SCC works with Buddhist monks to implement HIV/AIDS prevention and care activities. With just under 54,000 monks and 4,000 pagodas, the Buddhist infrastructure in Cambodia provides great potential for building an effective faith-based response to HIV/AIDS. Among Cambodian people, Buddhist monks are trusted, respected, influential figures who are traditionally revered. Pagodas are a natural focal point for communities and have been serving society as centres for education and health related activities for many years. This important position in society provides SCC’s monks with legitimacy as HIV/AIDS educators and assists with effectiveness in providing HIV/AIDS prevention and care services at a community level.

SCC Monks also try to address the psychological distress caused by HIV/AIDS by providing training in meditation techniques and instruction in the Buddhist Dharma for persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and their families. Instruction in Buddhist Dharma helps PLWHAs to come to terms with their situation and improve their self-awareness and meditation practice provides stress-reduction techniques.

SCC is working in Phnom Penh (where the head office is located) and Battambang (Wat Norea), where a provincial office is located. SCC has also recently secured funding from UNICEF and KHANA (Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance) for a new program in Siem Reap province. The goal is to make a significant contribution to HIV prevention and AIDS care, including providing support to children affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, by working together with communities in Cambodia.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Cambodia has created many orphans and vulnerable children, and their numbers are increasing. SCC Monks act as mentors for over 747 orphans and vulnerable children (389 children in Phnom Penh and 358 children in Battambang), visiting them regularly to provide counseling and psychosocial support. SCC also supports orphans and vulnerable children by advocating on their behalf to ensure that they are adequately cared for in their own communities, and have access to education. This involves negotiating with local schools and the families and neighbours of orphans and vulnerable children, usually whilst one or both parents are still alive, to plan for their future.

In 2004 SCC Core Trainer Monks negotiated with the Directors of government schools to ensure that 106 children in Battambang and 13 children in Phnom Penh were able to attend school for free. SCC Monk Core Trainers in Phnom Penh also facilitated a special HIV/AIDS educational event for 874 students in Dambokapos primary school, aimed at raising awareness about general HIV/AIDS issues and reducing stigma and discrimination against orphans ands vulnerable children. With funding support from the SCC Trust Fund, KHANA and UNICEF, SCC was also able to provide food, clothing, educational supplies and other basic needs to those most in need.

As an opportunity to meet orphans and vulnerable children from other communities, to share experiences and to provide mutual support for each other, SCC also organizes events for children in Battambang called the ”Happy, Happy Program” (funded by KHANA). In this program the kids visit historic locations such as Banon Mountain, Sampov Mountain or Kamping Pouy Dam, or just meet to play games in Norea Pagoda.

SCC often uses these events, as well as IEC (information, education and communication) specific events, to provide children with a basic understanding of HIV/AIDS, to give them an opportunity to ask questions and to discuss their problems in a supportive environment. During the implementation of the IEC activities, children are encouraged to draw and paint pictures, both as a way of relaxing and having fun, and also as a way to express their feelings and emotions.

SCC`s Trust fund is funded by SCC staff and supporters both in Cambodia and overseas, and provides families most affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty with food, clothing, educational supplies, essential drugs or funds for establishing income generating activities. An example of the benefits this support can provide is that 70 USD will provide a child with schooling equipment, tuition fees and enough rice for a year, ensuring that they can continue their education and remain living with family or friends in their community.

For more informations about SCC`s activities,
please email: sovanmak @ forum.org.kh.

Orphans and poor children learn how to help themselves...

More than 2,000 children worldwide are being infected with HIV every day. Four million have died of AIDS so far. The number of AIDS orphans has been estimated to total 13.2 million. The majority of AIDS orphans live under extremely difficult conditions in the economical peripheries of the world.

In the villages of northern Thailand AIDS has spread like a plague. Large numbers of young parents have died. The children who are left behind are living in extremely poor conditions and are usually left to care for themselves. Some are looked after by relatives or neighbours but often insufficient to their needs. What can be done?

The School for Life is situated on the farm Suan Suoi Fha Sai about one hour north-east of Chiang Mai by car. The organisation takes care of children coming from very poor circumstances. It guarantees their existence, gives them the chance to experience happiness, offers psychosocial support, tries to become a second home, helps in their education and, if necessary, will provide medicine for their survival.

The School for Life does not work in isolation but has built up a network of active relations with nearby villages, schools, relatives, friends and neighbours. This is done so that the children do not lose the social ties they have left.

The aim is to teach children how to break free from poverty. Entrepreneurship education does not mean encouraging children to become part of the rapidly spreading consumer culture, but to learn how to live modestly by reducing the use of resources, with the aim of reaching a higher quality of life in the future.

Contacts: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Zimmer juzimmer@gmx.com
Information about the School for Life: www.School-for-Life.de
Secretary in Berlin: Stephanie Holyst jgzimmer@zedat.fu-berlin.de