Ceremony for new Police Station

The government built a new police station in Prey Veng Province and LDSC was asked to contribute.
Of course they build a new police station without water, latrine and wash station.  We are working on clean water and sanitation at 26 school in Prey Veng and our construction crews needs protection and free passage to work there.  So we added a well, water pump, latrin and hand wash station to the deal and everyone is happy.  Of course you have to have a ceremony to seal the deal.  I usually speak at these events and start my speech with a joke or something to warm the already melting crowd.  My translator would not relate my joke because he said it would offend them and would land us in the back half of the new police stations jail.  There were over 1000 people here with about 300+ police officers dressed in their finest.  The head of all police in Cambodia was present and spoke for an hour.      I started my speech with" This is the largest group of policemen that I had seen since the donut truck flipped over on highway 80 in down town Sacramento. " If was fun brushing shoulders with the mover and shakers in the police department.  A lot of time it is who you know that keeps you out of trouble and that you can fall back on when you do.  Respect and $s is what make things move here.  The difference between a bribe and a payment is a receipt!!

I asked the police chief why he needed a latrine.  Policemen are big and strong and don't need to go.  He said it was just for EMERGENCIES

Investigating a New Project

We find our project in all kinds of ways.  Because our name has charities in everybody thinks that we have Money to give.  The project requests come from members, priesthood leaders, Minister of Cult and Religion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Provincial Governors, Political leaders, Chief of school districts, District Governors, village chiefs, Mission President, NGOs, you name it.

We try to keep our projects in the member area of strength around the Tonle Sap lake, about 5 hours away.  That way we can monitor the progress of the project.  We are now looking a t project in Prey Veng Province about 2-3 hours way.  There are two school district in 2 separate Districts.  31 schools min one and 66 in the other.  The last time they had any work done was by UNICEF in 2009.

The school districts get $1.75 per student per year towards maintenance and repair of school property.
Something breaks it stays broke.  NO MONEY is the term that is used most often when asked why something is not fixed.  So if a 5 door school with 200 kids in the morning session and 200 kids in the afternoon it get, receive $1.75 x 400 =$700.  That money is usually shorted through the sieve on its way to the school.  In the recent past the school teacher, who make about $108 per month, was being shorted by the school director and or the district school chief and or somewhere higher up before it got to the teacher.  The government now send the pay to the teacher's bank account direct.  That doesn't stop someone from asking for money back to keep you job. Challenging!!

The Prey Veng project request came through Cult and Religion and the Provincial Govenor.  We have spent 2 days looking and charting the first 25 school.  We primary look at clean water and sanitation.
Wells, rain water catchment, water tanks or piped water, latrines and hand wash station.

Checking on a new water project

The rainy season is upon us.  Not enough rain for rice but too much for gardens.

The water come to the top of the steps. 

Hand wash station 35,000 liter water tank with hand wash instructions draw on the side.

Ferry across the river 

Backing onto a ferry. Just before it sank!!

The Hardest Part of a Blogsite

 Is keeping up with it.  Sometimes you get lost in your adventure and let other things go.
Being on a mission in Cambodia has been a wonderful experience.

Khmer New Year. A trip to the North East corner of Cambodia

Last week was the celbration of the Khmer new year.  Phnom Penh were we live went dead.  All of the people travel back to their city of birth or where their family came from.  Some ares were really crowded and some dead.  All of the mechants and venders raised prices.  We normally pay $12-15 for nice hotel and they got bumped to $25-30.  The Khmer do not see the trash and litter every where.  We ventured into the Mondolkiri and the Rattanackiri areas in NE Cambodia.  They are elevated to about 800 meters and much cooler than the large river basin that makes up most of Cambodia.  There are conifer forest, waterfalls and deep red volcanic soils.

Out on the Mekong River looking for the pink dolfins.  They taste just like chicken.  That is our translator's wife and daughter that we brought along.

Swimming in the Mekong River.  Who was watching for the Crockes?

This is a village set up between islands to relax and have fish heads and rice.

Great place to get cooled off

When the rains start in May they take all this down.

Basaraa Falls

Indiana Jones and Companion

Ahhh. We found the bakery.

O'Sinclair falls with tons of people

Trash

View from Thy Anth Hotel

Our translator's, Seraths, daughter

Great little restaurant called the Geeks Cafe in Rattennackiri.

This liitle fishy went to market

Mekong falls on the Laosian border

That is our trusty steed.  Called a Toyota Forttuner, 2014, diesel, 4 wheel drive, 25 miles to the gallon.  Similar to the forunner sold in the states.  Nice and high off the ground.

This Wat is on a ridge top that separates Cambodia and Tailand.  They have been fighting over it for years.  There are gun placesment and machine gun nets on both sides of the ridge.

Jen doing a little target practicing

11 century Hindu Wat.

Hindu Baptismal Font.

Looks like red Daffodils.

kingdom of Wonder

On the road to check out well sites with our water specialists

This is their water in the rural areas.  The end of the dry season and water is short.

B52 present leftover from the 70s used as a school bell.  We are here with H.E.Hung Vibol, Assistant Minister of Cult and Religion.  We are the cult.

Rainwater catchment system.

In the rural areas there is no electricity.  Every Khmer has a tv, 1 florencent bulb and a cell phone in their house powered by a car battery. This is a chargiing station using a deseil generator.

    Yum!!! Clean water.

Checking out a pump that needs repair.

The boats that they use to ferry kids to school in the wet season

The candy lady.  Treats after the children sang to us.

While in Battambang we participated in 3 wheelchair ceremonies for 65 reciprientsCheck out the high water mark on this med clinic.  This clinc is on an island in the Tonli Sap lake