Three local IB students are appealing for help from knowitall.ch readers before they head off to Cambodia this summer. Anastasia Ebbinghaus, Julian Bailey and Lea Garguet-Duport will spend 2 weeks in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at the end of July, volunteering at Sok Sabay, a residential shelter for children who have been victims of child abuse, child labor or prostitution. In preparation for their trip they are looking to take various supplies with them, many of which they hope will be provided by kind donations from family, friends and the general public.
Currently there are 65 children at the centre, with the youngest at 3 years of age and the oldest in their 3rd year of University. The three IB students have developed their own drama camps for these children, which they will run each day, leading to a performance on the final day of their stay. They will also be working with the younger children at the local pool, helping to improve on their swimming skills, teaching English, and showing them how to bake muffins!
In addition they will visit a school situated in the slums of Phnom Penh. For these children they would like to bring pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, pencil cases, rulers, indeed anything that you can spare at home that the children can use at school.
While the teens are teaching the younger children of Sok Sabay, their chaperone, Annette Ebbinghaus, will be teaching Sophrology to the residents who are over 16 years of age.
In preparation for their visit, Marie Cammal, the Director and Daily Manager of Sok Sabay has asked the 3 students and their guide to bring swimming goggles and bathing suits, baking soda, baking powder and plastic muffin cooking tins. Their goal is to collect 100 pairs of swim goggles, and 100 swim suits (they will accept lightly used or new swim suits of all ages, which will be sorted before they depart in mid-July). They would also like to raise 2,000 CHF - enough money to sponsor two children for a year.
So far the 3 students have collected:
- 2,500 paper cup cake holders (donated by Cristina Resnekov)
- 2 plastic muffin tins (donated by Cristina Resnekov)
- 30 pairs of goggles (collected through Lea's association with Nyon Swim Club)
- 10 goggles and swim suits coming from a friend in the US
- 10 swim suits coming from a friend in the US
- 10 goggles (from Nathalie Loeffler)
- 2 containers of baking soda and powder (coming from the US)
- 800 CHF (collected through selling used household items on Facebook)
The students are still looking for:
- Swim suits
- Swim goggles
- School supplies (pencil case, pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, rulers)
- Plastic mould muffin cooking sheets
- Monetary donations
If you would like to add to their collection you can drop donations at the following locations:
Family Ebbinghaus: 26, Route de Tannay, 1296 Coppet. Yellow house across from grey train building. Number and main gate is on the main road. Please leave donations in a plastic bag, just inside the gate if they are not home. 079.558.30.92
Family Bailey: 10, Chemin du Jaillet, 1277 Borex. Just leave in plastic bag, inside gate or ring bell if the white car is home. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Family Gaurget-Duport: 2, Chemin du Rondeau 1270 Trelex. Leave in plastic bin if they are not home. 079.963.98.57
Monetary donations: Please make your donation by bank transfer to the following account, please note "DONATION FOR SOK SABAY" in the transfer details. All money donated will be donated in one lump sum to avoid large bank charges from the Cambodian side. Please note, even a 20 CHF donation will go quite far in Cambodia.
Account details: Annette Ebbinghaus
IBAN #:CH700024024076252740H
BIC: UBSWCHZH80A
More about Sok Sabay
Sok Sabay was started by a French Refugee Camp Nurse, Marie Cammal in 1995/1996. It is her individual dedication to these children that makes Sok Sabay such a wonderful place.
Once at the centre the children have a place to live, food to eat, clothing, health care, social and psychological care, educational and vocational training. The younger children are schooled on the premises and the older children attend a school in Phnom Penh. All the children are taught and counseled through creating water color artwork of their native land. They are also taught traditional Khmer Dance and have performed in Singapore on numerous occasions as well as for the King of Cambodia.
Currently Marie has several of the older residents studying at University level. This is a real achievement for both Marie and the students. Marie`s goal is to give these children the opportunity to lead productive lives as adults, in either a vocation or profession that will help them, their families and Cambodian society at large.
40% of the money that Sok Sabay needs is raised outside of individual sponsorships. The remaining 60% is provided by individual sponsors to specific children. A sponsor is considered to be a GodParent to the child they sponsor. Annette and her husband have been actively involved with Sok Sabay since 1999. They visited the centre in December 2011 with their two children. Marie put them to work right away, there was no time for sightseeing and not much time for taking photos!
The children at the centre are full of life, caring, intelligent and very happy. These are some of the forgotten children of the world. Cambodia is a country that has been fragmented by war. Basic medical care is not available to any of its citizens and many children live with their mothers in sub-humane conditions.
If you would like further information on Sok Sabay, please visit www.soksabay.com or contact Annette Ebbinghaus directly at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
