Help Orphans & Arts Association (HOA)

Donations for Help Orphans & Arts Association

2009-12-03T13:37:00.000-08:00

Hello again from the Help Orphans & Arts Association orphanage here in Siem Reap.

B and I are happy to report on the impact we have had on the Help Orphans & Arts Association community so far with the help of your donations. Today, Chhin was able to negotiate for us around the local markets to find the best prices for the following donations. He also assisted in pricing building supplies all over Siem Reap to find the most affordable suppliers. He is a living angel.

With a $30 donation from April, B's sister, we were able to purchase six backpacks for the older kids that go to public school and close to 100 pens. They have had to carry their school books under their clothes in plastic bags so they don't get wet. The smiles on the schoolboys faces when they saw backpacks was priceless. They couldn't thank you enough. I wish you could have heard them trying to pronounce your name.

With a $50 donation from Holly and Jeff, my sister and brother, we were able to purchase three new sleeping mats. The kids are no longer sleeping on bare wood, twigs and twine. We were able to buy three new blankets, four new pillows, six pairs of underwear for the older boys, four pairs of undies for the younger girls and eight pairs of undies for the younger boys. And, to top it off, we were able to purchase 12 new pairs of shoes for the orphans. Tomorrow we will buy a new soccer ball for the kids on behalf of Holly and Jeff as well. Sekhong, the manager of Help Orphans & Arts Association, told me he has never had someone give them so much to make their home feel comfort. He told me he is grateful for god for you two. He wished you a long life of happiness.

With a $100 donation to the Help Orphans & Arts Association from Leslie, Briana's Ma, we were able to provide UNCONTAMINATED DRINKING WATER for the ENTIRE orphanage for three months! To maintain this will cost approximately $15 per month for 20 orphans to have SAFE drinking water! This was a HUGE gift for them! Also, we used her donation to purchase 180 servings of noodles, five pounds of garlic, five pounds of salt, five pounds of sugar, and five pounds of peanuts. To top it off we were able to provide the grandmother of the orphanage 60 bananas to sell at her fruit/snack stand. We purchased vegetables and meat for the orphanage for their next three meals. This was a truly generous donation that had incredible impact, and was accepted by the orphanage with amazing grace. All of this was made possible by Leslie because she also paid to have our plane tickets changed so we were able to stay in Siem Reap and continue our work with this orphanage. We can not thank you enough Ma. Vesja, a 16 year old orphan artist gifted us an original painting of Angkor Wat that we are going to give to you. Thank you for having compassion through this process.

With a $250 donation from Eric and Susan, my momma and pops, we are going to be able to provide this orphanage with ALL THE CEMENT that is necessary to build a safe dormitory for the kids. Because of this miraculous donation, tomorrow we are delivering 6,600 POUNDS OF CEMENT. The current dormitory is falling apart and will not withstand this next monsoon season. Sekhong is DESPERATE to build a shelter for these kids before then. He could not thank me enough for this donation. Trei Vai, a 14 year old orphan artist gifted us an original painting of Angkor Wat that we are going to give to you. Thank you for supporting this project.

There are no words to express their gratitude. Their faces and prayers spoke volumes to us. I filled out receipts for each individual donation and we were able to capture photos of the kids surrounding each of your individual donations. Because of that, B and I want to provide each of you with a large print. We will give you them when we are back in the United States along with your receipts from Help Orphans & Arts Association.

B and I have three days left to continue our journey in helping build this orphanage a safe haven. Please take a minute to look at the photos of their current sleeping arrangement and imagine enduring monsoons inside the walls of a twig, stick, and twine hut! For B and me to secure the rest of the supplies to build a safe shelter, Help Orphans & Arts Association needs more support.

Bricks $360 (6000 bricks)
Wood $513 (the entire frame of the structure and roof)
Roofing $192 (32 sheets of 3 ½ meter long tin roofing at $6 per sheet)
Nails $25 (22 pounds of nails at $1.13 per pound)

TOTAL $1090

$1090, divided between our communities of supporters, is not a lot to ask. The outcome will be that 20 more poverty stricken kids have a safe place to sleep. We are requesting little donations from ALL of you. We are not asking anyone to put up over a grand to make this happen. I am asking EVERYONE we know to donate a small amount to continue to stockpile their supplies. If that is not possible, I am asking you to share this story with someone you know who may be able to make a contribution to this humanitarian endeavor.

Thank you all for reading my lengthy messages. As we have done for all other donations, we will take a photograph of your donation with the kids and provide you with a receipt so that your donation is tax-deductible.

$10, $20, $50 – as you can see, in third world countries, a little goes a VERY LONG WAY! With your help, we are changing these kids' lives one dollar at a time.

Please email us for the address in which we are accepting donations on behalf of Help Orphans & Arts Association! We love you all and are am humbled by your kindness and blown away by your generosity! Peace.

Help Orphans & Arts Association orphanage here in Siem Reap Angkor Cambodia

2009-12-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

Hi Family and Friends,

Today, B and I had an amazing experience at an orphanage here in Siem Reap, Cambodia. (photos on the Help Orphans & Arts Association album)

We found the small orphanage while touring Angkor Wat, the 7th wonder of the world. It is called HOA (Help Orphans & Arts Association). While passing by in our tuk-tuk, I took notice of it and the hand painted advertisement for the art that they have for sale. I asked our driver, Chhin, to take us back to the orphanage so we could support it by purchasing a piece of art. They welcomed us with so much love and explained their organization to us. Help Orphans & Arts Association is the home to 60-70 kids between the ages of 1 and 17 whose parents died from AIDS or were landmine victims. The two adults on site were two kind young men, 24 and 30 years old. They were both orphaned as children. We bought a HUGE beautiful painting of Angkor from Help Orphans & Arts Association for $40 and were so stoked to help them out. We asked if we could come back today and help teach English to the kids and play for a bit. They accepted our offer and looked forward to our arrival.

On the way out of Angkor Wat we asked our tuk-tuk driver to stop at a local school supply store where we spent only $15 which bought enough school supplies for 15 kids (10 notebooks, 5 rulers, 4 English books, 20 pencils, 10 sharpeners, 4 dry erase markers, an eraser, 2 drawing pads, 3 rolls packing tape).

We arrived at Help Orphans & Arts Association at 10am with all our school supplies in tow as well as 1 baby bottle, 1 pacifier and 1 large bottle of baby wash for the 1 year old baby on site. When we arrived the outdoor/shack classroom roared with excitement as they all ran to our tuk-tuk to greet us. We passed out school supplies and Briana began teaching the older kids some basic English. I worked with the younger ones on drawing, shapes, and the ABC's. I took a break while the little ones traced their hands to go take video of the orphanage grounds.

As you can see from some of the photos, they are in major poverty. These kids have no access to clean water. All of the water they drink has to be boiled first but since they don't have a kitchen, monsoon season makes that very difficult. The sleeping quarters are sticks, twigs, and leaves. When it rains, which is does from May - October, they have to close their outdoor school because of flooding. Sometimes, the flooding is so bad, the kids sleep on the top of these leaf, twig, and stick structures in the rain.

I spoke with Sokheng, general manager, while he prepared vegetables for lunch. He explained to me that they survive off of donations from tourists traveling through Angkor. They pray they sell a piece of art. The piece of art we bought will feed the orphanage for 10 days. The WHOLE orphanage including the staff eats for between $3 - $5 a day... that is over 20 people!

We left the orphanage while the kids had a lunch break and Chhin took us to a VERY local market. He came inside with us to bargain with the vendors and tell them we were purchasing supplies for this orphanage. This was to ensure we were getting the most product for each dollar we spent. We spent the following:

$8 bought the following medical supplies (10 rolls of gauze, 10 small bottles of rubbing alcohol, 10 small bottles of iodine, 1 large roll of medical tape, 1 large bag of cotton)

$27 bought 100 pounds of rice that will last them over 1 month.

$10 bought 2 large mosquito nets. Mosquito bites are the main reason they need the medical supplies. The kids have open wounds that get infected from scratching at the bites. B spent a bit of time today cleaning up open wounds, bandaging, and disinfecting cuts for the kids.

$7 bought 12 toothbrushes, 2 tubes of paste, 4 bars of soap, 30 individual packets of shampoo, 1 bag of laundry soap. Most of these kids don't get to brush their teeth.

I don't mean to sound like an infomercial but we can see how much just a little bit can buy. Help Orphans & Arts Association desperately needs materials for building...concrete, bricks, mortar, roofing...as well as continued hygiene and medical supplies. School supplies are always needed as well as safe drinking water...this is HUGE for them!!!

These kids have changed us in just a few short hours. When we left we cried as our hearts were overwhelmed with inspiration and love. Even our tuk tuk driver knew we didn't want to leave as he looked back and said, "you don't want to leave do you" and of course we said no. We even cried over our coffee when we got back into town and it was not out of sadness, but out of compassion and love. Our hearts have never been so full.

Now we are trying to figure out if we can financially stay longer and help more. This orphanage has become ''our orphanage" and these children have become "our children." We cant even fathom leaving them tomorrow and we cant wait to come back and be able to stay for months and try to make a huge impact on their lives. We are in the process of trying to figure out our personal finances to change our flight out of Cambodia to a later date so we can spend more time teaching, and helping them. Please keep your fingers crossed for us.

We are accepting donations on behalf of HOA at the address below. If you have anything to spare, please send it to:

P.O. Box 1547

Lakeside, CA 92040

Please make your donations out to my full name: Heidi K. Lovig. You will receive a receipt for your donation depicting exactly what it went to. If you have something specific you would like your donation to go toward, please indicate so.

Thank you all for reading this exhaustingly long email. We hope you are smiling and well.

Love,

B and Me

Help Orphans & Arts Association (HOA) in Siem Reap Angkor Cambodia

2009-07-20T02:15:00.000-07:00

Help Orphans & Arts Association (HOA) in Siem Reap Angkor Cambodia

Welcome to Help Orphans & Arts (HOA) Association of Siem Reap Angkor in Cambodia

Help Orphans & Arts Association (H.O.A.) is a Cambodian charity founded to help many orphans, poor street children and poor adults who are unemployed and lack the vocational skills needed to support their lives. Our Organization aims to teach vocational skills and to educate these children, which in time will give them the knowledge and life skills necessary to be able to look after themselves and support their futures

Vision of the Help Orphans & Arts (H.O.A.) Association

Our goal is to enable orphans, and poor street children to join social affairs without any disability which is, we believe, their right.

Mission of the Help Orphans & Arts (HOA) Association

To work closely with orphans, street children and poor adults, enabling them to have genuine knowledge and promote independent household economy.

Objectives of the Help Orphans & Arts Association

To eliminate illiteracy, poverty and hunger by enabling the orphans and poor people to find gainful employment and thereby contribute to Cambodia’s developing national society. Therefore H.O.A. has the following objectives:

To select orphan’s whose parents have died through AIDS as well as other reasons, we also welcome the disabled providing vocational skills and enhancing their abilities to maintain their lives.

To provide the children with education, culture, general knowledge and to develop their creative potential.

To help develop agriculture in remote and rural areas.

To provide a stable homelike environment at the school with nutritional support for the poorest.

To offer spiritual guidance to help them develop inner strength.

Activities of the Help Orphans & Arts (H.O.A.) Association

H.O.A. provides the following activities for our children:

Sending them to the state school
Teaching them English
Teaching them Computer skills
Art skills including painting, stone, wood and leather carving.

We need your help!

We are looking out for more Teachers

We need zour help to purchase the materials they need to learn

Notebooks and Pens

Pencils and Erasers

A small amount, a couple of dollars will mean a lot to them so please give whatever you are able to.

In anticipation of you generosity please send donations to:

ACLEDA Bank Plc.Siem Reap city.Cambodia

Account name: Huon Sokheng

Account number: 0100.20.354201.1.1

Your contribution will be very gratefully received and on behalf of the children we send our sincere thanks.

For further details please call Mr. Sokheng on +855 12410758 or email him at sokheng_h@yahoo.com or hoa.angkor.cambodia@gmail.com

Huon Sokheng

Director and Teacher at Help Orphans & Arts (H.O.A.) Association

About the Help Orphans & Arts Association (HOA) of Siem Reap Cambodia

2009-07-19T03:45:00.000-07:00

About the Help Orphans & Arts (HOA) Association in Siem Reap Angkor Cambodia

Mr. Huon Sokheng

Director and Teacher

Mr. Pon Phearom

Assistant Director and Teacher