Building Brighter Futures Foundation in Athelstone, South Australia, Australia | Community organisation

Building Brighter Futures Foundation

Locality: Athelstone, South Australia, Australia

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25.01.2022 I just stopped to check where I was on the virtual walk, and discovered that I am right at the gates of Prey Thom Primary School. This photo from Google Maps was obviously taken some years ago. It is a huge reminder of the state the school was in when we were first involved. The pond had been completed at this time (resolving the problem that the school used to have with waste from the adjoining pig farm covering part of the land), but most of the other changes we have initiated at the school had not been completed. So nice to reflect on how things have changed with the wonderful support we have had!

24.01.2022 Tourism Update: Whilst many of the travel restrictions for entering Cambodia were relaxed from the 20th of May, the restrictions as far as testing and quarantine mean that tourism is effectively still not an option.

23.01.2022 School Update At this stage, school has still not re-opened at Prey Thom. The teachers are continuing to keep the school grounds in good condition though, and are trying to support some learning goals in the childrens homes as they can. Unfortunately, many children do not have access to a smart device, so they are not able to provide online learning within the community.

23.01.2022 We are so sad to hear of the passing of Phiroms handsome, clever and loving nephew today after his battle with brain cancer. Sending our deepest sympathies and much love.

23.01.2022 Coming Soon!!!! BBFF is very excited to announce that our first ever virtual tour is opening very soon. Keep your eyes peeled! This virtual tour allows you to visit some of the incredible Angkor Temples, while also raising funds to help supply much-needed rice to families in the Prey Thom community. You can walk, run, cycle, convert activities like yoga or gardening - any of your activities can help you to reach the distance for this tour. Its a win-win! Not only will it e...ncourage you to keep fit and healthy, but you will be helping families who are under enormous food-stress currently. When we launch we would be incredibly grateful if you could share the info to friends, family, workmates, yoga-buddies etc!! The more people who get involved, the more rice we can provide. Watch this space!!

23.01.2022 Prey Thom Primary School Update Now that the children are back in some schooling, it has made handing out the latest rice supplement to sponsored children a little easier! It is still important to follow Covid guidelines though ... If you would like to help support the rice supplements, please visit www.buildingbrighterfutures.org.au to donate.

23.01.2022 Phirom has shared some video with us of how the tourist areas of Siem Reap are looking at the moment.

23.01.2022 Looking for inspiration to get out and exercise? Try our virtual Angkor Temple Tour!!

22.01.2022 Major antiseptic spraying to occur in Siem Reap this coming week. It looks that the teams will be keeping to the city itself, rather than travelling out to the rural communities.

21.01.2022 Coronavirus School Update: With a recent outbreak of community transmitted coronavirus in Cambodia, the government has had to close some areas in an attempt to control the risk of ongoing transmission. Despite the statement from the Prime Minister yesterday that schools would remain open, we have heard from Phirom today that the Minister of Education has now closed schools for the remainder of this school year. Consequently, Prey Thom Primary School has been closed today and... will remain so until the new school year is due to start on January 15th next year. We wish all the best to our friends in Cambodia as they deal with this latest outbreak, and send our support as they do all that they can to stay safe and healthy. We will aim to continue to work on providing assistance with food for the school families and community as we are able to during these difficult times.

20.01.2022 Great to see a few people already making their way on our Virtual Tour! I you would like to join us, visit https://www.myvirtualmission.com//virtual-angkor-temple-to

20.01.2022 Very quiet these days at the incredible Angkor Wat.

19.01.2022 Check out our latest video showing the work that Phirom is doing to provide rice for needy families in the Prey Thom community. To help with this work, please sponsor or join our virtual Angkor Temple Tour at https://www.myvirtualmission.com//virtual-angkor-temple-to

19.01.2022 Virtual Walk Update: We are delighted to announce that between the Virtual Walk registrations (sign up at https://www.myvirtualmission.com//virtual-angkor-temple-to) and two individual donations, we have so far been able to provide 550 kg of rice to families within the Prey Thom community. Thank you so much to all who have been involved, and if you havent yet - please get on board if you can!! We have some great video and photos of the rice being distributed, but thought this short piece was a bit of fun! We are so thankful to Phirom and Ms Vanna for their help in identifying needy families and distributing the rice.

18.01.2022 Whilst Prey Thom Primary School hasnt reopened yet, the English school that the Scholarship students attend has! Phirom sent us a few photos today of our students back in their English lessons.

18.01.2022 Building Project Update: The work continues at Prey Thom Primary School. The bike shed/eating area is now being enclosed and the other classroom blocks are having the roof tiles replaced to fix the leaks that had developed, making the classrooms unable to be used during parts of the wet season. Thanks so much to the volunteers from the last tour, who not only helped with the building work, but fundraised to cover the costs of all of this building work.

18.01.2022 Photos of the recent handout of rice to sponsored children at Prey Thom Primary School. Food insecurity has increased enormously with the effects of Covid on the Siem Reap community, and this rice is making a huge difference for these children and their families.

17.01.2022 Recent rice handout to students at Prey Thom Primary School. Thanks to Adrian Jamieson Associates for the generous donation which allowed 150 students to provide rice for their families. Siem Reap has been dealing with loss of work due to the cessation of tourism with the Covid pandemic and recent flooding which destroyed many of the small vegetable gardens and rice paddies that the locals tend to grow food. Food is scarce for many families in the Prey Thom community, and there is no clear indicator for when and how this might improve. We are very grateful to all of our donors and supporters who are helping the members of this community xx.

17.01.2022 Some of our participants are very close to completing our Virtual Angkor Temple Tour! Awesome work guys - and even more exciting that we have already raised funds for over 250 kg of rice to help struggling households in the Prey Thom community! Join yourself at https://www.myvirtualmission.com//virtual-angkor-temple-to

17.01.2022 Project update: Before leaving Cambodia, our Ambassador Nic travelled back out to the school to see how the project is going. Looking good!

16.01.2022 Check out our new video showing the process that Phirom has been developing to ensure safety during the current rice distribution for sponsored children.

16.01.2022 Building project update: A few updated photos of the building work that is continuing at Prey Thom Primary School.

16.01.2022 This short video was taken with one of our Scholarship children. He was sponsored throughout his primary schooling by Keith and Tania, and they have stayed involved since he moved to middle school, providing regular funds to provide rice to him and his disabled Grandmother. He is dedicated to his studies, resulting in him earning a middle school scholarship, which is supporting his English lessons and additional maths and science tuition. It is so rewarding to see a young lad making the most of the opportunities and support that he has been offered. His life would have been very different without the involvement of his wonderful sponsors x.

15.01.2022 Our final volunteering day at Prey Thom School began at 7am, as we first had to buy ingredients from the largest local market in Siem Reap, Phsar Leu, before heading out to the school. Our task today was to prepare lunch for the children at the school - a Khmer Chicken Curry! Once we had gathered all we needed from the market, we hopped in our tuk tuks and headed to a bakery, where we purchased 450 baguettes. Our tuk tuks were overflowing with people and food on our way out... to the school. While some volunteers prepared the ingredients for cooking, others helped to finish off the grade 6 scholarship interviews and photograph the last couple of classes for the school photo program. When the curry was finally ready, the volunteers assisted to serve it, together with the baguettes and drinks, to the children. The curry tasted delicious and the meal was very well received!

15.01.2022 Prey Thom Primary School Update: We wanted to share some photos from the school yesterday (with thanks to school administrator, Heng Vichet). A sign has been put at the gates to inform the children, and those in the community who can read, of the school closure due to the Coronavirus concerns. At this stage the closure will be for the next two weeks.

15.01.2022 Building project update: The bike shed at Prey Thom Primary School is now complete - and already getting good use!!! Thanks so much to our volunteer tour members for making this possible!

14.01.2022 School Update: Today, BBFF Directors had a group Skype call with Phirom in Siem Reap to update ourselves on the situation in Cambodia. We wanted to share some info about how things are going: Phirom has been working to hand out rice (10kg) and soap to the sponsored children in the Prey Thom school community. Since the school has been closed, and there are restrictions on travel into the community, it has taken considerable effort to co-ordinate this. In order to comply with s...ocial distancing restrictions, they have only been able to hand out rice to up to 20 students each day, to avoid having the students congregate together. Visits are being made to each students home and the rice is being placed on a chair for each student to pick up and take into their home. Currently, Phirom has covered around half of the sponsored students and he will continue this work this week. Apparently, despite being informed that the schools would remain closed for the remainder of the school year, Phirom passed on new information about the plans in Cambodia. Since the majority of school students in Cambodia do not have access to online learning options, the government has decided that the social consequences of keeping schools closed would be too great. All schools are now required to re-open by the middle of May, to ensure that students can complete the school year. Due to the time missed, the year is being extended past the usual finishing date, and it may be that there is no end of year break at all this year. There is considerable concern about the COVID risks that this may entail, but the school community is working hard to try to comply with the time frame to re-open. Within the community itself, Phirom is incredibly concerned about the difficulties that families are facing. Apparently there is a great deal of pressure on families to repay their bank loans despite having no income at all. Many families are becoming displaced or having motorcycles repossessed due to being forced to default. The major need for most of these households is for rice. This is the staple of most meals in the community and, being the off-season for rice, they can only get rice by purchasing it at this stage. Despite the school opening again, he feels strongly that sponsorship monies should still be put towards rice, rather than the usual uniforms and stationary supplies that we provide. For this reason, we have decided to continue to direct all sponsorship monies, and any additional funds donated at this time, into handouts of rice for the sponsored students. Hunger is a major issue for many of the community members. We are sharing a few photos here of the measures that are being taken to protect everybody during this rice handout. Phirom has also shared some video with us which we will post soon.

13.01.2022 Thank you to all who got involved with our recent Wine Drive. You purchased 259 bottles and helped to raise $648, which will be used directly for food relief in the Prey Thom community near Siem Reap, Cambodia. We are thinking of having another drive in October, so keep it in mind when planning your alcohol purchases leading up to Christmas!!

12.01.2022 All of us at BBFF wish to send our love and support to Phirom and his family, especially his sister Somaly and her husband Vaesna at a very difficult time for them. Their precious son Both (Phiroms nephew) has been diagnosed with brain cancer and has been given a poor prognosis at this stage. Vaesna and Maly have been incredibly welcoming and helpful to us in our visits to Cambodia - from helping us paint the school to driving us around in Vaesnas tuk tuk and feeding us some incredible food by Mali (who is an amazing cook). They have always made us feel like family, and we have loved watching Both grow up over the years that we have been visiting. We love them all, and are sending all of the positive vibes that we can to help them over the coming months xxxx.

12.01.2022 Our building work is nearly finished. So grateful to the volunteers from the last tour group who helped with the work, and fundraised for the costs of the building project to build a bike shed and eating area and re-roof one of the classroom blocks which was leaking in the rainy season.

11.01.2022 One of our new poultry owners at work!!

10.01.2022 There is much excitement and preparation going on by the teachers at Prey Thom Primary School. The school will reopen on Monday the 7th of September for the second semester of the school year. In order to satisfy Covid requirements, students will be staggered and only attend for 2 hours per day, allowing the numbers in each classroom to be less than usual, and face masks will be mandatory. Students will undertake lessons in Khmer (Cambodian language) and Maths at this stage.... The government will review the outcomes from this initial opening stage and make changes as they seem appropriate. Normally, the school year would be close to finishing in September, but due to the extended closures, the semester will run into December, and the new school year is scheduled at this stage to start on January 11th. BBFF are currently organizing another rice handout for sponsored students as food insecurity remains the primary issue in the community currently. If you would like to donate for rice, please feel free to use the donate button linked. We wish the teachers and students every success as they begin this modified school format xx.

10.01.2022 School Update: BBFF have been advised by staff of Prey Thom Primary School that the school will be closed for at least the next 14 days in response to a recent case of coronavirus in Siem Reap. The teaching staff have been teaching the children about appropriate measures to decrease the risks of transmission of the virus, including correct hand washing and hygiene practices. They will keep us up-to-date as the advice from the Ministry of Education comes out.

10.01.2022 Just a little bit of rain at Prey Thom Primary today! Thanks to teacher, Sophart Prek , for the photos!

09.01.2022 Entering Prey Thom Primary School in these Covid times.

08.01.2022 Virtual Angkor Temple Tour, Cambodia Have you ever wanted to experience the wonder of the Angkor Temples? Awe-inspiring Angkor Wat, beautiful Preah Kahn, fascinating Bayon, Tomb Raider Pre Thom, powerful Pre Rup, and more ... so many incredible and varied temples. Join us on this wonderful virtual walk/run. Record your fitness activities and watch on Google Maps as you travel through the spectacular temples of ancient Cambodia. Google Street View is incredible, as you ...see the exotic places that you visit. As an added bonus, your entry fee will help to reduce food insecurity for families in rural areas of Siem Reap province.

08.01.2022 Phase 1 of school opening is due to begin in Cambodia on August 1st. Initially, this will involve 20 private schools only.

07.01.2022 We thought we might share a light moment from our Board meeting today, when we brought out the ‘Chicken Cake’ to celebrate the success of the first few months of the Sustainable Poultry Program.

06.01.2022 Just a reminder - as businesses start to reopen and restrictions gently begin to ease, dont forget to get your Entertainment Book, and to get out there supporting local small businesses!!!

06.01.2022 Virtual Angkor Temple Tour We have launched our first ever virtual tour! Visit the link below to join us in a virtual trek around the magical Angkor Temples. There are four levels of joining fee, allowing you to donate whatever level of rice you feel able whilst creating a community of adventurers! You can join whenever you feel ready, and can set your own time frame to complete the (almost) 57 kilometres. Whether you want to do it in one massive run or ride, or complete it o...ver months by walking a few kilometres a week, you can still be involved. You can enrol from anywhere in the world and help us to support the Prey Thom community. We will be posting lots more information over the next few weeks. Check it out, share it widely, and please join us if you can!!!

05.01.2022 School is back on at Prey Thom, but with some changes. Temperature checks, hand sanitizer on entry, small classes with distanced seating and face shields for the teachers. We hope that this model will allow the children to access some learning again and that all will stay healthy and well.

05.01.2022 Food insecurity remains a major issue in Prey Thom. On top of the lack of work due to tourism essentially stopping during this Covid pandemic, there is now significant flooding in the community, which has damaged the small rice paddies that were being tended. The school and broader communities have been very grateful for the rice that BBFF have provided so far. Thank you to those who have sponsored children or donated to help us to support the community.

05.01.2022 New travel restrictions apply in Cambodia. In combination with the restrictions in place for Australia, and the potential that these may last a long time, we wish to formally announce that the 2021 BBFF Volunteer Tour which we were planning for January 2021 will now be postponed until early 2022. We hope that we may be able to travel over some time before then, but are incredibly grateful to have Phirom Som on the ground in Cambodia working to provide any support that we can to the children of the Prey Thom community.

04.01.2022 The Building Brighter Futures Foundation Board is meeting today to discuss the performance of the Foundation in 19/20, updates on current programs, and identifying strategies for how the Foundation will operate moving forward. Our Board members are Kristin Matzick (Chair), Sue Winkler, Geoffrey Adam, Glen Winkler, Nicolas Lock (Ambassador), Josh Winkler (Junior Director) and Cassie Winkler (Junior Director). #charity #volunteering #educationmatters #Cambodia #makeadifference

04.01.2022 Looking for more information on our virtual Angkor Temple Tour? Check out the FAQs on our website!

03.01.2022 With the tour coming to an end tomorrow, our volunteers are today enjoying a free day in Siem Reap after all their hard work this week. However, the BBFF team were off early again this morning to visit and interview some families in the community for potential sponsorship. We have posted some photos from our morning in the community below. We would like to extend to our amazing volunteers, a very big THANK YOU for all your hard work, both in fundraising before the tour and on the tour this week. Your good humour and willingness to have a go was exceptional, your compassion was inspiring, and great progress was made on the project! Fantastic Effort, Team and Good Luck on your journey home!

03.01.2022 Directors of BBFF, Kris and Sue, are granddaughters of Aubrey Hilton Jury, and daughters of his biographer, Marilyn Revill. If you have an interest in reading the fascinating story of Aub's life of 101 years, 'Aubrey's Game', please visit the website mentioned in the post below. 50% of profits will be donated to BBFF to support it's work in Cambodia. Thanks Marilyn for your support of BBFF and, more importantly, for your incredible impact on us all through being the intelligent, loving, giving, practical and admirable person that you are.

02.01.2022 Extremely difficult times in many areas of Cambodia ....