Raised money

We proudly announce that our friends and family and the community from Holsbeek donated the outrageous amount of ....

That's right: €2.335, that's what our friends and family spent and donated to this charity initiative. I am super happy with what we accomplished last weekend. One may wonder: where did all the money come from? Well, during our benefit event we raised €1835, which is a lot if you think of the relative small scale of our event. Besides that, I also applied for a charity grant to the town council in Holsbeek, which was approved yesterday. They decided to donate €500 to support the local NGO I will be working for. The only restriction is that the money has to be spent on durable goods that will have a long term effect. In return the town council expects me to present the work I did and the investment we made with the funds to support the Khmer for Khmer. In December I will proudly present how their contribution helped to improve their quality of living. On behalf of Khmer for Khmer a big thank you to everyone! 

Fundraising event

Yihaaah, my ticket to Cambodia is officially booked, so let the countdown begin! But, before leaving for my adventure on the 15th of July, I want to raise money to help the local children as much as I possibly can. Initially I came up with this idea while surfing the internet about volunteering. On several blogs and forums I noticed that a lot of volunteers who came back from their trip explained that they regret the fact that they didn't collect money for the local NGO they were working for. To avoid this, me and my family decided to organize a fundraising afternoon at our house, called 'Together for a better Cambodia'.

Before launching the grand event, lots of preparations had to be done. My aunt and cousin Eva proposed to make small teddy bears from their left-over fabrics, which you can adopt or buy. In total 45 unique pieces were made in different kinds of materials and colors, they are so cute! :) My mom, who is a real dessert master (!), wanted to help out by making home made melo cakes to sell during the event.

Finally the exciting day was about to start!! Despite the fact that the weather was too bad to sit outside, the event was a huge success! There were drinks, tapas and a lot of friends and family: what more could you wish for??  Overall, I am very very glad that I translated my ambitious idea to raise money into a whole event with all kinds of activities.  I would like to advice all volunteers to consider a fundraising event :)

Last but not least, I would like to thank everyone who contributed directly or indirectly to the success of this day! I guarantee that the money will be invested in the best possible way. I will take this positive vibe with me to Cambodia!

Watch and see:

Fundraising event 'Together for a better Cambodia'

Flyer: check | home made melo cakes: check | cute teddy bears: check!

There was a possibility to place a bet on the arrival time. 
They collected €300 all together, very cool!

The atmosphere was great! :)

There was also an opportunity to attend a wine or a beer workshop given by my friend 
Andreas Eckhardt, a wine expert from Van Eccelpoel .

All the teddy bears are sold out, I will take this pile of adopted bears with me to the school in Cambodia.

I also really appreciated the encouraging signals I received that day, like flowers and  positive notes. Our neighbors, who have 2 young boys Tuur and Josse, carefully selected useful material for the classroom. Thank you very much!

How it all started

One month ago, I impulsively decided to go and volunteer abroad this summer! Normally, I wasn't planning to go for a big trip this summer but I realized I had to go for it. Why? Well, I'm graduating next year so this is the last free summer I will have and volunteering is on my TO DO list for several years. Logically, these two factors pushed me to just follow my dream no matter what! 

Currently, I am a member in AIESEC in Leuven. AIESEC is a student-run organization, located worldwide in approximately 113 countries. Our mission is to send as many students abroad on an international internship to experience life changing opportunities that give them a global, intercultural and open minded perspective mind-set!

I was specifically looking for an opportunity in Asia. After some research, I fell in love with the vision and mission of Khmer for Khmer, a NGO in Cambodia. This particular local organization provides English classes, sewing and craft classes and a motorcycle workshop area to teach local men to repair bikes and  bicycles. Besides that, they also have computer classes to introduce the children and local inhabitants to the wonderful 'WorldWideWeb'. The organization is located a few kilometers from Siem Reap, a big city close to Angkor Wat. Most of you probably know Angkor Wat, which is one of the seven world wonders and is seen as the largest religious monument in the world. It is well-known for the Buddhist temple complex with old trees growing in the monument. 

The flight to Cambodia (via Bangkok) takes almost 12 hours!