Diana's blog post on Riverkids!

The Community Riverkids Works With - a great photo blog about the Alexandra community.

Diana's blog is a really good source for life in Cambodia, politics, economics and more.

Foster care training

Our housemothers had internal foster care training in June, prompted by some training from Chab Dai. The housemothers are some of our most crucial team members because they give intangibles to the kids - affection, stability and well, mothering! Because the housemothers are in charge of weekly boarding which has some of our most vulnerable children - they stay with us because their homes are too chaotic or abusive - they're on the frontlines.

What was great is that the housemothers gave their reflections on fostering. They're mostly mothers or aunts themselves, chosen for their good reputation in the community. They're becoming more confident and figuring out how to communicate what they see. Most of them aren't literate, but they know kids.

Also, a shout-out to RHAC, a local NGO in Cambodia that provides reproductive health services. This includes access to gynecologists, contraception, pre and post-natal care and infant care. RHAC also provides abortion access, which we've not yet had to grapple with, thankfully. We're in the midst of preparing a Sex Health policy, with a lot of discussion about local values, legal rights, health and so on.

Right now we have sexually-active teenagers, and RHAC is a place our social workers can go to for advice and health care for them.


We currently have 20 children in weekly boarding at Alexandra. We provide breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. For quite a few, their parents are able to take them home to sleep at night, while some have to stay with a foster family on the weekends as their family live too far away for little children to travel every week.

On the Queen's Birthday, 18th June, the housemothers and some of the teachers took the weekly boarders for a trip to the riverside.

"Inside their minds are full of sadness," writes Pachdey. "We play with them and comfort them like their parents."

More football!

We now have 31 students, ten from the Get Ready program, 11 boys from our grade school program and another 10 teenagers from the community who aren't enrolled with us.... yet!

Training is every Saturday morning 7am to 9am. Are they not totally adorable?

Happy Football Cambodia support the transportation which is about US$40 each month. On rotation, two staff take the teams.

Best students, football games and Khmer New Year party photos!

Every month, the best five students in Grade School and the Get Ready program get small prizes to encourage them.

Happy Football is a small enthusiastic group organising football training and matches for kids from shelters, orphanages and other non-profit groups. We took part in a small tournament last year when the RJC kids were in Cambodia, so we had a team of sorts ready.



Pheakdey: "I took them to play on sunday last weekend. One of the NGO that helps our children to learn and play football.... supported water, T-shirts, shorts and shoes . We have some shoes that remind from RJC. This week is the first week and we have 26 students - 12 boys, 14 girls. This week I will work with the social worker to find out more kids living in the community who are not yet our students but they have the chance to enjoy with the other students too. We want to all of them out of the drugs and glue sniffing."



The football opportunity is great because it gets the kids meeting other children and a chance at friendly competition. We need to pay for overtime (staff on Sunday) and for the transport, but so far we're managing.



Just before Khmer New Year, we gave the kids sets of clothes and had a little party with dancing and snacks for the kids and parents in the afternoon.

Most of the Alexandra kids crowded in for a group photograph!

A newbie to Phnom Penh

Today was my first day in Cambodia. Dale and I arrived early in the morning, quickly claimed our luggage and headed out of the airport to meet Sok Lee. We exited the airport into the normal sea of people clutching their name signs. As we searched the crowd for Sok Lee, who of course I had never met and therefore was no help in the search, she popped her smiling face out from inside the crowd and guided us through the crowd to our awaiting tuk tuk. We packed the tuk tuk (an example above) full of our luggage and stuff we brought from Singapore for the Riverkids sites and somehow made space for ourselves as well. Then it was straight to Riverkids’ Alexandra site in one of Phnom Penh’s slums. I had heard of the bright smiles of the Cambodian people and it’s all true. All it took was a slight smile from me and in return I received many mouth-wide-open welcoming smiles.

After we unloaded the tuk tuk and dumped our stuff in the visitors’ room, I was given a tour of the facilities by one of the Riverkids social workers, Mr. Chin Chea. With yet another bright smile, he showed me and a few other visitors the Get Ready room with sewing machines where the girls learn life skills as well as the facility for weekly boarding where children whose families are in crisis are welcomed to a safe place to sleep and spend the week. It was so nice to finally see what I have heard so much about for the last few months.

Dale, Heli, and Sok Lee then took me across the main road to another part of the slum where the kindergarten classroom is located. Crossing the main road was an experience in itself; trying to judge how much time you had to get across between the slow moving tuk tuks and the fast moving trucks is a skill I do not possess. I felt a bit like the frog in the old Atari game, Frogger, trying not to get squashed as I crossed. But I followed my expert navigators and we safely crossed the busy street.

The part of the slum where the kindergarten is located is mostly built on stilts so that when the river in Phnom Penh reverses its flow, as it does twice a year, the houses do not flood with the intruding water. There is a nice walkway made of boards elevated above the water line that as built by an NGO. Looking underneath the boards was not as pleasant however as it is dry now and all the trash brought in by the water is visible under the boards.

Back in the main house, the kids were being entertained by a group of volunteers from Singapore. I later joined them as they took the children from the grade school programs on a tour of the Royal Palace. I was a bit taken aback by the blatant wealth displayed on the grounds of the Palace, especially after just having witnessed extreme poverty in the slums. I wondered if any of children also noticed the contrast between their homes and community and the emerald Buddha or silver tiled flooring. Not that I expect children of such a young age to think in such terms, but it was hard for me to stomach such a contrast even though I know it is manifested all over the world including my own country where urban slums can be found within a mile of the nation’s capitol building. Despite my uncomfortable thoughts, the children seemed to really enjoy the tour, especially the fish swimming around a replica of Angkor Wat. Not sure they even noticed the replica at all. :)

Whether they be small things like crossing a busy street or large health risks like living on top of a trash dump, seeing the reality of the slums in person gives me a better grasp at the challenges faced on a daily basis by the families living in these areas. It was eye-opening to me to see the things that I studied about over the last few years in graduate school. I had learned about the vulnerability of children living in urban slums, how they are trafficked, and the risk factors associated with the practice. But hearing personal stories of children in Riverkids programs during a conversation with Mr. Sophon in the late afternoon and seeing his obvious devotion to all these children as if they were his own makes it all seem more urgent. All in all, I finished the day with a feeling of hope. Maybe it’s just my naivety especially since I know how tough it is to fight and reverse many of the intrinsic risk factors to child trafficking that exist in these communities, but I feel that Riverkids has a real influence in the lives of these children.

So everyone donate now! :)

And here's where you can do that. http://www.riverkidsproject.org

Signing off now from the internet cafe,

Posted by Ellie Klerlein (temp employee of Riverkids)

Alexandra's Community Learning Centre

Two weeks back, we blogged about the Community Learning Centre (CLC) at Alexandra, Riverkids Foundation. This centre is set up with the help of Oxfam Quebec and has so far been the place for teachers to conduct educational activities like quizs or simply a place to sit back and read.

Teachers and staff have noted that the children are taking a greater interest in reading and this is really encouraging. Heli, the kindergarten coordinator has even been asking us for more books, especially picture books so that the children will be able to explore and learn.

The Get Ready girls have also been roped in to help with this increased interest in reading. Pheakdey, the education coordinator has been getting the girls to read to the kids after conducting quizzes for the Grade Schoolers and Kindergarteners. Quizzes take place twice a week and cover moral education, health, simple mathematics and the khmer alphabet. To encourage the kids to take part actively in the quizzes, little incentives are given in the form of small toys.

It's great to see all these news coming from Phnom Penh. Riverkids Foundation Alexandra is shaping up to be a place where children can come and feel safe and learn.

Hello baby!

Riverkids Alexandra is very happy to welcome our latest addition, born last week. This youngest sibling of three had a bit of a tumultuous start to life with an emergency C-section, but baby and mother are recovering at a local hospital and Riverkids is helping both with medical costs and weekly boarding for the other siblings during the hospital stay.

Isn't the baby beautiful? And curly hair already!

A slightly random post

It's 3 days since the last post and I got a little itch in my fingers to share some photos with everyone :).

You see, I've got a Holga camera that usually gives me more scares and worries than good pictures - good meaning sharp, focused pictures of course. Then again, getting sharp, focused pictures on a Holga totally misses the point of using the Holga.

So anyway, I brought my Holga (my wee-not-so-little-and-much-neglected-Holga) to Phnom Penh in my first 'business trip' up to Riverkids Foundation. Armed only with 1 roll of medium format film I managed to take a few pictures of the Alexandra Family House.

Here's what I would like to call the Holga Panorama of the Alexandra House:



Not the sharpest of panoramas, but it does make the space look bigger than it actually is. The family house now of course has a mini stage at the backend of the small field for our future breakdancers and performers - which reminds me, do visit the what to give list for items for breakdancers - it's all in the October list!

Next we've got a blurred image of part of the graffitti-ed wall:

Peace and Love.

Last but not least, my favourite of the lot which also left me a little troubled:



Unlike most of the kids in and around the Alexandra community, he didn't care much about me wanting to take pictures of him. Most kids usually rush forward, posing at 1 to 2 cm in front of the camera.

I don't know his story, but his eyes seem more like that of an adult's - one who's seen it all or seen enough. Or maybe I'm just thinking too much into it.

And no, this wasn't a posed picture and it is really coincidental that there's an arrow point straight at him.

from Karen - a volunteer with Riverkids

Hi Everyone, here's an entry from a volunteer from Singapore who went up to Phomn Penh to help up with our plans of implementing a micro-financing programme in the in the Alexandra community. Here's her story:

This is me, Karen, contributing my very first blog entry to Riverkids Project.

Long story short: stressed out company employee seeks a little time off from work, and then shelves all ideas of a relaxing getaway to join some amazing people on a volunteer trip to Phnom Penh.

The actual low-down: I read about the Jimmy and Dale’s story last year, contacted Jimmy to discuss about Riverkids and the possibility of my volunteering. Unfortunately, I was buried in my work and never got round to doing that. Couple months ago, I chanced upon a writeup on Jimmy and Dale and Riverkids Foundation in the papers - again, and it’s like THE SIGN to me. I was already thinking of taking a break from work, and I thought “What the heck! I should really go do this. If not now, then when?” And then came a chain of emails and a meeting between Dale and me, and it was decided that I would take on the micro financing programme assignment. This would entail interviewing and assessing the families of the Riverkids Project Community. Within 2 weeks or so, I was on my way to Phnom Penh via Siem Reap.

Visiting the slum area where the families of the Riverkids live was a real eye-opener for me. Slums aren’t alien to me as I’d previously seen a number in certain parts of India, The Philippines and elsewhere. However, this felt different. Different because I was not a “spectator” (to put it crudely) viewing from the bus or train or tuk tuk. This time, I went right into the slums to meet with its residents.

In all honesty, I was initially overwhelmed with disgust and guilt. Disgust at the filth and poverty surrounding the kids and their families, and guilt for what we have in Singapore and taking for granted all too often. For 3 days, I found myself balancing precariously on makeshift wooden planks and making my way from shack to shack, interviewing the families. And I couldn’t have done this without the help and company of Sok Lee, a Riverkids Foundation staff, who helped me with the interview translation and made sure I didn’t fall into the river (which I almost did once or twice! No kidding!).

Before I went to meet the families, I must have had like a gazillion thoughts (alright, this is an over exaggeration) swirling in my mind. Seriously, I felt like an intruder, invading the privacy and space of the families especially in the beginning. Yet the mothers of each family greeted me kindly and wore smiles, albeit weary ones, on their faces throughout our interview. And the children reserved their brightest smiles for me! I couldn’t speak nor understand one word of Khmer but it was just amazing how a few of the ladies just opened up and talked and talked while Sok Lee kept up with the translation. And I… I just frantically scribbled away on my notebook.

Going through my notes each night in the quiet of my guestroom, I realised that despite the different sad stories of each family, they were all looking for the same thing – opportunity and the access to it. And in a way, I believed that when they spoke to me in their own language, they were hoping for someone to believe in them, to give them a chance.

Looking back, I have come to admire a people. In a country pushing hard for development yet still grappling with the aftereffects of the horrific Khmer Rouge era, I see strength. I see dignity. And I see hope. In the slums and on the streets of Phnom Penh.

This is my story.

And to the following people who made my stay totally unforgettable, thank you:
Dale, Angeline, Eleanor and baby Sarah, Sok Lee, Heli, Preakdey, Sophon, and the rest of the staff and children of Riverkids

20 Oct 07 - first impressions

This friday makes my 1st month anniversary working in Riverkids. *gives self celebratory pat on back*. The past few weeks have been crazy digging out receipts and documents and putting (or at least trying to) things into some sort of order, and of course there's the preparations for the online shop.

So my first ever 'business' trip to Cambodia, was quite a welcome, away from the Singapore office and files.

Before the trip, the only ideas I've had about Cambodia and Phnom Penh were reviews from friends who've been there and stories from Dale about the lives of families and children under the care of Riverkids. Peers' reviews ranged from 'Oh it's the greatest place ever!' to 'Oh no, it's a dismal, dreadfully depressing place'. Stories of abuse, trafficking didnt help paint a very bright picture of Cambodia in my mind either. My dad being obsessively worried about landmines and the 'Cambodia mafia' did not help AT ALL.

Therefore, I entered the airport half wondering 'what in the world did i get myself into' and half telling myself to ignore whatever my pessimistic alterego was thinking.

Soon after touch down in Phnom Penh International Airport, we were greeted by Sok Lee, one of the staff from Riverkids Foundation . With a tuk-tuk and a taxi, we loaded our many boxes of donations (many many thank yous to all contributors!) and headed straight to the Family house.

Once there, Dale sat down with the others for a staff meeting while I got a chance to visit the Alexandra Riverkids community.

I was seriously surprised to see happy children running around playing. 'Everyone looks so happy! What abuse?' I thought.

I mean, how can you not be happy when you get to go swimming and diving everyday - with the river right under your house? And I'm not being sarcastic here, the girls really looked like they were having fun, and the life here constantly reminded me of the 'legendary' kampong days of my parents back before Singaporeans were packed into HDB flats in the 70s. I mean, my mum's always poking fun of the lives of kids here in Singapore nowadays, saying that we have no life and cannot survive for nuts without computers and expensive toys, when all they needed in the past for play were cheap erasers, marbles to play Goli, five stones, rubber bands to make catapults and the spiders among the bushes.

The kids now?

Playstation, Xbox?

So I couldn't help but be reminded of my mum as I walked explored the community, nevermind the very narrow planks for walkways in some parts which I tried to avoid or the litter infested water in some parts.

It wasn't easy to connect the smiling faces to the stories Dale mentioned from time to time. And it's not difficult as yet for me to stay emotionally detached from the families under Riverkids. But nonetheless, the stories are real.

A few days after the visit, I returned to the Family House and saw the Get Ready! girls touching up some stuffies that they had been making. What Mr Sophon mentioned later struck me a whole lot. Here's the gist of what he said:

'6 months ago they [the girls] were all disheveled. They come to class in a mess, hair messy, no confidence. And now, look at them! The things they can do [the dolls] is so amazing! They're all so well done, and now the girls are so full of confidence!'

I am not much into dolls, but seriously the dolls they were touching up were just adorable. And try as I may, I just couldn't imagine the girls looking messy or lacking in confidence. How I wish I was involved in Riverkids in her earlier stages so that I could see the transformation of the community!

The work that's been done here in the Alexandra RK community has been amazing, and definitely life changing for some.

So people, we've got a group of very passionate people here in Cambodia making things work in the best way they can. Do give them your support in whatever way you can in terms of expertise sharing, donations or any other ways.

Everyone here in Riverkids Foundation's an inspiration and I really am proud of being part of this community. :)

How to...

Graffiti-fy a wall, the Riverkids way (at the Alexandra Family House, 22-23 Oct 07).

A special thanks to the people from Tiny Toones. :)

Step 1:

Using a marker, sketch out an outline of your desired mural design. Following that, spray paint the outline.

Step 2:

Add some colour to the mural. Be careful to stay within the lines. Feel free to enlist the help of everyone and anyone.

Step 3:

Constantly do Quality Control Checks. (Stay within the Lines!)

Step 4:

Once the background is done, take a step back and admire your masterpiece.

Step 5:

Take a few more steps back, and let the Riverkids community take over.

Step 6:
Clean Up. Dispose of the used Spray Cans properly!

So here're the 6 simple steps to create your very own mural - Riverkids style!

p.s.: In my excitement, I forget to take a picture of the finished murals. I promise I'll get the picture the next time we head up to Phnom Penh!