Bicycle Distribution in Cambodia
Posted by Kim Rixon
The following are excerpts from emails from Lisa McCoy describing her adventures in Cambodia.
Lisa is also involved in Cambodia with building the "Muskoka School" and also with Cambodia Landmine Museum Relief Fund.
Lisa is also involved in Cambodia with building the "Muskoka School" and also with Cambodia Landmine Museum Relief Fund.
Nov 11, 2009
"All the Rotarians arrive tomorrow evening. The first 15 bikes that your club is donating will go to children living in Kampong Phluk floating village on Tonle Sap Lake, and will be distribted on Monday, November 16, as part of the groundbreaking ceremonial activities for the Bakong Technical College.
These bikes are being purchased today. We have Rotary stickers to put on them... ...You'll receive photos next week on the Rotarians from the 9 clubs distributing these bikes.
The Rotary Club of Orillia has donated 20 bikes that will be distributed to children in Roluos, Bakong district. What will happen is that the 20 children and families from Roluos area and from the 15 from Kampong Phluk will come to a local Roluos school, and then we will be giving out a total of 35 bikes that day, by our Rotarians here on the ground There will be lots of excitement that day for these children and their families involved.
You will also get phtos and biographical info on each student recipient.
I'm only distributing 15 bikes in this area from your donation because, as I had mentioned before, I'd like to save the bulk of your donation for more remote areas in Cambodia that have fewer schools, and where their is a greater need for children to get to them.
Many thanks for the extra funds sent. I want to allocate this money to getting more bikes for these areas.
Incidentally, I am working closely with a great humanitarian here, Dr. Daniel Susott, from Airline Ambassadors International, and who had teams go into India during the Tsunami, and he was one of the few doctors who got into Burma with his medical team after the Burma cylcone. He also worked in the Thai-Cambodian medical camps in the late seventies, after the border was opened. I have known him a few years now, and he has had a long association with Kep area, and has just come back from visiting there. He has seen a group of disabled people there working on making local crafts for a living. He had some concerns, as he said that some of them required wheelchairs. I'll be visiting them also when I'm down there, and make some inquiries as to why they don't have any...Dr. Susott s also looking into how some help can be coordinated for this group of disabled people...
Many Thanks to your club....more soon,
Lisa
Nov 6, 2009
"...As I mentioned, I can provide original invoices and receipts for pretty well everything - bicycles, transportation costs, camera film , Colored Rotary emblem stickers for each bike (which I have ordered here already) and internet costs for the Khmer people on the ground that will assist me.
When we make the one 120km trip to Trapeang Tuum, near Takeo, I may have to buy the 4 Khmer who volunteer with me about 4- 5 meals...this would be $40 maximum in total to feed them... Generally, this is what we do for Khmer volunteers who make a long journey and volunteer with us. We will be staying near the Pagoda there, where one of the volunteers is good friends with the head monk there, so there will be no cost for accommodation. We will have to stay there about 2-3 nights. This will be the largest distribution trip of the three. Th other 2 areas will be Kep town near the Viet Nam border, and Rolous in Bakong district here is Siem Reap province...
...We should be able to get about 97 bikes in total, at a cost of $35 each (including transportation)... When you buy the bicycles in bulk quantities,you usually negotiate the shipping cost with the shop owner to be included with the bike price, and they ship it...
I have already started looking at a date where a group of the Rotarians coming over can distribute about 15 of your bikes in Bakong District while they are here. This will occur between November 17-26. So, we will have lots of Rotary photos from this distribution These Rotarians are bringing over their Rotay shirts, so should look good in the photos.
...I would like to get about 50 bikes to Trapeang Tuum area, and then the remaining 30 to Kep area. The Rotary Club of Orillia has donated 20 bikes for Kep area...and another 20 for an area here in Siem Reap district. So, I'm also busy working on the distribution of these 2 cells :-).
It seems that this year my focus has been changed to bike distribution, instead of school-building, but that's okay, there are so many areas of need here that I'm happy to be able to fill any of them :-).
Your Kep distribution would occur between December 4th to January 4th, and the Trapeang Tum distribution between January 11th to January 30th. I will be overseeing and present at all three distributions...
...I will contact my trusted Khmer friends, who will contact the school directors and village chiefs in these areas and they will start identifying those children who cannot get to school because they lack a bike. They will be most happy and excited to start this process going. As for me - there's no greater joy then when when you go out to these rural areas and see the elation on the children's faces, when they get one of these bikes. The parents also are most excited to be there...
Thanks again for yoyur generous bicycle contribution.
Lisa
"All the Rotarians arrive tomorrow evening. The first 15 bikes that your club is donating will go to children living in Kampong Phluk floating village on Tonle Sap Lake, and will be distribted on Monday, November 16, as part of the groundbreaking ceremonial activities for the Bakong Technical College.
These bikes are being purchased today. We have Rotary stickers to put on them... ...You'll receive photos next week on the Rotarians from the 9 clubs distributing these bikes.
The Rotary Club of Orillia has donated 20 bikes that will be distributed to children in Roluos, Bakong district. What will happen is that the 20 children and families from Roluos area and from the 15 from Kampong Phluk will come to a local Roluos school, and then we will be giving out a total of 35 bikes that day, by our Rotarians here on the ground There will be lots of excitement that day for these children and their families involved.
You will also get phtos and biographical info on each student recipient.
I'm only distributing 15 bikes in this area from your donation because, as I had mentioned before, I'd like to save the bulk of your donation for more remote areas in Cambodia that have fewer schools, and where their is a greater need for children to get to them.
Many thanks for the extra funds sent. I want to allocate this money to getting more bikes for these areas.
Incidentally, I am working closely with a great humanitarian here, Dr. Daniel Susott, from Airline Ambassadors International, and who had teams go into India during the Tsunami, and he was one of the few doctors who got into Burma with his medical team after the Burma cylcone. He also worked in the Thai-Cambodian medical camps in the late seventies, after the border was opened. I have known him a few years now, and he has had a long association with Kep area, and has just come back from visiting there. He has seen a group of disabled people there working on making local crafts for a living. He had some concerns, as he said that some of them required wheelchairs. I'll be visiting them also when I'm down there, and make some inquiries as to why they don't have any...Dr. Susott s also looking into how some help can be coordinated for this group of disabled people...
Many Thanks to your club....more soon,
Lisa
Nov 6, 2009
"...As I mentioned, I can provide original invoices and receipts for pretty well everything - bicycles, transportation costs, camera film , Colored Rotary emblem stickers for each bike (which I have ordered here already) and internet costs for the Khmer people on the ground that will assist me.
When we make the one 120km trip to Trapeang Tuum, near Takeo, I may have to buy the 4 Khmer who volunteer with me about 4- 5 meals...this would be $40 maximum in total to feed them... Generally, this is what we do for Khmer volunteers who make a long journey and volunteer with us. We will be staying near the Pagoda there, where one of the volunteers is good friends with the head monk there, so there will be no cost for accommodation. We will have to stay there about 2-3 nights. This will be the largest distribution trip of the three. Th other 2 areas will be Kep town near the Viet Nam border, and Rolous in Bakong district here is Siem Reap province...
...We should be able to get about 97 bikes in total, at a cost of $35 each (including transportation)... When you buy the bicycles in bulk quantities,you usually negotiate the shipping cost with the shop owner to be included with the bike price, and they ship it...
I have already started looking at a date where a group of the Rotarians coming over can distribute about 15 of your bikes in Bakong District while they are here. This will occur between November 17-26. So, we will have lots of Rotary photos from this distribution These Rotarians are bringing over their Rotay shirts, so should look good in the photos.
...I would like to get about 50 bikes to Trapeang Tuum area, and then the remaining 30 to Kep area. The Rotary Club of Orillia has donated 20 bikes for Kep area...and another 20 for an area here in Siem Reap district. So, I'm also busy working on the distribution of these 2 cells :-).
It seems that this year my focus has been changed to bike distribution, instead of school-building, but that's okay, there are so many areas of need here that I'm happy to be able to fill any of them :-).
Your Kep distribution would occur between December 4th to January 4th, and the Trapeang Tum distribution between January 11th to January 30th. I will be overseeing and present at all three distributions...
...I will contact my trusted Khmer friends, who will contact the school directors and village chiefs in these areas and they will start identifying those children who cannot get to school because they lack a bike. They will be most happy and excited to start this process going. As for me - there's no greater joy then when when you go out to these rural areas and see the elation on the children's faces, when they get one of these bikes. The parents also are most excited to be there...
Thanks again for yoyur generous bicycle contribution.
Lisa