The Food4Everyone team is ecstatic! As I told you a few days ago, the “Salt and Pepper” Group met in order to view the Food4Everyone footage.

You will not believe this, but they were able to raise $1000 (YES, $1000!!!) by selling their cards. We cannot possible express how we feel! As you all know in the next few weeks we will be back in Cambodia and this means literally endless new possibilities for us in terms of helping out where it is most needed!  (See pictures attached).

 THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, “SALT AND PEPPER”!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 And thank you so much to Sherelle for her wool and her time!!!

Keep it coming! The Spanish ladies are hot to trot!!!

And last but not least, thank you so much to Bart and Marina for their assistance in getting our favorite team’s signed football jersey to auction at our next trivia night! Good on ya, Panthers!!!

So much wonderful help from so many wonderful people! Words fail me today! (How much better does it get!!!)

 Maggie 
 ___________________________________________________________

14th September 09

__________________________________________________________

18th August 2009

Hi everybody, it feels as if I haven’t written for ages because as usual so many things have happened.

As I told you last time, Andrew was going to Cambodia and he is now back. It has been fantastic being able to discuss the improvements in the Windy Village with him. The greatest news we have is that by January 2010 no Food4Everyone money will be needed for the various feeding projects (for perishable food), because the farm will be producing enough food by then. HOW FANTASTIC IS THIS?!!!

The other great news is that the fishpond (please see attached picture) is now complete. Andrew says that if this proves to be successful there are enough funds to build a second one. The potential for feeding people is enormous with this new addition to our farm. Andrew says that pig production is proving to be the most effective way to get some money back in order to continue to maintain the farm.

Apparently the feeding at the Windy Village will now only happen once per week as the village is clearly prospering and the need there is not so great. On the other hand, the situation in the slums continues to be deplorable with the children suffering more and more. Unfortunately, Andrew noted that they now know that some of the parents are selling the food that we give them in order to buy drugs or alcohol. Because of this, a great reduction of food packs has been made which clearly will have a negative impact on the children. An idea which Andrew and his crew are working on now is the establishment of a drop-in centre for the children of the slum where not only can they be taught literacy, but also be fed and be provided with a safe, loving environment. Clearly we will keep you posted on any news on this project as soon as we know. Because of the huge reduction on food cost, F4E can look at subsidising rental for this centre (and the farm goodies be used for the kids there).

The AIDs project unfortunately continues as it is and clearly this will be a program which will need to be funded for the long-term. The patients of the AIDs ward are defenceless and hungry and we will not let them die without dignity. Thank you so very much to all of you out there who continue to knit endless blankets to remind them that someone in the world does care.

Andrew also went to visit the Centre4Hope in Phnom Penh. The centre, as you know, was launched recently in August. At this stage, the centre has been established and ten computers have been bought. Unfortunately, the local rubbish dump has been relocated which means that the “rubbish” children will no longer have access to our centre. Whilst initially we thought that we may relocate again, it was pointed out to us that some of the children are now in an even worse off position because of their inability to now feed themselves by rummaging through the rubbish. So at this stage we have decided to stay where we are and to reassess the situation later as we go along. Again, we will let you know of the developments of the Centre4Hope. 

The “Friends” program is soon to be launched and we will be emailing pictures of children who need friends. You are reminded that no financial requirement is necessary to become a friend. The objective of this program is to let the children know that someone out their in the world cares for them and is willing to spend some time on them. Obviously, if finances allow, friends can send books, etc, to their child or even visit them in Phnom Penh.

I think that is all for now, we have enclosed a few pictures for you to see how everything is going. And of course I cannot go without once again thanking a multitude of people without whom Food4Everyone would not exist. Thank you so much to the “Salt and Pepper” group who, this coming Wednesday, will be selling cards at UTS with all proceeds going for Food4Everyone. Also, my thanks to Sharon from Avon who donated products to make another raffle basket. Thank you so very much to our students for working on behalf of Food4Everyone and to Jan Cunningham for supervising them (as well as everything else that she already does!). If I have forgotten to thank anyone I truly am sorry but I think that by now you know exactly how I feel about all the help that we receive.

Talk to you soon,

Maggie

 ____________________________________________

27th July 2009

How fantastic is this?

Check out the attached pics and meet the “Salt and Pepper” group, our latest Food4Everyone supporters. “S and P” is a group Spanish speaking women who meet weekly to have fun! They are now joining forces to make “parchment” cards (mostly for Xmas) to sell for Food4Everyone. You may know that parchment is a paper art dating back to 14^th Century Spain. It is extrememly beautiful and takes hours and hours of work and dedication. Manolita Provenzano, the group leader, calls it “love”. I think it’s GREAT!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

So if you can come up with any ideas on where to sell these cards, please let me know.

At your work? Any shopping centers? PLEASE HELP!

Also, we have not been very successful in motivating our supporters to have Food4Everyone morning/afternoon teas so we’ve decided to lend a helping hand. We are asking our two students on placement (yes, F4E has its own students now!) to go around and visit our supporters and help them organize little events to raise funds. We think that a staff or friends or sports group “cuppa” would be the best way but you may have a better idea. The point is that we are now in a position to offer practical help, for example, talk to your team, friends, etc, buy cakes, show DVD’s (Karaoke anyone?). Our very first volunteers for this are the staff of the Canterbury Migrant Resource Centre (Thanks heaps Violet!).

And finally, the DVD of our last trip is now ready and it clearly shows the improvements to all Food4Everyone projects. So if you want a copy please give us a quick tingle! (It is free of course!).

And finally, finally, Andrew is on his way to Cambodia on Wednesday and I cannot wait! He is visiting our Centre 4 Hope (C4H) and will let us know all about it when he gets back. And of course he’ll come back with lots of info on the Windy Village and our farmlet and the students and the new fishponds and the pigs and… and… and…

As soon as we hear we will let you know EVERYTHING!

Regards,

Margarita Parrish

On Behalf of Food4Everyone

 _________________________________________________

2^nd July 2009

Hi everyone,

Another extremely exciting week! In fact this week compares to our first week in Kampong Cham in April 2006. You see, this week we are opening the new “Centre 4 Hope” (C4H) (yes, that’s what we’ve decided to call it) for the children who work in the rubbish dumps and for the disabled youth. I think we may have already told you the rent is $230 a week so with all of your help this is very “doable”. Unfortunately, our coffers at the moment do not extend to furnishing the centre in the way in which we want to. We have dreams of colourful couches, toys, books, pencils, etc and for that we need your help once again.

We have also asked for you to become a “friend” of the children who will attend the centre. Very soon we will be displaying the children’s pictures with their details and once again we urge you to assist us with this. It would be FANTASTIC for the children to be able to receive emails from you from Australia. From someone who, although a long, long way away cares for them and is bothered to send them a few words of encouragement occasionally. As I’ve said before, there is no commitment for this project. If and when you feel like buying a book, a warm pair of socks or a pair of gumboots so that your friend does not get hurt whilst they are picking up rubbish, then that is fantastic. If, on the other hand, you have no money yourself then no problem! At least you will be sending messages of care occasionally and hopefully as their English improves, the children will be able to write back to you in more detail. Imagine that! Being able to be part of a child’s life who lives in those conditions.

I’ve already explained before that our dream is to have a centre full of safety packs so that the children can simply drop in, pick up a pack and then go if that is all they need to do. Borith (the coordinator for the “Centre 4 Hope” (C4H) is presently organising volunteer nurses and doctors to attend the centre so that if the children are hurt they do have somewhere free to go for help. Any volunteers out there who can provide a first aid kit??? Does anybody out there work with anyone who could provide free medical supplies??? Vitamins? Gloves? Protective clothing? Masks?

Whilst it would be fantastic if we could provide each child with a food pack every day, the reality is that we cannot afford to do this at this stage, therefore, the plan is for one of the volunteers to put a pot on the stove every morning, to throw in a couple of chickens, lots of vegetables, some rice and to buy a whole lot of bowls at the local market so that whenever a child comes in dirty and hungry they can be given a steaming bowl of yummy food to fill their tummy!

One of the things that I have said before is that a very easy way to help is for you to have a raffle. This keeps small amounts of money coming in all the time and as I’ve said so many times before it’s the small bits that add up to be huge bits.  At this point in time, for example, we have a jelly bean guessing competition going on at work with guesses of 50 cents each. This means that even if only ten people a day have a guess another ten kids have been fed when otherwise they would not have been. So PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give some thought to having a raffle at your workplace. If not, how about a morning or afternoon tea? All you need to do is get some of your own friends together. Everybody brings a cake and they donate $5 for the project. It really doesn’t get much easier than that and it gives you all the opportunity to meet up with your friends, have some comfort food and feel fantastic because of what you are doing (just remember that calories eaten for love do not increase your weight!). They’ll be SO appreciative in a small corner of the world!

Before we always used to say that we can make a difference, now three years on, we are at the stage where we can definitely say that we HAVE made a difference! And being able to say this just motivates us further to continue to do so because we now know the incredible difference that we can make. Andrew from Heartland is at the moment compiling all of our DVDs together and it tells an amazing story of the power of many… of the power of care… of the power of humanity. I won’t go on, as you have all heard it all before… but this week, as every other week, I cannot go on without thanking the multitude of people who make Food4Everyone what it is!

Firstly, my thanks go to Mark and Jason from Cyre who once again donated his time, money and colourful ink to print all the pamphlets and pictures which will be displayed next Saturday at the Poverty Aid 4 Cambodia (PA4C) disco on the 4^th July. (By the way remember tickets are running out very, very fast and now I really mean it!) For a last minute table please contact us as soon as possible. This promises to be a great night! Can you believe it, this year alone PA4C has raised enough money to construct 56 wells around Cambodia as well as help 600 elderly people with gifts of sarongs, seeds and mosquito nets.  

Also, in terms of thanks, thank you so very much to Manolita P who so generously donated one of her pieces of emparchment. Manolita even had the art piece framed for us to auction. Emparchment is artwork which originates from Spain from the 14^th Century. It is laborious, extremely time consuming and one of the most beautiful pieces of craft I have ever seen. So there you are, wait for the next trivia night to be able to have a look at it. In the meanwhile thank you so much Manolita!

And of course, thank you to Rhonda M and Lathan’s nan who continue to knit for us so that our dignity blankets can continue to be given to the Aids ward. Thank you as well to Auntie Nettie and Mel who have also knitted a blanket for one of the patients. And to Maggie S who was the first to request a “friend”.

Also many thanks to all the great ideas that come our way every day! To Mark H for his efforts into contacting a company in the United States which apparently makes protective lightweight plastic shoes which could be used for the children in the rubbish dumps. Thank you to Karla and Eric for planning to acquire all the company beanies from Eric’s workplace!!! And to Janet V for her great idea of producing shoulder packs where the safety items can be carried and therefore not lost by the children. We are thinking this idea through. We do have bags left from last Christmas and we may need volunteers to change the handles so that they sit across the children’s shoulders and therefore make them easier to carry. We would not want them to lose those precious items which may mean the difference between theme acquiring an infectious disease or not.

Our feeding program in the Windy Village of course continues as strong as ever, although, lately there seems to be less children attending. Having excluded potential problems, this is a fantastic sign and hopefully means that the area is becoming more affluent and therefore the children will be less reliant on foreign aid. The farm continues to be going extremely well. Maharishi Vedic University sent a couple of students who have already established the first stage of the fishpond. They will return in July during their school holidays and will replant the entire vegetable garden and organise the second fishpond. As I have said before, we are tremendously excited about this project because it means that with the addition of fish in their diet we have pretty much covered all of the dietary needs of the children in our projects.

All the pigs, chickens, etc that were given for Christmas and Easter are doing wonderfully well (Ok, yes, not so well, some of them are now only with us in spirit!).

The Dignity Food program continues to be going strongly and we remain committed to doing everything that we can to allow the patients at the Aids ward to die with dignity. As I have said before there are a number of you beautifully people knitting not just blankets but beanies for the children there. I think I may have mentioned before that Channa was negotiating with the gaol to build us some bookshelves for the children and hopefully some books will be donated. The thing is that the children of the patients of the Aids ward hang around what is a horrifying environment with very little to do. Any ideas??? Please give us a call.

As for the gaol, they are growing strong and stronger. Our last plan was for us to donate more money for them to plant fruit trees around the perimeters of the prison. I am yet to be told by Channa whether this has happened or not but the moment that I do hear I will let you know.

Finally, Andrew will be travelling to Cambodia in the next couple of weeks and I’ve asked him to take footage of the Centre 4 Hope in Phnom Penh as well as of the children. I cannot wait to be able to show you these pictures!

Thank you so much once again,

Margarita

P.S. And to all our wonderful beggars! Sorry about the pneumonia you got from begging in the rain! The next begging date is the 18^th July.

 _________________________________________________ 

25^th June 2009

Hi everyone,

Just a reminder that the Poverty Aid 4 Cambodia Disco Night is fast approaching!

The details are as follows:

Date: Saturday, 4^th July 2009

Place: Golden Star Palace, 24-32 Hughes Street, Cabramatta

Time: 6:00pm -12:00 midnight;

Tickets: $30 (includes 6 courses + 2 jugs of soft drink)

Last year we had a great time watching traditional Cambodian dancing, chatting and enjoying the fantastic food! Tickets are limited so if you plan on attending please let us know as soon as possible so you don’t miss out!

We have attached the advertisement for further details or please do not hesitate to contact our office on 02 4737 3400 if you have any enquires.

Regards,

Margarita Parrish

(On behalf of Food4Everyone)

_________________________________________________ 

16^th June 2009

Hi everyone,

We want to let you know about another exciting way that you can help support Food4Everyone! “Together In Life” is an online beauty product store who will donate a percentage of every purchase to Food4Everyone!!! This is a fantastic way to stock up on your own beauty products or buy gifts for others while supporting Food4Everyone at the same time!!! 

Together In Life (TIL) is Ron & Jackie Fletcher, trading in partnership with product suppliers to provide a program which returns the profit from sales to the community. While Together In Life is a business, their program has been developed specifically to ensure the highest return to the community. They have developed their program specifically as a "low energy, good return, no strings attached" funding source for not-for-profit organisations.

Together In Life offer the entire retail profit on goods sold through their website, www.togetherinlife.net  to participating beneficiaries. You get high quality, ethically produced products at affordable prices delivered right to your door while Food4Everyone gets almost a third of the money you would have spent anyway - Everybody Wins! You win, Food4Everyone wins and the kids in Cambodia win!

All you need to do is go shopping for Food4Everyone today! The entire retail profit from everything you buy will instantly be credited to your chosen beneficiary (Food4Everyone) and your purchases will be delivered right to your doorstep! You will know at the time of purchase and before you make any payment, the exact amount that will go to Food4Everyone and exactly how much your purchase will cost you.

It really is that simple!

To check out their products please visit:

www.togetherinlife.net 

Thank you as always for your ongoing support!

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15^th June 2009

Food4Everyone is seeking budding photographers!
 
"Canon" is promoting a photograph competition, "Creative for a Cause", through which entrants can win $60,000 for the charity of their choice!
 
If you are a budding (or professional!) photographer we urge you to check out the details.
Entries have to be submitted by 10th August.
 
For all the details please visit:
 
http://www1.canon.com.au/creativeforacause/

15th June 2009

Hi everyone,

We are SO EXCITED because as we send this email to you today, three students from MaharishiVedicUniversity are arriving at the farmlet to start constructing the fishponds!!! How FANTASTIC is that??!!!

We are also VERY, VERY EXCITED to confirm that we have secured a rental house in Phnom Penh, right near the rubbish dump, for $230 per month! We have attached pictures of the house and the children for you to see!

Our plan now is for each of the rubbish children and disabled students to have a "friend" in Australia to help them in whatever way they can (for example, funding “safety packs” or a pair of shoes or cartons of soy milk, etc) whenever they have a bit of spare change. “Friends” will be able to communicate with their child via email whenever they want.

Our dream is for the centre to be a safe place for the children. Eventually we will be able to offer them first aid, something to eat and safety packs to reduce the harm associated with what they have to do as well as provide SOMEONE WHO CARES. The centre will be a place that makes the children feel protected and safe. In the future we hope to be able to have a couple of sofas where they can rest as well as provide them with clothes (which we will take over each time we visit), books, etc.

We really want them to feel that it is THEIR place, to meet THEIR needs, an attractive, warm place for them to come. Whilst, there clearly are educational objectives for the centre, a sense of humanity and warmth has to prevail! This place is for them!!! Even if some of the children don’t want or are unable to study, they will still be welcome and if and when we have food and other things available, these will always be given to them. We want them to know they are all always WELCOME!!!

We will send pictures of the students with their profiles as soon as they come into the house and our dream is to match every single one of them with a Food4Everyone “friend”!

So as you can see our need for help is now MORE DESPERATE THAN EVER!!!

We are BEGGING for all of you to participate in this new project!!!

No matter how small your contribution is, for these children it all makes a HUGE difference!!!

How about a raffle at your workplace? Please let us know as soon as possible how you can help.

Regards,

Margarita Parrish

20^th May 2009

Hi Everyone,
I am forwarding you the latest email that I received from Borith of KYSD in Phnom Penh.
As you will see, the situation for the "garbage children" is deplorable and absolutely intolerable!
Food4Everyone will not allow this situation to go on and will continue to work as hard as we possibly can to try to ease as much suffering and to help make whatever difference we can for these children.
If you can offer help in any way we urge you to contact us by email or
phone on 02 4737 3400.
Regards,
Margarita Parrish
(On behalf of Food4Everyone)
 
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 20096:20 PM

Subject: The Fact of Dumpsite in Cambodia

  3rd April 2009

 Andrew has just arrived back from visiting the Windy Village as well as the Thai / Burmese border, to where we will be travelling at the end of April to see how we can help. As soon as we receive his update we will let you know all the news!