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Though the fighting has been over for some time, economic conditions are such that more and more people are finding it impossible to maintain tolerable living conditions, or even to survive. As is usual in situations like this, it is the children who pay the highest price. Thousands of them every year are joining the throng of the homeless. Though the parents of many of them are still alive, they have nevertheless become “orphans” because, for one pitiful sociological reason or another, they simply cannot live with their families. Orphanages are proliferating like wildfire all throughout the country. Unfortunately, some of them merely provide a way for unscrupulous adults to make a living. The scandals arising from these atrocities make it even more difficult for sincere organizations, such as BCI, to reach out and help. For this reason, we are taking every precaution we can to find efficient channels for providing aid and to keep the operations of our NGO as reliable and transparent as possible. A native of Cambodia, Ms. Hong Nayseap experienced firsthand many of the struggles the Khmer people have had to face during their recent history. She moved from Cambodia to California in 1983, and after becoming a U.S. citizen and establishing a lucrative wholesale business of her own in San Jose, she has now reached her target of being able to turn back and help her suffering fellow countrymen. She has given thousands of dollars of her own money to orphanages, pagodas, clinics, individual families, and other grateful recipients, and she hopes to be able to expand her private contributions in the near future.
One of Ms. Hong Nayseap’s strategies is to attempt to draw in assistance from institutions and individuals sympathetic to the plight of the Cambodian population. In pursuit of this goal she has acquired an International Charity License from the State of California and has established a tax exempt status for BCI under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. She receives no state or federal financial assistance. Piecemeal aid to individual families and groups will continue as is the past, but BCI now wishes to initiate some more ambitious projects. Foremost among these are complexes to be constructed at the base of Phnom Chisor, in Takeo Province, and in Siem Reap, not far from the ruins at Angkor Wat. Each complex will contain an orphanage, a school, and a clinic, with livestock pens and produce gardens to help the operations become self-sustaining. Continuing education for the children will consist of a scholarship-supported university track and a vocational track which will include training in various home-building skills such as plumbing, electrical wiring, construction with concrete, wood, tiles, and natural materials obtained from the jungles, rivers, and fields, as well as training in running small businesses such as tuk-tuk services, cafes, and marketing. It is also our hope to be able to provide vocational training in cosmetology, cooking, and sewing for young women who are helplessly caught up in the karaoke trade. And we wish to make at least a small contribution to the fight against the new HIV epidemic, which is invisibly growing to disastrous proportions. Without trying you cannot get anywhere, so we are going to follow the momentum of our past good luck to attempt to reach as many of these targets as possible. Needless to say, the single most important assistance we require is funding, but we could also use volunteers and helpful suggestions. No doubt we will go up a few blind alleys, but the spirit of our organization is strong, especially when we view with our own eyes what needs to be done. It is a supreme irony that the beauty of the people suffering these unfair tortures is so breath-taking. Every single whim and nuance of hope counts, so if you have even the slightest suspicion that you could be of at least a trifle of assistance to us, please check us out. Like those of us already involved, you may find that you receive more than you give. |
