On Sept. 18, LHS’s first Caring for Cambodia club meeting occurred; the club supervisor is Mrs. Tiffany Owens and the club meets in room 2102 every other Thursday morning at 7.
Junior Brayden Monson lived in Singapore during his 8th grade year. There was a Caring for Cambodia club in his school there. Brayden has had the opportunity to visit Cambodia two times to help out. He was so inspired by this experience that he wanted to bring the organization, Caring for Cambodia, to LHS.
“There really is a big need in Cambodia” Brayden said, “as they are one of the poorest countries in the world.”
For many years, there has been a huge amount of violence going on in Cambodia. In the late 1970s, communists tried to kill all educated middle-aged people. The genocide wiped out nearly a fourth of the population.
“Teachers, doctors, even people who wore glasses [were killed],” Mrs. Owens said.
Considering that there are now so many adults who grew up without an education, nobody is able to provide a sufficient education for the children. One of CFC’s many goals is to give free, quality education to children.
“The average household yearly income is around $300,” Mrs. Owens mentioned when talking about what the organization does when it comes to helping out the citizens who are waist-deep in poverty: “Every month we are going to try to do a different kind of fundraising.”
For the October fundraiser, they will be collecting toothbrushes. The reasoning behind collecting toothbrushes ties in with the average $300 a year income; very few families can actually afford to buy toothbrushes for themselves.
At the end of the school year, after doing (what they hope) to be a ton of fundraising, the club is going to try to help pay for club members who are interested on a trip to Cambodia to help build schools.
Mrs. Owens described the trip, along with the costs for it: “[The trip] is expensive, but we are hoping to be able to raise, at least, the cost of the flights.”
“In creating a branch of CFC at LHS,” Brayden stated, “ my goals are to get the word out about the desperate need in Cambodia and make a difference in the lives of many kids who have suffered through so much.”
