The Francis Parker students from San Diego and the Cambodian scholarship students had already gotten to know each other before the trip; they were paired with pen pals (actually, Facebook pals). They had a great time together – played volleyball, went to the circus, hosted an ice cream party, had several dinners together, went to the village to visit the homes of their pen pals, rode the Bamboo train, climbed Sampov Mountain, took a cooking class together, and had a beautiful farewell party.

Aside from entertaining their Cambodian pals, the Francis Parker students also filled their trip with “purpose.” They spent time in the village teaching English Classes. They not only gave a generous donation to for a new library at Dob Krorsang Primary School, but spent time rolling up their sleeves to installed the beautiful library. Several students reported this was a “life changing” experience for them.

We are thrilled that the Francis Parker teachers and students have adopted the village. They are a wonderful group – they raise funds and work hard to give the kids in Cambodia a chance at a decent education. Parker students have traveled to the village twice and are planning a trip for 2018. We are happy to know such great young people who have found “purpose” in helping others. We applauded their energy and commitment.

We are thrilled to announce that we dedicated two new schools – Timothy Sykes Learning Center, a Secondary School (grades 7-9) - 5 classrooms in Prey Touch Village and Syed Balkhi Center of Learning, a Primary School (grades K-6) - 3 classrooms in Dob Krorsang Village.

Francis Parker students were there for the dedication of The Timothy Sykes Learning Center along with hundreds of Cambodian students, parents, teachers, local officials and village residents. We were very honored that Tim Sykes, who paid for the school and Cameron Siskowic, CVF’s President of Marketing, travelled to the village for the opening celebration. The monks gave their blessings for the school. The children sang the Cambodian National Anthem. The dignitaries gave speeches and cut the ribbon to officially open the school. Cambodia’s Minister of Justice awarded us with Prime Minister’s Medal of Honor, second highest award in Cambodia. Tim and Cameron gave passionate speeches to motivate and empower the students and even promised a new football stadium, to be built right next to Tim’s school. That brought many cheers. It was a beautiful celebration.

After a catered lunch, we drove down the road to dedicate The Syed Balkhi Center of Learning, the new primary school in Dob Krorsang. We were sorry that Syed and Amanda could not be there in share in the joyful day.