Harry had school vacation for two weeks. We took walks in the morning and I had him write a few sentences about it. On one walk, a dog came into the road and I chased it home. I was terrified it would get hit by a car speeding by.
I've been in Second Life for a year now and have recently discovered southeast aisan skin and fashion. I took this photo before my presentation for the IA Summit.
------Email from my Dad-----
This date is forever in my mind. We were living at Delevan ave and Mom was complaining of cramps. She was about 4 weeks from term. I palpated her abdomen and timed the contractions (not recommended to call them "pains") i.e. bad psychology. They (the contractions) appeared to be shorter so I told Mm to go to sleep. Psychologically I (personal) saw no real reason to be excited. About 1 or 2 in the am I felt a warm, wet rush in the bed, what had occurred was the amniotic sac had broken, when this happens the so called innocuous contractions suddenly transit into hard lasting contractions, somewhat painful but at an interval of every five minutes. I called the Dr. and told him I thought Mom was in labor but would call him when the contractions became stronger and closer and that we would leave on our way to the hospital. At that time there was a slight modicum of anxiety as we couldn't locate grand mom and grand pop (Harry and Lil) but the situation resolved and we were on our way.They were needed to watch Blair. The contractions at that moment became more frequent and of longer duration.We arrived at the Atlantic City Hospital labor room and to add more hysteria (bad word) the Dr. had not arrived. What had happened was that the answering service was slow to notify him, as we (Dr. bayer) had agreed that when we left for the hospital I would call him and he would leave too. At any rate the head (yours) had descended and crowned and Mom was very upset since no Dr had arrived. The labor room nurse asked me to examine Mom and low and behold her (your) head descended more. Mother being aware of the absence of a Dr. asked "who will deliver me" I tried to reassure her that I would- her response was "but you are not scrubbed" as your head became more and more visible I put on gloves(I did not scrub, was wearing civvies) and was about to deliver you, when in came Dr. Bayer strolling. I backed away, he donned gloves, and a beautiful little girl completed her journey to life. Beth, as you can see it was an experience I will never forget. So happy birthday 01/11/1957- Nifty fifty. Love Dad & Mom
My 50th birthday is this month and I'm celebrating it with a Flickr Photo Birthday Card Remix Contest. I will donate $50 to the winner's favorite cause or charity. I'm also using this as an action research project to figure out a few things about flickr contests and user-generated content which I'll report back later IF ENOUGH people participate ...
Here are the details!
We are very grateful to everyone for their contributions, links, and advice. I'm elated that we surpassed our goal to support Leng Sopharath's second year at college. But, I'm not ending the campaign. Why? Meet Sin Vuthy. He is one of ten students being sponsored for their freshman through the Sharing Foundation's education programs. His college fees for this year have been partially sponsored, so we want to raise more money to support him too.
But Leng Sopharath and Sin Vuthy are only of two of more than 1,300 children that the Sharing Foundation educates. These two college students represent the top of the tier of the Sharing Foundation's educational programs. In order to get to the point of sponsoring young people for college, the Sharing Foundation begins at the pre-school level with a Cambodian version of a Montessoui Pre-School in Roteang Village. The foundation also sponsors a "head start" program for the children of the poorest villagers who work in the Foundation's farm program that provides the families with needed income. In the local Roteang village school, the Sharing Foundation runs an English Language program that is teaching over 500 children to speak English. The Foundation also provides capital improvements such as a new roof, a new library, and pays for school supplies.
The village school stops at the elementary level and if students want to continue in high school, they pay for high school, a luxury these promising young peoples' families can't afford. The Sharing Foundation sponsors over 40 high school students - their tuition, transportation, uniforms, and supplies. Plus, our sponsors provide important emotional support via personal letters. Last year, our first "class" of high school students graduated and ten students passed the entrance exams for college, including Leng Sopharath. This year, another ten students are being sponsored for college, including Sin Vuthy. Read more here.
If you haven't yet made a contribution, I'm using the Network for Good Charity Badge for this round because Yahoo is providing some matching money! So, please make a donation and help support more than 1,300 poor children in Cambodia for their education.
Watch the video here
Make a donation to the campaign here
Let me tell you why our family is passionate about supporting Leng Sopharath, a young Cambodian woman, for her college education.
I’m the parent two wonderful children, Harry and Sara, who were adopted as orphans from Cambodia. My children have food everyday, clothing, go to school, have toys (probably too many), and many other necessities of life that we often take for granted. When we were in Cambodia, many Cambodian people came up to us and said “Your child is lucky!” We would reply, no we’re lucky parents. But in some respects, they were right. The infant mortality rate in Cambodia is very high, so my children are lucky to be alive.
When we adopted our beautiful children, we also adopted their birth country. We have embraced Khmer culture and we also feel a responsibility to give something back to the country, particularly to seriously disadvantaged children in Cambodia. Soon after coming home with our first child nearly seven years ago, I volunteered for the Sharing Foundation, an ngo that works directly with local officials, orphanages, and NGOs in Cambodia to identify and carry out projects which improve the lives of children and Cambodia. I now serve on the board.
There’s lots of could tell you about TSF and I encourage you to visit the web site so you can get an sense of the scope of the good work this organization does. One of its focus areas is education. Over 1,300 children in Cambodia receive educational support every day as a result of The Sharing Foundation initiatives. The Foundation has increasingly focused its efforts on ways to create and improve educational opportunities for Cambodian children of all ages, including public school projects, pre-school, Khmer literacy, English language instruction, high school and college sponsorships, and vocational training. These projects present what might be the only means for the most disadvantaged children to life themselves, as well as their families, out of poverty conditions, become self-reliant and lead more productive, hopeful lives.
The Foundation is now in its second year of college sponsorships. Last year, our family stepped forward to sponsor Leng Soparath, an orphan from Kampong Speu orphanage. For a gift of $750 annually, TSF is able to cover her college fees and living expenses. (It is a stretch for us ... we’re not rich but this could make such a difference in the life of one young person) In addition to money, we provide emotional support and encouragement through regular letters and photographs that we exchange. Our letters are hand-carried to Cambodia by Sharing Foundation’s 76-year old founder, Dr. Nancy Hendrie. Watch the video for more information.
I’ve also documented our correspondence with Leng Sopharath in flickr (here, here, here, and here).
While TSF has paid staff, Cambodians, in Cambodia to manage all its programs, the work done in the US (primarily fundraising) is all volunteer-driven. Almost of the money raised comes from grassroots efforts and primarily done offline as well as some web fundraising. (See these wonderful examples.) So, when I saw the fundraising widget, it looked like a natural extension of the type of grassroots fundraising that we’ve been doing offline. And I might add that our family has made a commitment to sponsor Leng Soparath through graduation and we ask our friends, family, and colleagues to help us. Even my kids contribute money from their piggy banks and direct birthday money to the effort.
So, I set up a campaign page on Chip In pick up the widget code, make a donation, or forward the link to someone who might be interested.
And thank you for your support! And again in the Khmer language!
Recent Comments
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Paul said:
Happy birthday!!! And many, many more!!! Mine is this coming Monday. read more
on My 50th Birthday is Today! Flickr Remix Contest! -
Beth said:
Thanks ...I put together a collection of family halloween photos - both of me and those of my kids.http://www.flickr.com/photos/cambodia4kidsorg/sets/72157594347422213/ read more
on happy halloween circa 1964 -
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on My 50th Birthday is Today! Flickr Remix Contest!