Cambodia4Kids.Org

My Asian Heritage Blog

Just discovered a wonderful blog, a good resource for adoptive parents with Asian children.  It is called My Asian Heritage Blog.  There's a post about the Sharing Foundation.

Cambodia Bloggers Summit: Help Young Cambodian Bloggers Join the Global Conversation

 

Cambodian young people are joining the global conversation in the
blogosphere and sharing their perspectives through different forms of
grassroots citizen's media thanks to the efforts of a dedicated team of
Cambodian bloggers. This team has been working on a voluntary basis to
conduct 14 workshops called “Personal Information Technology Workshop” at 14 different universities in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap with more than 1700 students participating.

They are organizing the first "Cambodian Blogger Summit (aka Cloggers Summit)"
to take place 30-31 August 2007 in Cambodia. The idea is to bring
together students, professional Bloggers, writers, NGO workers, media,
and tech gurus from within and outside Cambodia to share and learn more
from each other on about how the ICT (including Open Source Software
and Web2.0 tools) can make their study, work, and life easier.

I've been given an opportunity to help by leading a training and
sharing my experience with nonprofits and social media. Here's what I'm
going to do:

• A train the trainers workshop with the Cambodian blogging
  team to share resource information, answer questions, and exchange
  ideas for teaching young people how to use social media in a developing
  country like Cambodia



• Keynote welcome



• A conference workshop on blogging techniques and video blogging techniques



• Bring over 3 video blogging kits (inexpensive camera, a book, batteries, and SD cards) that will be used as "prizes" to encourage new bloggers



• Learn about and document how the blogging team is doing outreach and encouraging new bloggers and share on my blog



• Identify and interview 3-5 amazing Cambodian BlogHers and post on BlogHer site



• Bring a suitcase of donated technology and nonprofit t-shirts for participants (they have no budget for scwhag)



• Document the learnings from this personal fundraising campaign

I need your help. I'm raising $4,000 and the amazing folks at ChipIn
are matching 50% of my donations. So, I'm turning to the power of
personal fundraising and hoping that you, my readers, friends of my
readers, and friends will support in my desire to make a difference in
Cambodia. Even a donation of $20 will help.

Timing is running out. I need to reach my goal by August 10th so I can
book my plane travel and I will continue to fundraise up until the date
of my departure, tentatively scheduled August 25th. With your help, I
know this can happen.

So, here's what I need you to do:

• Make a donation. If 100 of my readers each donate $20, that will make the campaign successful!



• Blog about this campaign and repost the fundraising badge on your blog



• Forward the url to your colleagues and friends and ask them to contribute or repost.



• Have at least three or more new t-shirts from a tech or nonprofit tech organization? I'd love to pack them in my suitcase!

Social Media in Asia Wiki

A message to me in Mybloglog:

Hey, Beth. Do you know bloggers in Cambodia and other parts of Asia? Please could you help me invite them to join the Asia Social Media Directory.

Apple Picking With Mongkol

Mongkol with Sara - more photos here

We had a great time with Mongkol, who is studying in US.  We went to Lowell and then apple picking.  Mongkol is a really good photographer and writer. His English Language Skills are amazing!  Here's his other photos and account of our fun fun fun day. Tommorrow night, we are going to the Cambodian Shadow Puppet Performance in RI.  Should be fun! 

Our Family With Mongkol

  With Beth's family 
  Originally uploaded by angkorianboy.

We meet Mongkol and took him on one of our regular visits to Lowell, MA for some Cambodian food!

Here's a photo of us in the ice cream store where we had dessert.

The complete set of photos are here:
Other notes here.

Online Sexual Harassment of a Blogher in Cambodia

The Cambodian Blogosphere is, for the most part, a warm and supportive online community of Cambodians in Cambodia and spread around the world, ex-pats in country blogging about their experiences, and others like me who are interested in the country's beautiful culture.

Sadly, there is a dark side.   Read about it over at the blogher site.

Global Voices Announces Managing Editor

Rachel Rawlins has been named as the managing editor of Global Voices.

Here's how Rebecca MacKinnon described the position:

Based in the UK, Rachel will be the only full-time employee of our very virtual organization (we have no office and conduct our editorial meetings via IRC chat). Rachel will be responsible for coordinating day-to-day content flow on the Global Voices blog, run regular online editorial meetings, manage the work of our rapidly expanding international team of Regional Editors and volunteer contributors, and coordinate daily with editors from our news media collaborators and partners. She will also help steer the future of Global Voices into non-text media, other languages, and help to innovate and implement new technologies and tools. Most importantly, she will be making sure that we remain true to our mission: bringing global attention to citizens’ voices around the world.

I'm so impressed with her background and am very excited to be part of the "volunteer contributors." I visited her (formerly anonymous) blog and love her photographs too.

Rachel Rawlins' first job was for Amnesty International researching human rights in east and southern Africa. She then joined the BBC as a radio reporter and spent most of her journalistic career at the BBC World Service's Africa service. This included three years based in Zimbabwe where she once upset her friends by broadcasting from a coffin, but survived. She's worked for the BBC News Online website, World Service Training and as the World Service's Arts Reporter. She has also taught journalism in places as diverse as Liberia and Thailand, and reported for television and a wide range of newspapers and magazines. She lives in London with her partner and two sons and, in an attempt to redress the imbalance of the sexes, her dog Maizy. She loves rice, poetry, gadgets, taking photographs, trashy detective fiction and Apple Macs. She blogs at http://www.frizzylogic.org/.

Profile of Seserak on Global Voices

I just posted an interview with Seserak on Globalvoices.  Enjoy!

Welcome Ravuth Sim & Joe Baseball

I'd like to point out some a new blogger and a new blog that I've come across in the last two weeks:

In December,  I received an email from Ravuth Sim, a Cambodian citizen and college student in the US who will be returning to Cambodia later this month.   He was interested in starting a blog and looks like he has started his blog!   Best wishes Ravuth on your trip back and job hunt.

I received an email from "Joe Baseball," a Cambodian-American who runs a nonprofit, Cambodia Baseball, that brings the joy of playing baseball to young people in Cambodia.  Joe has two blogs and they're both filled with wonderful photos of his work in country.  Check them out - here and here.

Technorati Tags: cambodia

A Speedy Recovery to Phatry

I just read with horror about Phatry's moto accident:

my motodop, sophanny, was a very cautious driver. he had a helmet (i didnt) on and was not speeding. when we cross chroy changvar bridge, he was extra careful of the traffic and the limited visibility that the area is accustomed to.

we spotted the restaurant to our left. he slowed down, signaled with his lights and his left arm for a turn. while both of us looked back, a lightning flash of a moto pulverized us causing all 4 involved to fly out. i was in shock.

i fell on to the hard paved cement. initially, the adrenaline numb all the cuts and burns on my arms. i recovered my bag, a shoe that flew off my feet that now rips at the tongue, and checked around for my valuables. by this time, several dozen onlookers have congretated to the scene of the crime.

He goes on to describe his injuries:

pencil length streak on the back shows a deep blue bruised. my left leg seems worst than before. i can't put too much pressure while walking. the big cuts on my right arm is still visible but starting to regenerate itself. the left pain above my ear is still the same. i am thankful that i only escaped these cuts and sprains. in all honestly, without a helmet and the velocity in which the other moto was going, i anticipated the worst.

I remember when I was in Cambodia teaching ESL at the village school, the head of the english program arrived on his motorbike, wearing a helmet.   We talked about what a good role model he was for students.   

Earlier this year, I had bookmarked Jackie Chan's wear a helmet campaign that he conducted a year ago.  I didn't blog about it at the time because the campaign was over.  Everyday more than 3 people are killed and 100 people injured in Cambodia in traffic accidents.  Most of the injuries and death could be avoided with the use of a helmet.

Technorati Tags: cambodia