I consider it an immense privilege to be tasked with delivering the Kangaroo Island Supporting Cambodia chairman’s report once again and to have been given the very rewarding opportunity to play my small part in the incredible, life-changing projects that we have partnered with in Andong and Oddar Meanchey villages.

This time last year the situation in Cambodia was especially grim, with the country in the grips of the Covid 19 pandemic and no one was suffering more than the families we support.

Both of our schools were closed more than they were open, when they were open only half of our 1200 plus student population could attend on any given day, hundreds of families in OM were on the brink of starvation (some going without any food for 10 days or more), unemployment was rife and many of our malnourished oldies succumbed to the virus much to the distress of their close-knit communities.

But in the ensuing 12 months the storm clouds have parted for many of the thousands of impoverished Cambodians we support and there is much hope and anticipation in both Andong and Oddar Meanchey.

We rolled out what ended up being a $60,000 emergency food aid program in OM that literally saved, not just improved, countless lives and was such an encouragement and emotional shot in the arm not just for the recipients, but also Pastor Abe and his dedicated team. It really is hard to comprehend the scene whereby a mother and her starving children look up from their dilapidated hut deep in the Cambodian jungle to see a convoy of men totally unannounced carrying bags of rice and tins of tuna as a gesture of love and compassion just for them. No payment was required, they didn’t have to work it off and they will probably never meet the people who paid for it.

Our two schools got back into the swing of delivering a first class education and free meals to more than 1200 slum village kids, mostly on site and occasionally via the successfully implemented at home learning program our staff have managed for over 18 months now.

This hasn’t come without its challenges though. Government imposed restrictions have seen our permitted class sizes slashed from 45 students before Covid to around 25 now which has put enormous pressure on our teachers and infrastructure. This has occurred at a time when some of our other international and domestic partners have been forced to reduce or completely withdraw their financial support from the Andong and OM projects. But through the generous contributions of our supporters we have been able to not just make up the shortfall, but finance the appointment of additional full time teachers and construct new classrooms to accommodate the reduced student density requirements.

The delivery of this education to our village kids, valued so highly by their families, came under another threat this past year, with the Ministry of Education superseding the text books that the entire curriculum is based on at very short notice. The implication of not upgrading all 3200 books was the very real likelihood our graduating primary students would not have their education recognised by the government and therefore would be denied the opportunity to go onto high school. Once again this was averted thanks to our generous supporters and we were able to swap the entire set of books over almost immediately at a cost of over $13,000.

The OM house of hope, which in excess of 65 teenagers call home for the majority of the year, has once again been a beacon for these kids who are lucky to see their parents for more than a few weeks every 12 months. The rather cramped conditions are not ideal during a global pandemic and unfortunately resulted in an outbreak of the virus on more than one occasion that resulted in over 30 of our youth being transferred to a nearby health clinic to recover in isolation.

This prompted an urgent construction project at the house which is still underway as we speak and when completed will see the unveiling of a modern and hygienic kitchen facility and very extensive separate bathrooms for the boys and girls who live there. This will be the single biggest infrastructure improvement to the house since we purchased it back in 2011 when it was being used as a brothel.

Speaking of infrastructure projects we were also able to honour the contract we signed with the builder of the brand new Andong school and make the final post completion payment of $6000 which I’m guessing normally gets swept under the bamboo mat in most building projects in Cambodia.

We were also able to support some rather modest Christmas celebrations at both Andong and OM late last year which was really important opportunities for the families who have had a really rough year-and-a-half to come together and socialise.

From a fiscal perspective the generosity of our supporters continues to inspire and amaze me and the commitments we have been able to make to the projects in Cambodia over the last 12 months is quite unbelievable. In round figures our expenditure for the past year was around 858 million riell or just over AU$286,000. This takes our running tally for the past three years to a mind-boggling $1.1 million.

And this has come about as a result of some great fundraising initiatives that don’t just put much needed money in the coffers, but also raise awareness for our projects. These included the canteen at the Kingscote Show and Kangaroo Island Christmas Parade, Racing carnival clean-up, clean up at the Waldeck family home, 10c refund collection bins and community group presentations.

But surpassing that by a very long way is the contributions that an ever widening group of very generous Aussies make from their own personal financial resources. At a time when there has never been more uncertainty in the world, certainly since our involvement with the projects in Cambodia, this is a very real demonstration of the power and compassion of humanity and is a great encouragement to me and the team on the ground in Cambodia.

But none of this would be possible with generous donations alone, as many humanitarian projects around the world have proven time and time again, so most of the credit for the amazing outcomes over the past 12 months need to be directed to Pastor Abe, his wife Sophin and their dedicated team. What an enormous privilege it is to work in partnership with such a committed and focussed group of people who do so much with so little to dramatically improve the lives of thousands of families who would otherwise have no hope at all.

Thank you for entrusting me with the responsibility of steering the Kangaroo Island Supporting Cambodia ship these past 12 months and it is with much anticipation I look forward to seeing where the journey takes us in the years to come.

Rob Ellson, Chairman, Kangaroo Island Supporting Cambodia.