I typed in cambodiasam.blogspot.com out of sheer curiosity while in Cambodia this year. That was the site I used to track our adventures in helping people. Shockingly it still works. And there's a ton of amazing detail in there. It covers 2008 through 2017. Fear griped me. I have no idea how long blogspot will continue to be around, if they might change policies on old content, or what else might happen. Perhaps an AI rewrite of history? Anything is possible. Out of an abund

We have an amazing team of people in Cambodia. Mr. Sok and his family received the the three of us (Diane, Deanna, and Sam) at his home again this year. He'll be distributing four solar lights to nearby families who do not have electricity. Plus he will resume teaching basic computer skills via a replacement laptop. The previous one was probably 10 years old and showed substantial wear and tear by living in the countryside. Prem took the picture so he's behind the camera. "Dr

There's a lot going on in this picture. Twenty years ago there were no smart phones. You used your cell phone to talk to people, a PDA to keep track of your calendar and contacts, and a camera to take decent pictures. Mr. Sok (second from the left) hosted us back then to teach computer classes. We used a full size desktop PC, old-style CRT monitor, and a gas powered generator to turn it on when the electricity went out. Which was often. This week we set up Mr. Sok with our pr

Yesterday we toured Reul Village to see the installation of several toilets that were part of last year's program. Here's the exact location on Google Maps. This recipient was a multi-generational family living in a single structure. That's common in Cambodia. And it makes for challenging coordination when trying to get to the bathroom. Especially when this is your only real option. The large ceramic container is a water catch for rainwater runoff. This serves as the water so

Cleaning supplies for families who received toilets during the 2024 program We started this week off strong. This year Deanna, Sam, and special guest Diana are quickly going through checklist items. Appointments, meetings, shopping for supplies, and more. We secured a meeting with the Teuk Sa'at organization quicker than usual. They normally need a little more time past our arrival to prepare. This year they already 2024 documents ready for review, the proposal for 2025, and

Wrapping up the last full day in Cambodia. It feels like the annual streak never stopped, but COVID clearly left its mark. Today even...

If you're going to go to Siem Reap in the wet season, you need to go to a fishing village. They float on the Tonle Sap in well organized...

Cool weather is a blessing. Usually our works brings us in July and August. The end of the hot and dry season. Late October is the end of...

Yesterday was a meeting with old friends. The Teuk Sa'at group also happens to be our main subcontracting group for digging wells,...

The Blue Pumpkin was a Siem Reap original. It was there before the rise of tour buses ferrying people from massive hotels to temples to...

Just arrived in Siem Reap today. The streak of 15 years in a row was broken by COVID. This is also the first year to visit in October....

Time for blogging did not come easily this year, so here’s a summary of the work and a few entertaining highlights. I arrived the morning...

I'm thrilled to announce that we have a new website! Not only does it look better, but it has great new features to help us with our...

We are in Cambodia in late July.