Celebrating 3 years ago --> Montclair to Siem Reap

Three years ago, I visited a project in Cambodia with drawings done by Montclair and Bloomfield elementary school students. Since then, I've watched with absolute awe as two women, one Cambodian, one American, turned a fledging non-profit education organization in Siem Reap near Angkor Wat into a force for change for young people in Cambodia. Ponheary Ly, who survived the Khmer Rouge to become an advocate for education in rural communities without electricity and running water a mere stone's throw from the burgeoning tourist hotels of Siem Reap, and Lori Carlson, a Texan with the heart and determination of a tiger, are showing what action, not just protest, can do to change lives. 

Lori just posted a video project created by a 17 year old Soy Sen about water wells in his village. When you follow this link, realize this project exists where three years ago the Ponheary Ly Foundation was just starting a project to install solar panels so that some of the schools could have power.  The idea that any of these schools could have computers, let alone a computer program, where children could learn to shoot and edit videos was almost inconceivable. That Soy and his classmates have made such an articulate vehicle speaks volumes.