Jono Pierce, the Rector of St Finnian's in Belfast, has been sent on the Tearfund Cambodia trip by the Church of Ireland Bishops Appeal, of which he was Secretary for some time. Jono reports on a project which has been supported by this fund:
'A big question for those who donate money to a charity or cause is to ask whether it is reaching those who need it most.
As a long time supporter and a member of the Bishops Appeal committee it was a real privilege yesterday to meet some of those who had benefitted from a project cosponsored by Bishops Appeal and Tearfund yesterday.
In February 2010 Bishops Appeal gave a grant of 19,825 euros to CHO's Home Garden Development and Animal Husbandry project.
Another thing that struck me is how far what seems like a relatively modest sum in Western terms goes here.
I sttod in the field of Rickary who used to live in Thailand and was unable to support his family.
Thanks to a microloan from CHO he now rents some ground and has been given both the seeds and technical support to plant crops of Morning glory a vegetable like green beans and gourds and other vegetables which are now sent to the market in Poipet. Rickary works extremely hard and gives of his best and spoke with joy of how he can now educate his family and make a living and actually live again in his native Cambodia.
Even though his crops were flooded in the recent floods here he was able to replant and i was amazed at his resilience and determination to just get going again.
Growth is phenomenal here and we could see the results of his labours bearing fruit 6 weeks after replanting. CHO offer technical advice to help those who are starting their business and as part of the animal husbandry Rickary who started with a goat now has 14 goats and provided a really bright and hopeful future for his family.
We also met Unmap and Suyou can be sure that nsna who were at the end of the 3 year programme.
Together with their family they had provided irrigation pipes and planted vegetables for sale in the market. Providing again the seeds and the technical support CHO had offered this family with a source of hope and encouragement.
We were amazed to hear that the support of Bishops Appeal had meant that 420 families were benefitting from these projects. This now means that these families can live here in Cmbodia and educate their children and the future is so much brighter. Where families have no money the evidence is all around us here of children being trafficed and sold into slavery or prostitution in Thailand and so it is extremely inspiring and heartening to see the very real difference that suporting CHO's work is making to the outlying villages.
There is a wonderful spirit of resilience and determination in these villages which are off the beaten track and thanks to the generosity of Bishops Appeal supporters you can be sure that what you give is making a difference in the lives of those who are benefitting.
It has been humbling to be here and to hear rhe stories of those who are being released from poverty to enter a new future of hope and possibility for their families.'
Jono may report again later....
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