Group of friends supports villagers in Romdoul, Myall Coast Myall Coast - popup ad Myall Coast News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - May 2, 2023 Jan and Owen with supplies to be donated to the school. A VILLAGE in Cambodia, some 30km outside Angkor Wat, has established a strong and special connection with the people of Tea Gardens and surrounding areas, thanks in no small part to the selfless efforts of Jan and Owen Holbert. The Holberts presented the Tea Gardens Family Research Group (TGFRG) a slide show of their time in Romdoul village, where they have been helping to raise the kids out of poverty through donations from friends and incredible projects like the building of the local school. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au After a diagnosis of an incurable disease in 1993, Mr Holbert was encouraged by his wife to travel, “One place every year until he couldn’t do it anymore.” They visited China and many South-East Asian nations, but when they finally set sights on Cambodia, they did their homework. Through a local foundation called ‘Trailblazer’, they were introduced to the rural village of Romdoul in 2013, where there was no electricity, no working toilets, and the ‘school’ was a class of 57 kids crammed beneath an old building. “The standard that you walk by is the standard that you accept,” Mr Holbert told the gathering at the TGFRG. “Villagers were drinking dirty water from ponds, with no toilets to speak of.” When they asked the village chief what was needed, a school (with toilets) was at the top of the list. Subsequent trips have installed sand-filters for drinking-water, and the first working septic toilets. The school’s purpose-designed three rooms have also been augmented with a new structure, and a kitchen that ensures that village kids get fed at least once per day. “Other friends have gone to Cambodia on trips, and said ‘What can we do?’” Mrs Holbert told NOTA. The Holberts’ Facebook group, ‘Australia for Cambodia’, has over 700 followers, many having donated clothing, learning supplies, and even play and hygiene equipment, giving the kids a chance at a future that they otherwise could not have imagined. For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/AustraliaforCambodia. By Thomas O’KEEFE Jan and Em formed a special friendship that transcends language barriers. Kids received clean uniforms for their new school. First septic toilets went into the village thanks to Australia For Cambodia assistance.
