Two friends and neighbours from Ely have joined forces to raise thousands for a school and orphanage in Cambodia.
When Steuart Northfield heard that education consultant Peter Harris, a neighbour in Silver Street, Ely, was aiming to raise $9,000 for the Centre for Children’s Happiness (CCH ) in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, he decided to help.
Encouraged by the success of a fundraising curry night, Steuart organised a gin tasting evening at his historic medieval cottage home which raised £920 for Peter’s appeal.
“Friends and neighbours, our Silver Street ‘local’, the Prince Albert, and the Drayman’s Son in Fore Hill, all gave raffle prizes and I’m hugely grateful for everyone’s support,” said Steuart.
Guests sampled a selection of 15 gins and Peter showed a film and gave a talk about the work of the school.
Peter, who came to Ely as founder director of King’s International Study Centre, has supported the work of CCH for the past 10 years.
It gives a home and education to children, mostly orphans, living on or near the ‘smoking mountain’ - the city’s rubbish dumps.
“I travel all over the world and I am often in Asia, but nowhere has touched my heart quite like CCH which houses, nurtures, feeds, clothes and educates the ‘dumpsters’,” said Peter.
There are over 80 children living in the homes and another 70 from impoverished families nearby who go to CCH for an education.
Six former ‘dumpsters’ have won full scholarships to study at universities in the USA and some older children are also supported to go on to vocational training, in the Cambodian coastal resort of Sihanoukville.
CCH’s latest project aims to provide housing for up to 60 families and a small school.
Peter has also paid the community centre’s water and electricity costs for one year and covered the cost of teaching materials.
He is raising a further $9,000 towards the cost of installing solar power and piped water.
For more information about Peter’s appeal and the work of CCH, which is a non-governmental organisation, email PJHELY@gmail.com or
mechsokha@hotmail.com or visit http://www.cchcambodia.org/
The centre can also be found on Facebook by searching The Center for Children’s Happiness.
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