Inspired upstate NY group finds generosity in campaign to help build Cambodian school

By WILLIAM KATES Associated Press Writer

CLINTON, N.Y. - Chris Willemsen and a group of friends are giving an unusual holiday gift this year _ a new school to a village in the Cambodian province of Kompong Thom. And as satisfying as it feels to help, the way they raised the funds has been equally illuminating: They sold a handful of cookies here and a pile of lost-and-found clothing there. They organized a ride along the Erie Canal. They relied on friends, family and strangers to kick in a few bucks at a time. Kids at a parochial school paid for the right to dress down one day and turned over the proceeds.
"It's taken off in a way I could not have anticipated. I thought we would be raising funds for the school for at least a year. I didn't realize just how generous people are," said Willemsen, a part-time instructor at Hamilton College, a 195-year-old liberal arts college in upstate New York. A weekend holiday concert at the community arts center pushed Willemsen's group over the goal of $13,000 they need to pay for a school through American Assistance for Cambodia, a nonprofit organization that has built nearly 400 schools in rural Cambodia since 1999. Ultimately, they'd like to raise $30,000 for more improvements, including a computer teacher, Internet connection for two years and solar panels to power a computer. "Having this happen over the holidays gives it extra meaning, in part because this project, like the holidays, reinforces the themes of family, friends, and community; as well as generosity, gratitude, and hope," Willemsen said. It was one of life's unassuming moments that inspired the 43-year-old Willemsen. A newspaper editorial she read last Christmas Eve detailed the plight of poor children in Cambodia and ways people could help. The story mentioned a Washington State school that raised money to build a school. "I had one of those moments where you wonder, `I can do something like this,"' Willemsen said. "I let it go for a little while. I was busy teaching." Last spring, Willemsen was co-teaching a course with philosophy professor Rick Werner on "Democracy, Ethics, and Globalization" when the class took up the subject of human trafficking in Cambodia. Student presentations were graphic and startling, and moved Willemsen and Werner to act. At first, there were just six people: Willemsen and her husband, Werner and his wife, and two other faculty members. The group now totals 19. After several months researching AAfC's Rural Schools Project and making plans, the group held its first event in late August _ a rummage sale, furnished partly from the clothes students left behind in their dorms. They netted about $750. "We kept things low-key at first. None of us are big organizers. We've just been doing this by the seat of our pants," Willemsen said. Then they planned a bike ride along the historic Erie Canal. The bike ride raised an eye-popping $5,000. Word spread quickly through the village of about 1,800 _ about the same population as the college. In the dental hygienist's chair, the conversation turned to biking. And the rally. "She immediately pulled out her checkbook and writes us a donation," Willemsen said. "Then she said she was on the social concerns committee of her church. The next week, I get a call from her. She's all excited. Her church had decided to donate $500." Amy James was a friend inspired to help. The students at St. Mary's Elementary School, where two of her children go, hold a "dress down day" each month, paying a small contribution to not wear their uniforms to class. The 100 or so students came up with $425 for the group's cause, said James. "Chris came in and talked to the students," said James, an administrator at Hamilton College. "She told them where Cambodia was on the map. She told them about the issue of children not being able to go to school and how fortunate they were to be able to go to St. Mary's." "I think the kids were very inspired. It's good for them to have an understanding of what they're doing it for," said James, who would like to see students start a pen pal project with the Cambodian students next year. The student congregation at the college heard about the campaign and donated a Sunday collection worth about $120, said Chaplain Jeff McArn. "It shows that an ordinary person can make a difference if they try," McArn said. Decades of war and oppression have left hundreds of villages in rural Cambodia without functioning schools. Using private contributions from individuals, groups and businesses in America and Japan and matching funds from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, AAfC has raised enough money to open 355 schools with another 40 under construction. Construction on the Kirkland-Kompong Thom Academy and several other schools should begin in January and take three to four months to complete. The name is a tribute to Hamilton College founder Samuel Kirkland. Willemsen hopes to attend the opening ceremony and meet the students and the teachers. Each school, built on land donated by a village or added to an existing school, contains three to six classrooms furnished with desks and chairs. The school is then given to the village and recognized by the Cambodian government as a state school. It is staffed with official government teachers who follow the Ministry of Education curriculum. Uneducated, Borin Chea fled Cambodia in 1979 near the end of the Khmer Rouge's bloody rule, settling first in Canada and then New Hartford, near Utica. Now 49, Chea owns a small chemical plating company in nearby Rome. He has used his success to support four dozen family members who remain in Cambodia. Chea and his wife were invited to a dinner to hear about the school project. He immediately enlisted in the cause, offering to help bring a Cambodian dance troupe to town for a spring fundraiser. He also said he would seek support from the 80 to 90 Cambodian refugee families who live in the Utica area. "Education in Cambodia is still much needed," Chea said. "When I found out (what) Chris was doing, I have all my heart for her, and all my respect for her. Even though she is an American and lives well, she is reaching out to help those who are not as fortunate."