Fundraiser to help HIV-positive in Cambodia

photo courtesy Pierre Lefebvre
Children in Cambodia draw water from one of the wells funded by Pierre Lefebvre’s last fundraiser in 2007.

November 5, 2010
By Glenn Cook
Saint City News, Canada

A St. Albert man is hoping that a fundraiser here in the city will help bring hope to people suffering from HIV and AIDS half a world away in Cambodia.

Pierre Lefebvre, who owns and operates PJL Garage Door Services out of his home in Lacombe Park, is putting the finishing touches on a dinner and dance fundraiser in support of the Cambodia Hope Centre, a hospice that houses HIV-positive families in the southeast Asian country.

Lefebvre hosted a similar fundraiser in 2007, collecting $11,500 to drill water wells in the country — more than three times what he had hoped.

“It was a month from the time I came up with the idea to the time we had the party, so I never would have thought of raising $11,500, that’s for sure,” he said, adding that he is hoping for a similar total this time around.

After the 2007 fundraiser, Lefebvre travelled with McCaffery to Cambodia to see the money he had raised put into action.

“He showed me the poorest of the poor areas,” Lefebvre said, adding that those who come to this year’s fundraiser will be treated to a photo slideshow from his 2007 trip. “I had never been to a third-world [country] or anything; it was definitely an eye-opener.”

“It made me pretty proud of how everyone in St. Albert came together to support this,” he added. “It wasn’t me; it was the people … just know how generous people are knowing I couldn’t give them a tax receipt or anything. They gave from their heart, and it’s amazing.”

The Cambodia Hope Centre is run by Brandon McCaffery, a fellow St. Albertan and Lefevbre’s long-time friend.

Lefebvre said he got involved raising money for the centre after McCaffrey, who has been in Cambodia since 2000, returned to Canada in 2007 to help his mother after she had a stroke.

“We were going to the gym, working out, and he was telling me about all the things he sees there,” he said. “I said to my wife, ‘What do you think if I have a fundraiser for Brandon?’”

While the initial estimate for each well was $1,400 US plus labour, Lefebvre and McCaffrey were able to stretch those dollars a lot further and do many more projects.

“We did 15 water wells, we did a dugout — one town wanted a dugout — and we [installed] solar power [panels] on the hospice that Brandon has there,” he said. “We also sponsored a teacher for six months to teach English; that cost $300.”

This time around, the money will go towards food, staffing and basic operational costs for the hospice.

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world, having been ravaged by a civil war that raged from the late 1960s to the late 1990s.

Families are allowed to stay at the hospice for six to 12 months at a time. While there, treatment drugs are provided by the Bill Gates Foundation, and the women are learning to sew toques that are sold in New Zealand, but Lefebvre and McCaffrey hope to bring them to Alberta soon as well.

“To take someone that was begging on the streets and make them self-sufficient, you can’t say enough about that,” he said, adding that McCaffrey hopes the money the women earn from the sale of the toques will help the hospice pay for itself within a year.

“They’ll be able to make the decision on what they are helping with,” he added. “These ladies with HIV will be helping out villages and might bring them a better understanding [of the disease].”

While the need is great, Lefebvre said he couldn’t see himself putting on a fundraiser more often than every three years, because he doesn’t want to wear down businesses with requests for sponsorships or donations.

“Every three years would be more comfortable for me. Then you’re not knocking on the doors of people constantly,” he said. “I think they appreciate it — I know I sure would, as a business owner — not getting bugged by the same person every year for a good cause.”

The Cambodia Hope Centre fundraiser will be held on Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Kinsmen Banquet Centre (47 Riel Dr.) in St. Albert. Cocktails are at 5:30 p.m., with dinner to follow at 6:30 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by classic rock band The Tomatoes.

Tickets are $25 each and are available by calling Lefebvre at 780-975-4895 or by visiting D’Arcy’s Meat Market (#118, 205 Carnegie Dr.).

There will also be a silent auction at the event, and Lefevbre is still looking for donations for that. Anyone who can donate items is asked to call him at 780-975-4895.