A Change of Guard

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Tuesday 18 June 2013

[Philadelphia's] Buckingham teenager raises money, awareness for Cambodia

Young and committed
17-year-old Central Bucks High School East student Emily Horn has raised $15,000 for the organization through selling various silk products made by Cambodians.

Emily Horn Emily Horn at an orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, home to 30 children. The organization is seeking self-reliance through mushroom farming and hand-crafting bracelets. Emily is selling their wares in the community.

Posted: Monday, June 17, 2013
Emily Horn’s desire to help the people of Cambodia began as she and her family were living in Singapore.
While there, she attended a school that worked with Tabitha, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the lives of Cambodians and to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency.
When the Horn family moved back to the United States in 2009, Emily took her commitment to Cambodia with her.
For the last few years, the 17-year-old Central Bucks High School East student has been working to raise awareness and money for Cambodia. As a volunteer with Tabitha, Emily has, to date, raised $15,000 for the organization through selling various silk products made by Cambodians.
The money is helping to employ Cambodians, as well as to build wells and irrigation systems and homes to withstand monsoons, and to provide other much-needed support for the impoverished Southeast Asian nation.
“Just the smallest things in the long run can influence lives,” said Emily. “Twenty-five dollars for a scarf … any little thing can help.”
The Horn home in Buckingham is her base of operations. In the corner of the living room is a rack of the items for sale: silk scarves, ties, bags and more.

Several times a year, Emily sells the silk products at Central Bucks-area churches and fairs. On those occasions, she brings along information to relate the story behind the products. All the money goes back to Tabitha, and in many cases, the venues where she sells the products can help direct how a percentage of the proceeds are spent, whether for buying livestock, building wells, etc.
Tabitha’s goal is to break the cycle of poverty. It has developed a cottage industry around handmade silk products and runs a savings program to teach workers how to manage their money. Through this program, families are eligible to purchase “dream” items, such as cooking pots and piglets.
Emily has been to Cambodia twice, including a trip last year that saw her visiting the killing fields and other locations associated with the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s, when nearly 2 million people were killed by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
“The Pol Pot regime left the whole country in poverty,” said Emily.
Last year, she also participated in a project to build 10 small houses on stilts in a rural community. These simple tin structures are a major improvement over many Cambodian dwellings and are better equipped to withstand the monsoons that plague the country.
The experience gave Emily a chance to see firsthand the people she was helping.
“It was definitely a neat experience — knowing you’re doing something and being face-to-face with the people,” she says.
Emily is also helping to raise money for the construction of a women’s hospital in Cambodia and she has raised about $800 selling bracelets to benefit a Cambodian orphanage. The teen has sold many of the bracelets to her CB East classmates. Each band comes with a photo of an orphan and a note about his or her dream for the future.
Emily’s dream for the future involves someday doing medical relief work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or World Health Organization.
Growing up abroad and traveling extensively has instilled in her a lifetime commitment to helping others, even if they live thousands of miles away.
“It opened my eyes to caring about more than just myself,” she said.
Her parents, Kendrick and Sabine, marvel at the support the Central Bucks community has shown their daughter and at her unwavering commitment.
“We’re really proud of her,” said her father.

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