Sunday, September 9, 2012

Melinda's Update on Things to do at Wat Opot

Please check out and click on the link at what Melinda's update has to say about  Crafts and jewellery at Wat Opot....... I am so impressed how creative the children are.

Click here for link to 'Jewellery Time'

Wat Opot Trip September / October 2012

Hi to all and any of you following this blog.   Tomorrow on the 11th September I am flying out to my beloved Wat Opot Childrens community  in Southern Cambodia for 5 weeks. It has been two years nearly to the day that I was last there with the children teaching Jewellery making skills.  As you might be aware the length in between my last trip has been mostly caused by the impact of the Christchurch Earth Quakes of 2010/2011. 

This trip I will be taking with me  25 kilo's of beading supplies and wire. From the progress reports I have been getting from  Wat Opot  /   Jewellery making for profit and   Aunt Winnies Boutique , the craft project is moving forward with enthusiasm.  It is so humbling to see that something positive has come from this all.

It helps when you have the wonderful enthusiasm of Melinda Lies who has predominately based herself at Wat Opot for the past two and a half years and has been continuing to inject energy into this project at Wat Opot and into the lives of the children there. 

This time I will also be bringing with me another type of Creative Empowerment skills for the children to learn and have fun with through Sound and movement.  It should be a blast!

So stay tuned and I will try to update the blog with photo's of craft endeavors while I am there.

I would like to say a special thanks to Jena McKenzie who has donated to me $500NZ to be put towards supplies for the craft project.  It will be well spent on supplies on my arrival.

When I arrive I will spend 2-3 days in Phnom Penh and have arranged to meet up with Melinda so we can get to work buying more supplies and looking at more places that the children's Jewelley creations can go to be sold in Phnom Penh.   Then it will be off to see the children and get re acquainted with them.

So until later this week

Signing off to finish packing.....

How this Journey Began

Fund Raising Journey 2008 / 2009

Hi My Name is Fiona,
I am ‘FEEBS’ Paua flowers & Flowers For Cambodia NZ ’
In August 2007 after reading an article in the Readers Digest NZ I created and followed a great opportunity to visit Project Wat Opot in the Takeo Provence Cambodia.
Whilst there I was so inspired by what they were trying achieving there I knew I had to return to help with what skills I had, and to share them with them.

To my knowledge Project Wat Opot up until January 2007 was an orphanage for children, some of whom were dying from the HIV virus. For 8 years prior to 2007 Wat Opot saw many of the children and some of their parents succumb to the virus.

January 2007 brought a new trail medication which then gave an opportunity for for the children to have prolonged life. Project Wat Opot was faced with a new challenge with the children that were HIV positive, it was impossible for them to return to a normal community. Discrimination and Stigma.
They have now changed their status as an orphanage to a ‘Community’ with a vision to be completely self sufficient.
They are doing this by welcoming the learning of any trades that can offer them the potential to bring money and to learn a trade that can help support their community.

The Trade that I can teach them is jewellery making for the commercial market of which I have a vast range of experience in this field.

What I am aiming to achieve in my time there in July 2009 is not only to teach them techniques of the jewellery trade but to look at their own resources and help develop some products that can make and will be sellable to the rapidly growing tourist trade.

I now have another passionate person joining me in going to Project Wat Opot . Marijke Lups is an Arts and Crafts teacher in Chirstchurch New Zealand and is completely and utterly inspired about what is happening at Wat Opot as I was when I first read about Wat Opot.
We fly out for Cambodia from New Zealand on the 13th July 2009 and will be at the project for about 5 weeks. While there we will be teaching our skills of Art and crafts and how to be creativily resourceful with what resources they have to make some stunning jewelly and Craft products.

Follow my journey with Wat Opot ...read the posts I have added below to keep you updated.
Check out their Wat Opot's new website and be inspired yourself
http://www.watopot.org/