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The Bassac river can be very wide in places, and at one point 30 miles south of Phnom Penh, the river splits into two. The split leaves an egg shaped track of land where my family of friends live and work. This is a tropical, undeveloped island; it remains completely agrarian, an isolated remnant of the Pol Pot era.

The people living here have very little. Although they grow a variety of foods, most everything they produce must be sold at market. For themselves, their staple is rice, and they eat little else. Their homes are primitive and their kitchens are dangerous. The majority still cook with wood or charcoal, and ventilation is poor. They have water wells with hand pumps, but no central plumbing, no filtration systems, no running water, and no refridgeration. Electricity is available for a few hours each night, but it is undependable. There are no paved roads, central sewage, or waste collection. There are no trucks or automobiles, and the old wooden ferry from shore cannot carry heavy loads.

Hard work, misery, and setbacks are a part of daily life. Some will work 12 hours each day in the tropical rain and sun, earning little or nothing, but no one complains. AIDS has left single mothers and orphaned children, and some men have taken to drinking and gambling. There is no resident doctor or health clinic. The average life expectancy is 58 years, over 50 percent of the population is under 15 years, and the average age is 19 years. Weariness, sickness, and disease are commonplace in the young and old.

During the the late 1970's, in the years of Pol Pot, the time in Cambodia known as the Khmer Rouge, executions were commonplace. Millions of Khmer people died during this three year reign of terror. Anyone who appeared educated, or suspected of anything contrary to the ultra conservative communist ideology of the Khmer Rouge, was executed. At the time, out of a population of eight million, two million Khmer people are believed to have died from starvation or murder.

The Khmer Rouge purged the population of anyone suspected to be educated, or a leader, teacher, or free thinker. Just the fact that one wore reading glasses was proof enough for the executioner that a person was educated. The creative arts were supressed, and those who practiced art, song, or dance were reported, captured, tourtured, and executed. All these crimes are documented and the evidence remains for us today. This genocide happened in our own lifetime, and it is the reason why there are so many young people and so few elders or teachers today.

At certain times when high ranking officials or people of special merit were executed, their wives would be left behind. This same small island on the Bassac river which I write to you about is historically known to be the place where such women were sent for exile, but this ugly fact is rarely mentioned.

Some of the brightest young adults on this island have seen images of the outside world, and they realize the severity of the situation they are up against. They realize they need outside help, and are willing to listen and learn from us how they might influence their island for a better future. They have committed themselves to study foreign languages, economics, government, journalism, business, and whatever is necessary. For some, their life experiences are so narrow they do not know where to begin, but they are willing to listen, learn, and put our ideas into practice.

They realize that education is their way out of poverty. Only a few will have the opportunity to go into Phnom Penh to study, but they must also work full time. Even when they are lucky enough to find work in Phnom Penh, they will continue to eat only rice and deny themselves any comfort, putting all their money toward education. They see the prosperity and freedom the west has to offer, and they dream that they too can have this for themselves and their families.

Now we have an opportunity to teach and influence hundreds of young Khmer children on this island about key principles of ecology, good health, cleanliness, organic farming, and sustainable living. My challenge is to influence and educate the brightest young minds on this island and to provide for them a few of the basic necessities we take for granted. I will provide a decent home in Phnom Penh for six students, and see to it that they eat properly, something other than the white rice and sugary sweets to which they are accustomed. I will help with tuition, books, shoes, clothing, bicycles, and provide a computer and internet service in our home.

If you care visit or assist in anyway, please write to me for more details.