Hannukah greetings and Merry Christmas from Cambodia!! Where else would you find Santa's helper with a Buddhist monk??...

We left Cambodia only physically back in September… We’ve been carrying Savong and the kids with us in our hearts and thoughts since that time… Of course there were emails, and Skype - and several opportunities to share our life-changing experience with groups in Melbourne, and even a group of 800 delegates attending the Engage Today conference in Calgary, Canada…


And on every occasion, the reactions were the same - people were touched by our story and many moved to tears as they shared our experience. From a gathering at my parents’ house, to an address at the National Council of Jewish Women on a cold rainy night, the Calgary conference and the FANTASIC fundraising activities at UR1… We’ve been blessed with donations worth several thousand dollars to bring back to the school and orphanage – so to all of you that have been so generous - THANK YOU!!


Friends of Nili and Uri Palti – Your money was used for a water tank for the orphanage, so the kids can take a shower without having to pump the water out of the ground and sit in a small tub while pouring water over their heads with a cup… And the toilet no longer needs a bucket to be flushed… THANK YOU!!

The new water tank at the orphanage

The plaque reads ‘A gift from Nili and Friends, Melbourne, Australia, September 2009′…

National Council of Jewish Women – Your money was used to buy new clothes and shoes for the kids – you know, a few hundred dollars go long, long, long way here in Cambodia… We took ALL 25 orphans to the market and they each got to choose new clothes and shoes!! For some of the kids these were THE FIRST EVER brand new clothes they ever got (usually they rely on hand-me-downs), some girls got their first ever dresses, a 3 year old boy got his first pair of shoes… Stay tuned for more photos, but a huge THANK YOU in the meantime!!

The kids were VERY EXCITED to go to the market and buy new clothes!!...

Do you think Am likes her new dress?... :))))

The team at UR1 – The funds you have raised from our Cambodia Blessings Market will be used for the new Chicken Coop and Fish Farm project – so the orphanage can generate an income rather than jest reply on donations. You have been amazing – in your generosity, enthusiasm and support THANK YOU!! (Especially to Megan and the Customer Care team!!)

One of the new fish ponds being dug, area all fenced-in

The chicken coop area

I’d also like to thank Bec and Chris, Mary and Tony and the Customer Care team for ‘adopting’ 3 of our orphans – we now have 25 orphans, up from the 17 we had when we left in September. THANK YOU for opening your hearts to these beautiful children!!