Children
We are very happy to say that all of the children are developing very well. They are a real family and have notably few quarrels. In addition their school results are satisfactory and the students are making good progress. The older children in the final grades are taking extra lessons, which are supported by additional donations that WWCF has received. Last year, 4 children qualified for high school and they are now studying Hotel & Management and Finance & Accounting courses.

Computers
One of our regular sponsors from America, Phil Hayes, has recently donated five laptop computers to replace the ancient desktops which use too much electricity. We now have the use of 10 work stations which allows us to teach the computer lessons in a better (and easier) way.

Visitors from Rotterdam
Sander and Wilma Schinkelshoek from Rotterdam heard about Samrong whilst enjoying a vacation in Vietnam and Cambodia and then spent a few days at the project. The children enjoyed their company. Playing games is always nice and fun!

Volunteers
There were no volunteers present during last September and October but a few volunteers were present at Samrong again from the beginning of November. We are investing considerable time and effort in identifying opportunities to make the availability and contribution of volunteers more consistent, planned and predictable. To help achieve this, we are currently working together with two U.K. based volunteer organizations in order to find volunteers who are willing to spend a longer period of time at Samrong (6 months or longer). Our experience with longer term volunteers has been very positive; we believe it is better for the children and leads to better and longer lasting results for the project

Website
Regular news updates from Cambodia can be found on our website: www.wwcf.nl/en. In addition, you can take a look in our small web shop where you will find WWCF-stamps and small souvenirs made by the Samrong children

Lightning strikes
The damage caused by lightning in the spring of 2011 has been repaired and we have installed a lightning protector on the roof of the staffhouse. Furthermore the grid from the city of Phnom Penh is expanding and electricity poles are getting closer to the project. It is not as cheap as solar power but 'power from the grid' is very useful as a back-up.

“The boss on the spot”
At the moment and for a period of about 2 months Sjef Philipsen, the initiator and founder of Samrong Farm, is on the spot. He reports that they are very busy taking in the rice harvest. This harvest may be as much as 12.000 kilos, which would be a new record and a testament to the hard work of all the staff and children at Samrong. 

Sponsors and partners
 Several former Samrong volunteers are now active fundraisers in their home-countries (often the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia or the U.S.A.). Some have chosen to target their donations specifically to support the extra lessons mentioned above.

In March 2012 WWCF, together with some English ex-volunteers, will participate in the Responsible Business Event in London. Our long term partner, Rijk Zwaan, will also join us for the presentations that we have planned. During this 2-day event, a range of businesses and over 150 charity and voluntary organizations will meet in an attempt to form strategic alliances and partnerships and to reinforce each other in delivering environmental, economic and social value:

 http://www.responsiblebusinessevent.org

On behalf of WWCF we thank all our sponsors and partners for their contributions and we wish everyone a very prosperous 2012