Water Wells Construction

Construction for six new water wells is underway in the poor villages of Angkor Thom thanks to the support of Jo Duthie, Jane Washington, Ellen Enochs, Janis Blinn and Janie Humphrey.

While many tourists visit the temples of Angkor Thom everyday, just behind these ancient wonders poor villagers live without access to a clean water supply. Only a few homes in the area have access to water wells, while most drink from holes in the earth that collect water. The location for each of these new wells is between four homes grouped together without access to clean water. Each well will provide clean water to approximately 30 people.

Dictionary Fund Program

Thank you as well to Anna Matturro whose donation has been used to set up a Dictionary Fund Program for the Language School at Wat Thmei. In this program English / Khmer, Thai / Khmer, and Japanese / Khmer dictionaries are offered to all students at half cost. Students who participate in the program pay half the cost and JWOC supplements the other half.

Rather than giving away free supplies, we want to offer an invaluable learning tool at an affordable price to all the students, while also giving a sense of ownership in their studies. The students who participate in the program are those that truly want to continue their studies. In the first week, 12 students have signed up their new dictionaries, and a total of over 50 dictionaries were purchased through the Dictionary Fund Program.

Language School Improvements

Many thanks to Alison Modrovsky and Kailey Slusher, two girls from Park City, Utah, who raised money by selling arts and crafts at their school and around Park City. They made cards, bags, name tags, and gift boxes and have started an organization called Coins 2 Kids to help impecunious children.

A big thank you as well to Stephen "Ferg" Ferguson, and all of his supporters. Ferg is a Scot currently teaching English in the Norther territory of Australia who ran a marathon to raise money for the Language School. At 3hr 39m 52sec, we are very impressed!

With their support and donations the Language School at Wat Thmei received a much needed new painting. Students came voluntarily on the weekends to wash desks, sand walls, and garden. Thank you to all the students who came out to help!

New electrical wiring and equipment was also installed, including six fluorescent lights and four new ceiling fans. Students can now study after sunset, and the fans will definitely help cool the classroom during the hot months... More Photos

Website Goes Live

Welcome to Journeys Within Our Community website! We hope that this site will provide you with an introduction to our organization, details about our current and future projects, and information about how you can help. Please check back on our site for regular updates. If you notice any problems or have any suggestions, please contact John.

Bangkok Office Up and Running

The Journeys Within Our Community Bangkok Office is up and running! Brandon and John, Chairman and Director respectively, have handled all the complicated logisitics of opening the JWOC headquarters in Bangkok so we can begin the exciting work of our community projects.