Capreol woman collecting money to help Cambodia's poor

A Greater Sudbury woman will hold a pair of events in early October to help raise funds for a school for children, including many orphans, in a small Cambodian village.

Tammy Durand will first hold a licenced dance entitled Crank it Up in Cape-Town in the Capreol Arena upstairs hall on Saturday, Oct. 3. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

"I have 150 (tickets) sold so far," said the Capreol native. "It's going to be good. It can hold a maximum 275 people."

Advance tickets can be purchased at the Northern Credit Union Capreol branch, Joan's Variety and Ace Hardware.

On Monday, Oct. 5, Durand plans to bicycle to Toronto via North Bay, taking Highway 11 and many back roads, to both collect money for and raise awareness about her campaign.

"I'm going to take four nights to do it," she said. "My rationale is the promotion of this. It's a 509-kilometre trip. Children would walk that in 40 days if there was a food bank at the other end. Awareness is a big thing, too. I've had 31 years of living in a bubble."

The proceeds from the fundraisers will go to Durand's "ABCs and Rice Campaign" in aid of the Supporting the Orphans and Indigent People of Cambodia for Development (SOID).

Durand met the man behind SOID, a former monk named Sok Vana, while visiting Cambodia as part of a tourist group in June. She was taking a much-needed vacation after 10 years of working in the transportation field.

SOID runs an orphanage, as well as a free school for the impoverished children of Veal, a small village near Siem Reap, a city located northwest of the capital of Phnom Penh.

"If you have seen Foster Parents Plan or World Vision commercials, that's exactly what it is -- except it means so much more when you are there," she said.

Families of students at the school are given a ration of rice each month, while students get a nourishing meal each morning, five days a week.

Read more!

Vietnam and Cambodia open three more border gates

Cambodia and Vietnam have agreed to open three more border gates in late this month and early next month to meet the increasing demand on transport of passengers and goods between the two sides.

The pairs of border gates are in Xa Mat of Vietnam’s Tay Ninh province and Trapeang Phlong of Cambodia’s Kompong Cham province, Tinh Bien of Vietnam’s An Giang province and Phnom Den of Cambodia’s Takeo province, and Ha Tien of Vietnam’s An Giang province and Lork Kam Pot of Cambodia’s Campot province.

With the three new border gates, the two countries will have five border gates for automobiles to enter and exit through under bilateral agreement on transport signed in 2005. (VNA) Read more!

Area Crop Walk Schedule

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Allentown CROP Walk, sponsored by the Lehigh County Conference of Churches, will be held Oct. 11.Registration begins at 1 p.m. at St. Timothy's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 140 S. Ott St., Allentown, and the walk begins at 1:30 p.m. For information, call Tom Smith at 610-433-6421.Bethlehem will hold its 25th CROP Walk on Oct. 11. Registration for the 5K walk begins at 1 p.m. under the Hill-to-Hill Bridge, Main and Spring streets.About 25 percent of the money raised in Bethlehem benefits local food pantries, soup kitchens, and agencies that serve the poor. A shorter alternate route is available for those walking with babies or children or for those who have mobility issues. For those who cannot walk but want to support the effort, go to http://www.cropwalkonline.org/.

For information, call Matt Piszel,

610-216-3567.

The walks raise money to end hunger and poverty in our community and around the world. Allentown and Bethlehem join Easton and about 2,000 communities across the country to address the causes of hunger, aid refugees, and help the victims of natural disasters.

CROP Walks are an interfaith effort of Church World Service working in 80 countries worldwide. The agency is helping Somali refugees, working to alleviate hunger in Cambodia, and addressing shelter, water, and sanitation needs for earthquake victims in Indonesia.

Church World Service relies on volunteerism to keep its administrative costs very low. For more information, visit http://www.churchworldservice.org/ .Boyertown will hold its walk Sunday starting at the Boyertown Area Multi Service, 301 W. Spring St. Registration 12:30 p.m., walk 1 p.m. For information, call the Rev. David M. Lewis, 610-323-2353.

Other walks Oct. 11 include:

Birdsboro: Registration 12:30 p.m., walk 2 p.m., Daniel Boone Homestead, 500 Daniel Boone Road Contact: Angie Kutz, 610-689-0425.

Blairstown, N.J.: Walk: 1 p.m., Blair Academy. Contact: Kaye Evans, evansk@blair.edu

Doylestown: Doylestown UMC, 320 E. Swamp Road. Contact: Mr. and Mrs. James Brennan, 215-230-9808.

Easton: Registration, 1 p.m., walk, 1:30 p.m., St. John's Lutheran Church, 330 Ferry St. Contact: Julie DeMotte, 610-923-8473.

Fleetwood: Starting at Fleetwood High School, 803 N. Richmond St. Registration 12:30 p.m., walk 1 p.m. Contact, Cheryl Weiser, 610-683-8010.

Lehighton: Walk begins at 2 p.m. at Lehigh Canal Park, Bridge Street,

Weissport. Contact: Shirley Radler, 610-377-4278.

North Penn/Lansdale: Trinity Lutheran Church, 1000 W. Main St., Lansdale. Registration 1 p.m., walk 1:30 p.m. Contact: Tom Allebach, 215-855-5454.

Palmerton: Starting location: St. John's Lutheran Church, 2915 Fireline Road, Lower Towamensing Township. Registration 1 p.m., walk 1:30 p.m. Contact: Debbie George, 610-826-5667.

Pennridge: Starting locations: St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Chestnut Street and Dill Avenue, Perkasie and The Golden Mile, Scout Cabin, Lenape Park, Sellersville. Registration for both are 12:30 p.m. and walks begin at 1 p.m. Contact: Rev. Dennis Hartman, 215-795-2923.

Quakertown: Starting location: Memorial Park at 600 Mill St. Registration noon, walk 1 p.m. Contact: Linda Cooper, 215-536-0395.

Royersford: Starting location: Royersford Baptist Church, 452 S. Lewis Road. Contact: Rev. Jim Roth, 610-489-0990.

CROP walks on Oct. 18 include:

Collegeville/Trappe: Registration, 12:30 p.m. and walk or run 1 p.m. at Trinity UCC, 532 E. Main Street, Collegeville. This walk offers two options: a two-mile walk or a 5K run, going in opposite directions. Contact: two-mile walk: Susan Bishop, 610-489-9626; 5K Run, Sunny Hallanan, 610-489-7564. Register with Sunny with a $15 minimum to receive a free t-shirt.

Indian Valley, Souderton: Registration 1:30 p.m., walk 2 p.m., Zion

Mennonite Church, 149 E. Cherry Lane, Souderton. Contact: Wayne Ledger, 610-316-4362.

Upper Perkiomen: Starting location: 400 Main St., Red Hill. Registration 12:30 p.m., walk 1 p.m. Contact: Linda Connell, 215-679-4112.

Other CROP walks:

Stroudsburg: Nov. 14, St. Matthew's Parish Center, 200 Brodhead Ave., East Stroudsburg. Contact, James Johnston, 570-242-8168.

Info: CROP Walk 888-297-2767 or http://www.cropwalk.org . Read more!