Operation Lyhou: Help build a school in Cambodia

The Power of 10

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 04:52:00 +0000

Join the Power of 10: A Great Campaign for Cambodia

Today I became aware of a great campaign started by a nonprofit, PEPY, which is also working to bring more education and hope to Cambodia. On October 10th (10/10/10), they launched a campaign to connect and bring people together for this cause. They ask that for 10 days each person donates $10 and tells 10 friends, who tell 10 friends who donate $10 dollars and so on to spark a chain reaction of aid for Cambodia.

(Video created by PEPY)

If you are interested in helping the Cambodia cause please spread the love and extend this to 10 people and you may also:

Donate to OL
Donate to PEPY

This campaign was a great idea to connect people and draw awareness for this important cause. Thanks for checking it out!

Shirt Report!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Tue, 11 May 2010 21:23:00 +0000

After a recent fundraiser at a local elementary school (details on that to come soon...) I did a tally on OL's shirt sales to see the progress we have made selling shirts.

We have sold 219 OL shirts to date! Here is the break down:

Shirts are still for sale and can be bought through this very site. Check it out!

Goodbye '09

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:59:00 +0000

OL Year End Progress

It has been an exciting first few months for Operation Lyhou. We have had various different fundraisers, sold a few hundred t-shirts and expanded across multiple schools. Thank you for all your support, and hopefully we can continue this success for 2010!

Want to get involved? Email Heather at operationlyhou@gmail.com or see the "Help" section in the menu bar on the site.

Textbook $

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 04:41:00 +0000

Buy or rent your textbooks at TextBookShop.com , each new purchase gives OL $5.

Operation Lyhou is teaming up with textbookstop for this great fundraiser... just in time for 2nd semester.

If you have buy books for your classes, why not do it easily (and cheaply) online, all the while helping to build a school in Cambodia... its win win.

Renting from textbookshop will save you an average of 75% on textbooks, they even pay for you shipping to return them at the end of the semester... and once again OL gets $5.

You can buy them or rent them... either way its easy, cheap and charitable.

Thanks for supporting our efforts!

Studyblue Success!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:07:00 +0000

Over the holidays OL did a fundraiser with the academic social networking site Studyblue (www.studyblue.com). For every person we who signed up for the site from OL's referal they donated $1 towards the cause. We ended up raking in $425!

Thank you everyone who helped and signed up!

Photo Shoot

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:40:00 +0000

Thank you Katherine Finnegan (photographer) and Emma (model) for these stunning OL t-shirt shots. For more information on Katherine's photography visit http://khfinnegan.carbonmade.com/.

OL Video

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:29:00 +0000

Thank you to Rachel Starbuck (Kent Denver) for putting together this presentation.

Photos are from a variety of sources from my original Cambodia trip in 2008 including Kate Berry (Amherst Head) and Ellie Johnson (George Washington University). Music by Matisyahu: "One Day"

New Team

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:55:00 +0000

Recently, friends have shown interest in helping me with OL in their own schools and communities. Here is a brief introduction of these new team members!

KATE BERRY

I am 20 years old and a sophomore at Amherst College in MA. I am a political science major with a focus on international development and gender politics. Trips to Cambodia in 2006 and 2008 spurred my interests in global education, sex trafficking, genocide, and international aid.

JORDAN GRIFFITH

I am 18 years old and a freshman at the University of Washington in Seattle. I plan on majoring in International Studies with an emphasis on comparative religion. My personal experience in Cambodia has inspired me to give back to my community, on local and global levels, always striving to positively influence the world around me.

RACHEL STARBUCK

My name is Rachel Starbuck and I am an eighth grader at the Kent Denver School. In my free time I enjoy horse back riding, skiing and running. I joined to help out and hopefully make a change in the world.

Donate

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:24:00 +0000

If you have made your way to this page, thank you for considering donating!

You can either donated securely through Paypal here
Or you can send a check made out to American Assistance for Cambodia directly to:

Operation Lyhou

2456 Oak Ridge Rd

Sedalia, CO 80135

Every little bit helps, thank you for your generosity! If you have any questions please contact us at operationlyhou@gmail.com.

Donate

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:36:00 +0000

If you have made your way to this page, thank you for considering donating!

You can either donated securely through Paypal here
Or you can send a check made out to American Assistance for Cambodia directly to:

Operation Lyhou

2456 Oak Ridge Rd

Sedalia, CO 80135

Every little bit helps, thank you for your generosity! If you have any questions please contact us at operationlyhou@gmail.com.

Suki Thai

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:12:00 +0000

For the month of October, Suki Thai will be teaming up with Operation Lyhou to donate $1.50 per bowl to help the mission.

I will be distributing coupons throughout campus and Boulder (you must have one to donate the $1.50). Make sure to check it out for some delicious noodles and a great fundraiser!

MTV No Exit

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:52:00 +0000

MTV Exit campaign seeks to raise awareness about the increasing problem of human trafficking and the sex trade industry.

Cambodia has one of the largest sex trade industries in the world. There are around 30,000 children sexually exploited* in Cambodia today. The recruiters target families and young girls from rural, poor areas. Often, they are deceived into thinking they are going to go work in the city to make a better life for themselves. In actuality, many enter a world of slavery, pain and no exit. Because illiterate girls are most likely to become victims of human-trafficking, education is key to end this cycle.

For more information check out Dateline's special on the sex industry in Cambodia as well as MTV Exit.

* Estimate from Mu Soc Hu; Cambodia's minister of women's affairs

NBC 9 News

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:03:00 +0000

Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:33:00 +0000

After starting this project less than 4 weeks ago, OL has made huge progress. OL has raised nearly $2000 dollars.

That is nearly 2/13 of the overall goal. Which at first seems like a huge task, however when broken up, as we can see, is manageable. Thanks for all the support so far and please keep spreading the word!

Colorado Daily

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:22:00 +0000

Recently OL was featured in The Colorado Daily newspaper. To read up on it check it out at Colorado Daily's website or pick one up!

The Beginning

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:17:00 +0000

Today (8/14/09) I have decided to officially launch this campaign to raise $13,000 to build a school in rural cambodia. I am going to use this blog to record my efforts and progress.

In 2004 students at the Overlake School (my highschool) had fundraised and founded Overlake’s sister school in Pailin, Cambodia. Working with the American Assistance for Cambodia Foundation their funds were matched by the world bank. This was enough to provide a school, satellite dish, computers and a teacher.

I was inspired to start this project by a community service trip to that very school. In March of 2008 about twenty Overlake students took a life changing trip to teach and build a play ground. I will never forget how generous and welcoming the village was to all of us.

It was shocking at first to me how much these kids loved going to school and learning. I know that Lyhou even goes on during breaks to research and learn from the computer. Children of these villages squeeze everything that they can out of school which is why they are so beneficial.

The most important realization I had was that we have so much in common with these kids. Typically we think of the less fortunate as unrelatable and different. But in actuality, they were funny, they teased their siblings, played football and dominoes and made really great friends. These kids are just like us, the only difference is they were given a whole lot less.

I plan to implement some sort of new campaign every eight weeks until I raise the $13,000 to build the school. The minimum to donate is $10,000 but for the extra few grand I can provide a solar panel, computer and salary for a good English teacher.

I have already met with Bernard Krisher of American Assistance for Cambodia to discuss my project and finalize it. I have an account set up with AAC where the money will go. When I raise my goal AAC and I will discuss where the school is most needed and beneficial.

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Buy a shirt

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:25:00 +0000

Purchase to the right ---------->

About the shirt

Scoop and V-necks for women
Classic cut for men
Self-designed

Why American Apparel?

Environmentally friendly
Fair wages
Quality fabric

Thanks for your support, I will keep you updated on OL's progress!

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The Issues

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:44:00 +0000

Travel, originally uploaded by Lyhou.

Under the reign of the Khmer Rouge (1975 - 1979) nearly ⅕th of Cambodia’s population was killed. The main targets were those of the educated, professional class. After the civil war, the education system which was once envied by the rest of south east Asia was now nearly completely destructed.

According to the World Bank, in 1999 the male literacy rate was 56.8% and the female rate a mere 21.1%. The national concencus also estimates that in 1998 only 48% of adults over 25 had completed their primary school education².

Out of 1000 primary school students only twenty seven will graduate from upper secondary school.

According to the Asian Development Bank's Education for All Development Index Cambodia ranks 103 out of 120 other developing nations¹.

Girls in particular are often left behind because school is either too far away or costs too much and the families chose to send their sons instead. In fact, male school attendance rate averages 20% higher in remote areas than females¹. These illiterate girls are the most vulnerable to become victims of human trafficking. Making education even more valuable and necesary to every child in Cambodia.

In order to rebuild the country and help them escape the cycle of poverty education is crucial. The key towards ending poverty is creating sustainable solutions such as building schools, fueling businesses through microfinancing and teaching useful skills. If there was one thing I have learned from my trip last year it is that Cambodians are incredibly hard working people. The most beneficial thing we can do is help them help themselves.

¹"ADB: Cambodian education system still off track." Xinhua News Agency (June 23, 2008) Global Issues in Context. Gale. Overlake School. Retrieved 17 July 2009, from Global Issues in Context
via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/gic/start.do?prodId=GIC

²"Cambodia: Education." Economist Intelligence Unit: Country ViewsWire (June 19, 2003) Global Issues in Context. Gale. Overlake School. Retrieved 17 July 2009, from Global Issues in Context
via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/gic/start.do?prodId=GIC

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T-Shirt Design

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:43:00 +0000

Picture 7, originally uploaded by Lyhou.

Today I came up with the t-shirt design. Because it is summer and I am not on campus yet I decided to start raising money through t-shirts using social networks.

I knew that I wanted a modern design. I want to make high quality shirts that may as well be on the shelves hip stores like urban outfitters. So I decided the print has to be big and artsy and the shirt color has to be vibrant and cool. I wanted to make sure it represented my cause. I noticed that in 50% of my pictures from Cambodia the kids at the school were holding up the peace sign. Even across the globe in a tiny rural village people know this sign. The peace sign represents just how connected everyone in the world is. No matter where you are it is a symbol of hope, love and happiness.

I was going through some old things and saw this print I designed in 11th grade during studio art. It was a hand holding up the peace sign and I liked it so much I kept both the prints and it’s original stamp I created. This is actually the only thing I have kept through 3 years of high school art. I had originally planned to have one of my artistic friends design the shirts but luckily my only successful high school art project works just perfectly instead.

Through Operation Lyhuo I hope to spread this symbol of hope and bring children in rural Cambodia a brighter future.

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How To Help

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Starbuck) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:06:00 +0000

If you have found your way here, thank you for wanting to help our project. We are really open to any suggestions but here are a few ideas that could really make a difference!

Get informed
Purchase a T-shirt
Make a Donation
Subscribe to the blog to keep updated on events and fundraisers

Donate Services
- Entertainment
- Venues
- Food
- Advertisement
Donate Goods
- Merchandise
- Supplies
Fundraising ideas
Join our team to fundraise at your high school or college
Tell your friends!