John and Mindi

By: Mindi Clark

Our inspiration to visit Cambodia in 2006 came from our good friend and fellow orchid farmer, Greg Braun, who knew we were traveling to Thailand with our teenage son, Ian, and daughter, Cheyenne. As we travel to Bangkok regularly for our orchid business, this trip would also incorporate some history and adventure travel with our children. Greg highly encouraged us to take a side trip to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat and some of the 200 plus surrounding temples before restrictions to visit the upper level in Angkor Wat were put into place.

Once in Bangkok, we booked a 4-day package trip to Siem Reap that included airfare, hotel, and tour guide. We normally wing it, but this was highly suggested, and it worked out well.

Our temple guide, Sarin, met us at the airport and got us all settled into what we thought was way too fancy of a hotel for us. We knew the surrounding area was filled with small villages of poor, local Cambodians living in very sparse palm fond huts built on stilts with little or no access to all amenities that we take for granted. The dichotomy was huge.

Sarin is a kind, well-educated local who spoke good English and was extremely knowledgeable about the history of his country and the centuries-old history of Angkor Wat and many of the surrounding temples. He was certainly proud of this heritage and as we got to know him better…slowly more details about his own life and the circumstances he grew up in became revealed. Learning about his life and the lives of others who survived the atrocities of a genocidal war was as educational as visiting the temples themselves. Yes, we did make it up into the upper recesses of Angkor Wat which are no longer accessible, but we also had the opportunity to visit Ta Prohm, Bayon, Banteay Srei and a few other temples that all had so many intricate details and their own history to learn about.

On our second day, Sarin pointed out a hand painted blue sign that was in a village as we drove by, stating that it was a water well he had built with funds from previous tourists like us. He explained the current wells used by villages are an open pit with dirty water that causes disease and can be deadly for small children who can fall in compared the new ones that have a capped concrete slab and a hand pump that pulls water directly out of the Tonle Sap Lake located nearby. The seed was planted. We learned that as an infant, Sarin only survived the Khmer Rouge war because of a United Nations camp located on the Thai border. Because he survived due to the generosity of others, he was inspired to help his countrymen in need as a way of giving back. He certainly had our interest. Our goal of learning and experiencing the temples of Cambodia became so much richer through the history and cultural lessons he would give us during our drives to and from the temples.

On our last day as Sarin was dropping us off at our hotel, we told him we would like to build a well. We met inside the lobby where we learned that for a mere $300, he would build a well for a family in need and he needed to know what names and location we would like to have put on the sign. We handed him cash and wrote down John, Mindi, Ian and Cheyenne Clark Hawaii USA. We thanked him as we parted ways and were hopeful that we would eventually learn about the well being built.

We spent a few more days in Bangkok finishing up some orchid business before we headed back to Hawaii.  Upon our arrival home, we were pleasantly surprised when our farm manager showed us emailed pictures of the water well being built as well as a picture of the receiving villagers standing on either side of the sign at the completed well. This all happened in a week’s time which really took us by surprise. Upon sharing this news with my parents, my mom instantly said that she wanted to build one too. I thought, if we could build one, we could build a hundred. For the first few years, I would wire funds directly to Sarin, but then learned that he was also involved with a small school, The Spitler School Foundation, and that we could join forces with Danny and Pam Spitler, the founders of the school. Although our focus has remained on building wells, we interact with Danny and Sarin both.

With the financial help of many families, friends and sometimes strangers, we recently hit our goal of 100. Many of the wells built have been in memorial of loved ones who have passed while others to honor an event, a graduating high school class or in recognition of how clean water improves lives.  We were sitting at 98 wells built when Sarin asked if I could fund two more as the wells at the Spitler School had broken.

The last two wells were funded by good friends of ours that requested one of the signs read…” A Tribute to our friends John & Melinda Clark.”  Ironically, our first well and our 100^th well bear our names. It is especially fitting that this 100^th well is at Spitler School.

None of this would have happened without the continued swift work of Sarin and his full documentation of the entire process of the wells being built and a final picture of the families standing proudly at the sign with their new well that provides them clean water.

Today I received funding or two more wells from a high school friend who has now reached her goal of five wells built. Yes…we will continue….

Thankful For… Donors

We are incredibly thankful for the generosity of our Spitler School donor community and their loyal support during our end of 2023 campaign. Every donation received, no matter the amount, makes a huge impact. But we wanted to recognize some Super Supporters who not only donated themselves but helped bring new donors into the Spitler School Foundation community.

• Mark and Jean Miller created a Matching Donation challenge which matched $7500 in donations.
• Samudd and Mealey Chhim, who introduced Spitler School to their friends and travel companions, encouraging them to consider a donation to the school.  AND, Samudd and Mealy wound up being our honored guests, by visiting school in late February.  

We are also extremely appreciative of John Pinette and his partner Kan, in their pivotal role in raising support for Stephen Mazujian Middle School. John and Kan have been involved with SMMS since its inception, have visited the campus many times, and continue to spearhead many fundraising efforts.  

We are also happy to facilitate funding for two major donors who have been instrumental in supporting the construction and the operations of the Nokorthom Community High School.

Thankful for… New Partnerships

In January we began a new partnership with GVI Charitable Programs. GVI Charitable Programs works to organize and provide expert volunteers for sustainable charitable projects worldwide. At Spitler Primary School, GVI volunteers provided training and support to our English teachers to enhance our current English Curriculum.

When asked to share her experience at Spitler School, GVI volunteer and recent University of Sheffield graduate from the UK, Catherine Fewster, stated:

“I was keen to make sure my time volunteering contributed to a greater aim of helping to improve children’s access to quality education worldwide. Not only do I feel I have fulfilled these intentions whilst volunteering at Spitler Primary School, but I have also learnt so much more from the staff and students. For example, by providing one-to-one support I have been able to discover students’ individual personalities and, as a result, learn how to adapt different teaching methods to ensure I could communicate my point more effectively.

It has also been a joy watching their English skills develop over the past month, to the point I could start having small conversations with them. Even for those whose English has not yet reached a conversational level, their warm and welcoming nature meant even non-verbal communication was a joy. The general eagerness, of both staff and students, to learn and develop their English skills has been inspiring and it has been a real pleasure working with them.”

~Catherine Fewster

We look forward to working with GVI Charitable Programs in the future.

Thankful for… Hardworking Volunteers

Roland Matus is a loyal and continuous member of the SSF community. He says that visiting the Spitler School eight years ago inspired him to start his own charitable organization, Education Can Change Lives. Earlier this year, Education Can Change Lives provided funds for several new desks for Spitler School. Roland then traveled to the school with friends and family (including his mother Imrene) and spent a day painting the new desks his organization donated.

We are always especially grateful for those who not only support the school financially but are willing to visit the school and roll up their sleeves for some hands-on involvement.

Although it took several months to complete the complicated process of shipping and clearing customs, we received the final delivery of almost 100 used computers from the good people at Apellis Pharmaceuticals. Due to this generous gift, we are able to provide more students with computer training – a skill that many children in rural communities do not have the opportunity to learn.