Hello, and happy holidays!
I can’t believe it’s December! It’s so warm here, my brain is having a hard time switching over to “Christmas” mode! We had a great month, and some very exciting things happened with the Water Project!
First, on November 1st, 157 vulnerable children received safe drinking water at school! Warm Blankets Switzerland drilled a well and installed a water filtration system in the Stoeng Keo elementary school! The school is located in a very poor village, and previously they used rainwater, but it wasn’t safe to drink because of how they stored it, and during the dry season they ran out completely. But, now they have clean drinking water piped into each classroom. We want to say a HUGE thank you to all of our donors around the world who make these kinds of projects possible! The school still needs new bathrooms, and we’re hoping that we can also help with this project in 2024.
We celebrated our first “Bon Om Touk (water festival) as a family. This Cambodian holiday celebrates the end of the rainy season with boat races! We joined in the festivities one afternoon and enjoyed watching longboats race down the river as the community cheered them on.
This month we also installed a water filter in one more church which provides free English classes and computer classes to low income children from the surrounding community. Benjamin and the pastor’s daughter enjoyed helping the guys work.
Lukas had to make a quick trip to Thailand to apply for a new passport. When he returned to Cambodia, he met with the Institute of Technology in Phnom Penh (the capital city). They were very interested and supportive of the water project, and agreed to try to make a piece for us which we use in the filter casing. This piece was originally designed by the University of Bern in Switzerland, we own the patent and we’ve been looking for a local partner to produce them in-country. About a week later they sent us a sample and it’s perfect, they did such a beautiful job! When you look at the photos, and realize that they are working on antique machines, it’s even more impressive! This is a huge step forward in the project! Not only does this piece make the filters safer and easier to maintain, it also means that the filter casings are 100% made in Cambodia!
Benjamin started swim lessons. It’s a group of five very active, funny little kids, and they can speak five different languages between them! It’s so chaotic, that the parents just sit in wonder and laugh for most of the lesson, as the incredibly gifted instructor works his magic.
We celebrated Thanksgiving with three other American families! We’re feeling more and more at home in Kampot as we make new friends, both Cambodian and western. I forgot to take photos, but it was a delicious event!
We’ve been working on the bi-annual Warm Blankets Newsletter. This is an old fashioned paper newsletter sent to your postbox, let us know if you want to be added to the mailing list (It’s in German). It should arrive before Christmas.
Last week we got sick, and when I say sick, I mean really sick! I won’t go into details, but most of the food in the fridge went bad because the only things we consumed were electrolyte drinks and crackers! We’ve fully recovered, but it knocked us out for nearly a week!
And finally, we had a very unwelcome visitor last Tuesday. The neighbour’s said that they’ve NEVER seen a snake this big on the property. Their two black dogs in the video are the real heroes of the week! In the end, the snake was taken home and made into a soup by the lady down the street.
Well, that’s the highlights from the month. We wish you a very happy holiday season!
Here’s the photo link, enjoy! https://photos.app.goo.gl/
Love,
The Graf Family
Also, I’m including a couple of special giving opportunities for the holiday season, in case you are trying to find a good gift for a loved one. Just email me if you are interested, and we can sort out the details and what you need for your gift (photos, video clips, a card, etc.).
- A reusable water bottles, toothbrush and soap for one child $4
- Closed water jug with spout to store filtered water $7
- A water pump $40
- A filter system installed at one location – $120
- A rainwater tank and stand $150
USA donations are processed through Faith Center church in Eugene, Oregon.
https://forms.ministryforms.
Switzerland and other international donations are processed through Warm Blankets Switzerland www.warmblankets.ch
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