Originally written in February of 2014, I just reposted this due to this week's landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage throughout the United States. 
***

Kansas and Arizona recently delved into legislation allowing legal discriminate by refusing services to people because of their sexual preference, gender identity, or marital status.  These states claim that the mere presence of the LGBT community violates their religious beliefs.  

Are they in good company?  What other countries in the world claim that their religion justifies legal opposition to homosexuality?

This is a short list of the 84 countries in the world that have laws against homosexuality:

Afghanistan
Iran
Syria
Libya
Saudi Arabia
Russia
Pakistan
Ukraine
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Sudan

And a few other scary places you may have heard of…

Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arizona?

In fact there are still anti-homosexuality laws on the books in 14 states, also including Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia, even though those laws were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 with Lawrence v. Texas. 

So to all of you “Patriots,” conservatives, religious fundamentalists, and others who think that homosexuality should be illegal, I want to ask you a serious question:

I’m NOT asking you to defend why your beliefs are aligned with those of Russia, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and other rogue or enemy nations, or places that are hotbeds of terrorism.

I am NOT asking you to consider why all other industrialized, affluent, and well-educated countries in the world do not share your opinion.  

I am certainly NOT asking you to change your beliefs,

but I AM asking you this:  

How about allowing others to exist peacefully and under the full protection of the law with their beliefs, just as you have the freedom to enjoy yours? 

That's it - just asking you to live and let live and perhaps watch the company your keep.  Whadya say?


-Norm  :-)

Every once in a great while a story comes along that defies our collective imagination, forcing us to recalibrate the limits of the human condition. The tale of Judd Reid is such a story. To get to the root of its telling we can't start with him holding up his arm in victory at a secret dojo in Osaka, utterly exhausted and physically broken but elated after becoming one of just a handful of people to get through the 100-man kumite, where he fought 100 black belts consecutively in bare-knuckled matches. Nor can we go back to Judd being handed the World Championship of Karate belt in 2010 on a flashbulb-lit stage in Japan, finally at the top of the martial arts mountain after struggling with 2nd and 3rd place finishes for years. Judd's story doesn't even start when he was hand picked by the founder of Kyushin karate, Sosai Mas Oyama, for 1,000 days of the world's most intensive and clandestine karate training, the "uchi deshi" Spartan living program in Tokyo in the early 1990's, becoming one of only two foreigners to ever graduate.

To truly witness the beating heart of the Judd Reid story we must zoom back 25 years to a chicken-legged Australian teenager with a preppy haircut back in Melbourne, Australia, obsessed with Bruce Lee movies and newly introduced to karate by instructor Shihan Eddie Emin. Spanning back through those decades, we first catch a glimpse of what led Judd to accomplish one of the most difficult tests of strength, skill, and mental determination in the history of athletic achievement. It's something in his eyes -- a glint of pugnacious resolve alarming in its intensity, oceans of belief that led him to the most rarified air of martial arts.

For a long time Judd's story has only been familiar to a small number of people; fellow karate traditionalists, fight enthusiasts, Australians cheering their home-town boy, and peers at the gym in Pattaya, Thailand where he trained the last 7 years. But now, thanks to his best friend and corner man, Anton Cavka, who shot an intimate documentary of Judd's journey called 100 Man Fight, the world will know.

The award-winning film is impossible to turn off from the start -- an image of a chiseled 205 lbs. vicious bear of a man, no longer the 160 lbs. wide-eyed teen, kicking a heavy bag with such speed and violent ferocity it almost shakes the movie screen. To put it bluntly, Judd is a badass. Even in the growing world of MMA and UFC badasses, he's one of the toughest there is - a legend. How else can you describe a man who gets through the real life kumite at 40 years of age, a feat only 18 other martial artists in history have ever accomplished? But quickly, Cavka's documentary humanizes the mythology -- showing us a gentle man making porridge in the morning with his girlfriend, driving to the gym for this daily torturous training session, genuflecting as he talks about the single mom who raised him. Cavka's pull-no-punches 56 minutes allow us to see the warrior in action but also meet a man hard-wired for humility, embodying the best of martial arts despite the pressures - or glory - of his undertaking.

100-Man Fight is taking Australia, Europe, and Asia by storm but still only available via website rental in the United States, where familiarity with the kumite is limited to the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, Bloodsport, based on the real life competition. Cavka's documentary gives us never before seen footage of Judd's early years, his mind-blowing training regime, competitions, and actual comprehensive footage of the kumite where he punched and kicked his way through 3 ½ hours of the most grueling physical abuse imaginable.

So many questions filled my head as I sat down with Cavka early one morning in a smoke-filled, end-of-the-world bar in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, grizzled patrons still drooping over their beers from the night before, unwilling to face the light outside. He patiently recounted Judd's story and told me all about the film.

Judd's superhuman training started as a 19-year old with the 1,000 dayuchi deshi under Sosai Mas Oyama who founded Kyokushin karate (a discipline UFC great George St. Pierre studied) and was the first man to complete the kumite in the 1950's. Judd's invite was unheard of for an outsider, and for those 3 years he was basically sequestered in secretive training, 7 days a week, as his instructors broke him physically and mentally in order to build him back up like molten steel. Communication with his own family was limited to one outgoing letter per year, but Reid confesses in a moment of levity that the hardest thing to get used to was the same breakfast for 3 years straight; a bowl of rice, miso soup, seaweed with an egg on top of it. There were many times he couldn't walk after doing 1,000 squats in a row, or straighten his legs for weeks when his limbs were beaten black from taking so many kicks, but it was such an honor to be taught by the demi-god of Kyokushin (who passed away in 1994 with almost 12 million disciples worldwide) that he never even considered quitting. Reid adapted to the grueling punishment and excelled in his training, coming to revere the elder teacher as the father he never had.

Going in as a 160 lbs. kid, Reid emerged as the 205 lbs. personification of violence that we see now. Cavka recalled the first time he met up with his friend at a Tokyo golf course after those three years. Amazed at Judd's new physique, he asked to see some of the karate he'd learned. Reid walked up to a 2-foot thick tree and kicked it, bare-shinned, with all his might. The tree cracked and swayed. Reid continued to leg strike it again and again until the whole trunk split across and fell to the ground, leaving Cavka with mouth agape but Reid unaffected.

Although finished with uchi deshi training, there was more work to be done. Sosai Oyama instilled in his students that there were two accomplishments every great karate fighter should pursue in his lifetime:

1) To be a world champion, and
2) To complete the 100-man kumite.

So Reid, still only 25, undertook the first, leading him through a storied professional career that certainly had its share of frustration. Tournament after tournament, year after year he came in 2nd and 3rd in international tournaments but never to be crowned champion. His response was always to train harder, still. Realizing his window was closing once he hit his mid 30's and it was time to try something different, Reid moved from Australia to the famed WKO Gym in Pattaya, Thailand. There he found a home inhabited by world-class fighters of all disciplines -- kickboxing, karate, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Sifu Ian McInnes. Cross training and immersion in a new system took him to the next level, and Reid finally won the world championship of karate in 2010 at the age of 39.

Content with the championship as the highlight of his karate career, Reid went back to teaching until he was invited to compete in the 100 Man Kumite in 2011 by the World Kumite Organization. The ultimate test of physical and mental capabilities, the kumite is so intense it's been compared to completing an Iron Man triathlon... with someone punching and kicking you the entire time. Few are even honored with an invite yet alone complete it, as they're required to fight -- not spar, but fight -- 100 consecutive black belts and top fighters from Japan with no headgear, no gloves, no pads, and no quarter given. Punching to the face is not allowed but it's perfectly okay to kick to the head at full force. Each fight goes on for 1½ minutes and cannot be stopped for any reason without being disqualified. A doctor is on site but not allowed to intercede for any reason until the fight is over, even in the short 30-second rest between rounds. Reid was hesitant to accept the invite as he'd seen the kumite fell greater men.

"When I first was asked to do the 100-man, I said "No way. I can't do it," said Reid, "It's too hard. I had seen some people go through it, and actually one of them was one of my opponents, Masada Akira."


Reid fought the karate world champion twice before as an opponent when Akira attempted the 100-man kumite years earlier. He faced him in round 10, when Akira was fresh, and again round 70 when Akira was delirious, a walking punching bag whose mind and body were in shock, leading him to start biting opponents.

"I guess he was just going into survival mode. I had never seen anything like it, so that's why I said no and continued to say 'no' for a while," said Reid.

However, haunted by the prophetic words of his former master, encouragement from Sifu McInnes, and honoring the battle his best friend, filmmaker Cavka, was facing with cancer at the time, Reid decided to go for it. He trained like a man possessed in Pattaya, 6 days a week for at least 6 hours a day. The regiment he put his body through brought him to new levels of conditioning in anticipation of the pounding he'd have to take; heavy weight training, carrying huge logs, sprinting up steep hills, burpees with a man on his back, hitting the heavy bag for an hour straight, and letting other professionals tee off on him with punches as kicks while he stood still and absorbed them. Most days he lost 10 lbs. or more just from sweating in the oppressive Thai heat.

Then, he was ready. The milestone date of the kumite, October 22, 2011 was upon him. It was held in a heavily guarded underground dojo beneath Osaka's Perfectionary Gymnasium with Cavka's camera the only one rolling. Reid was supported by his mother and sister in attendance, his Thai girlfriend, Mo, Cavka, and Nicholas Pettas, his co-student and only other foreigner to complete the 1,000-day training.

As the fights started, Reid was a beast, handily beating all of his master opponents. But as black belt after black belt fought him to the best of their capabilities, the physical toll began to mount. He rolled through the first 50 fights, his otherworldly conditioning training paying off, but hit a wall around fight 70. The last 20 fights or so he was past exhausted, unable to use his legs to defend or kick, wavering with dizziness, taking a tsunami of punishment from his opponents but never giving in. The story, and the documentary, ends right where we first see it start, with Reid summoning his last ounce of willpower for just one more fight, his 100th, completing the 100-man kumite to honor his late master and the dream he'd followed since he was a teen.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever been through," Reid said, "But having my family and friends there meant the world to me. I feel like one of the luckiest martial artists in the world, having had great teachers."

Fittingly, the next day he was at a children's tournament in that same dojo signing autographs like nothing had happened when most men or even professional martial artists would have been bedridden for a week. When doctors examined him they said it looked like he'd been in multiple car crashes, his knee tendon severed, shoulder ripped, legs and torso black with bruises, and his whole body cramping severely. But the smile was on his face as always while he laughed and encouraged the kids, proving that karate wasn't just what Judd Reid did, but who he'd become.

Reid has since moved back to Melbourne and opened up his own burgeoning karate studios, giving boxing training to an Australian Rules football team, and enjoying quiet time with his family now that he's finished competing in martial arts. He puts all of his focus and determination into teaching kids the valuable lessons he learned through karate.

"It's all about making absolute sacrifices to achieve what you want in life," Reid told me via a Skype call to Australia. "Whether that's in a classroom or the dojo or a karate tournament. Preparation is everything in life, isn't it? Now I can take my love and my passion and give it all back to the students."

After watching the documentary and getting to know Judd, it's not lost on him how full circle his journey has come; from a punchy teenager to helping teach teens, from 1,000 days training to fighting 100 men, from longtime runner up to world champion, and from revering his master to being a teacher, himself. But no matter where you want to pick up the Judd Reid story, it's sure to live on, thanks to Cavka's inspiring documentary.

To see real video of the kumite or rent the documentary, go to www.100ManFight.com.

 I left my guesthouse after midnight here in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia, after a work call to the U.S., ready to have a bunch of beers and a big fancy meal.  It’s not a good idea to carry your wallet out at night in case shit gets real, so I had $30 cash in my pocket, more than enough for a great birthday celebration.

I was walking down the street in my grimy part of town when this little street girl approached me.  She was dirty, barefoot walking on the street of broken glass and garbage, holding a baby in a filthy rag wrapped around her shoulder.  She put on a big smile and asked me if I had a few thousand Reil to spare (about 50 cents.)  Conditioned by the all-day siege of tuk tuk drivers, beggars, and street hustlers trying to sell stuff, my first reaction was an adamant “no.”  But then she put her hand to her mouth like she was hungry, not just wanted money. 

“You want food?  Are you hungry?” I asked, stopping in my tracks.

“Yes! Yes!” she said, and even the big brown eyed baby looked optimistic.   

So I said, “Come on, I’ll buy you something to eat,” and motioned down the street where there was an outdoor food stand.  She motioned to her friends on the street – two other dirty little girls who were out there begging with her.  Street kids usually work in packs so when one sees a tourist with his wallet open feeling generous, they quickly approach and try to get a little handout, too.  So now our party of 4 walked down the street, the girls smiling and laughing but then checking their enthusiasm, looking up at my face to make sure I was serious and we were really going to get them something to eat.  Another little friend approached and they put on pouts and big eyes when they asked if she could come, too.  Sure, why the hell not – 5 plates of food should only cost $10 or so and I’d still have plenty for a meal and a few beers.

I aimed for the food stand but they tugged at my arm and pointed to a corner store. 

“You want to get food in there, instead?”

“Yes, please,” said the spokesperson of the group, the only one who could speak a little broken English.

Sure, no problem, so we walked into the little convenience store, much to the chagrin of the lady behind the counter.  The store was stocked with the usual items that would be any normal kid’s dream; potato chips, ice cream, and chocolate bars.  The kids danced up and down the aisles taking it all in, then congregated around the end of one aisle, in deep discussions.  I went over and asked what they wanted and they handed me a package of 8 metal tins wrapped in plastic, as if to get my approval. 

“What’s this?  Don’t you want candy or something?” I asked.

“It’s for my little sister.  For her to eat,” the girl said.

“How much is it?” I asked, looking for the price tag.

“Three dollars,” she said, reciting the cost from memory because it was unmarked.

“Sure thing, whatever you want.” 

The girl bounced the baby up and down and she smiled bigger than the moon.  I really looked at them for the first time.  In the light of the store I could see that it wasn’t a baby at all she held, but a toddler.  Her head was slightly too big and her tiny arms, rickety as they reached out and grabbed my finger and held on.

“How old is she?”  I asked her big sister.

“She’s 2.”  I thought she was a 1-year old baby but realized she was just malnourished. 

“And you?” I guessed she was 8.

“I’m 12.”

The big sister had the best smile you’ve ever seen but past that she looked rough; greasy unkempt hair, bruises and marks all over her unwashed body, and some sort of circular scars on her face and neck.  Was it a skin infection?  Cigarette burns?  Unfortunately, that’s all too common for street kids, as adults purposely scar them because it will evoke sympathy and then send them out to beg but then take all their earnings.

“Ok, each of you could get one thing and then meet me at the front to pay.” 

They acted like any other preteen girls – laughing as they deliberated, changing their minds, running back and forth, and generally being silly.  Finally, they approached the front register and put their food items of choice on the counter.

They were all tins of baby formula.

“What is this?  This is what you all want?” I asked.

“Yes, please.”  She explained that they could drink the enriched baby formula like a meal replacement and it would fill them up and provide nutrition more than anything else they might chose.  When given the choice to buy any candy, sweet, or snack food in the store, these hungry street kids opted for calories that could keep them alive.

I was shocked but they waited patiently with big smiles of appreciation, high fiving me one by one as the worker rang them up.  It came to $15, half of my birthday beer and dinner money for the night.

What did $15 mean to me?  What does it mean to them?  How opulent my regular life where a nice meal in a restaurant isn’t even remarkable, when a birthday celebration is a foregone conclusion, not a luxury I really appreciated.  These girls begged in the streets all day, never went to school, never had been to a doctor, lived in squalor, and looked half their age from malnutrition, yet would never experience what I considered even a typical meal.

Baby formula.

I looked at the cash in my hand.  Fuck it, this wasn’t OK with me.

“Wait a second,” I told the worker, and the little girl’s hearts rose up in their throats, suddenly horrified that I ‘d changed my mind about paying that much money. 

“They’re all getting candy, too,” I told the worker, and pointed to a rack of chocolate near the register.  “Go ahead and pick whatever you want and we’ll get both,” I told the girls.

They jumped up and down, ecstatic, and ran over to look everything over and chose.  They came back all holding the same thing – heart-shaped boxes of gourmet Valentines Day chocolates.  Damn, they have some good taste for street kids!  But a promise is a promise so we put it on the counter and the worker added it up and I paid, $28 in total. 

The girls thanked me in Khmer or English when possible, proudly displaying their new treasure trove of sustenance as I snapped this photo. 

We parted ways on the street after more smiles and warm goodbyes, the baby sister not wanting to let go of my finger.  I walked down the street toward the bar.  No dinner for me, just enough for one beer.  They disappeared the other way into the busy neon street, stopping only to put their hands out to tourists, walking away with heart shaped boxes of chocolate, walking away carrying my heart, and for a second there the looked like any other happy little kids.  

I walked into the bar and ordered a beer and drank it, slowly.  When it was done, I paid with my last $2 and left to go home.  It was the best birthday beer I’ve ever had.

-Norm   :-)

They shivered, they shook, and they yelled in shock, blue lipped with the cold.  They jumped in the frigid Moscow lake, did a few laps in the broken ice and jumped out having done a great thing.  There were costumes and fanfare, droves of supporters cheering on, and a lot of celebrating afterward as the Cold Plunge went off without a hitch – or a heart attack.  65 expatriates and Muscovites plunged into the wintery water to raise over $13,000 and counting to help the homeless in Moscow.

Originally spearheaded by a group of Australians and Kiwis, the Cold Plunge sensation has now become an international collaboration several season in.  This year’s organizers, Tommas Coldrick and Anna Kharzeeva are from England and Russia, respectively, and there were 16 other nationalities participating.

Take a quick look at this awesome video of the event, courtesy of the Solidarity Club.

Or check out the Facebook page with photos courtesy of Dave’s Photo Studio.

I caught up with Anna and asked her a few questions once she’d dried up and warmed:

"As a Russian person co-organising this mainly expat event, would you say it's common for Russian people to help raise awareness for people living on the streets. Are there any similar events that are spear headed by Russians, to support local charities?"

"First of all, I am very grateful to my Australian friends for getting me involved in this great fundraiser. I was helping out last year but since last year's organiser Karen Percy left, she asked me to take over which I was happy to do. I have organised a few fundraisers before, but never for the homeless. People living in the streets is generally an issue that gets very little attention in Russia. I have to be honest, I don't think I would have started helping these people if it wasn't for my Aussie and Kiwi friends. I noticed when speaking to Russian people about sponsoring the event, that to many of them the issue is not a top priority, it takes work to convince people it's a good cause. That's why I think one of the main goals of the event is to raise awareness as well as money. Having said that, there are some Russian people who dedicate their lives to helping the homeless, like Caritas, one of the charities we support, but I think these types of people are more hands on charity workers rather than fundraisers."

As for Mr. Coldrick, still ruddy cheeked after his best back-stroking polar bear impersonation, I inquired, "How did you, a Head Teacher at a British school in Moscow, get involved in a charity event supporting homeless people in the city?"

"I took part in the event last year, taking the plunge during my 2nd week in Moscow. I really liked what the event stood for, so I was extremely honoured when Anna approached me, to ask if I'd like to co-organise Cold Plunge for the Homeless 2014 with her. Of course I said yes. My career is very demanding, and Anna also has a lot on her plate, running 'Samovar Cook & Chat Club', but with just 3 weeks to organise the whole event, I think we did a pretty good job. I got our school, First Light Kindergarten, involved too. The owners, Natasha and Sergey Svetlov, sponsered the event and provided transport for the plungers. Several members of staff took the plunge and others volunteered. Even the parents of the kids who attend our school got involved and gave generous donations through the GoFundMe account. I really hope to be invloved again next year for Cold Plunge for the Homeless 2015."

There's plenty of work yet to be done to keep the men, women, children and families of Moscow safe and warm during the winter season, so it's not too late to contribute.  Please consider a humble donation here.

Thanks again from all who were involved and on behalf of Moscow's homeless population!

I received an email from a reader the other day with these questions:  

"What would be the best advice for young adults trying to travel or move out the country?  And which countries are best to move to?"

Super questions!  My best advice for young adults trying to move out of the country would be to travel while you’re young.  Do it now when you don’t mind long bus rides and bad beds and you don’t have a lot keeping you back in the states  (or your home country.)  Life has a way of anchoring you as you go on, and pretty soon you might have a good job, an apartment lease, car payments, a house, or a relationships or marriage that keeps you grounded.  So do it now!  

I would also suggest that you form a plan how you are going to fund the trip a good ways out – maybe 6 months? - and work your butt off until that date arrives.  You’ll have to sacrifice a lot; eating out, nights partying with friends, the newest clothes or concert tickets, but all of that money will be essential if you’re going to travel. In that time you have to prepare, read everything you can about your destination countries, learn about the cultures, watch documentaries, and read some travel articles and books that will give you a taste of real life on the road, too. 

Last thing: be careful.  The rest of the world is not a fantasy land and most people have problems that we can’t even imagine in the US.  So getting too drunk, walking around alone, messing with drugs, getting in with the wrong crowd, etc. could lead you into situations you can’t get out of.  Slow play the partying and keep your eyes open and you’ll be fine.  

The other question, "Where should you go?"

That all depends on what you’re looking for, but I’m going to take a wild guess and say you want someplace warm, with a beach, that’s not too expensive, where there are other backpackers?  That opens up one set of possibilities, but others want to volunteer, or to experience authentic culture more than partying and lying on the beach.  It also makes a huge difference if you’re just going backpacking around or trying to live there for a year and work.

When I chose a country to live in (not just vacation!) I have a rough guide of criteria, based on priorities.  Make your own list and then do some research what might be a good fit.    

Tier 1
• Cheap – lodging around $300-$500 a month, total budget around $1,500 a month.
• Nice beach – a beautiful white sand beach goes a long way in balancing out all other factors!
• Friendly people – Then again, I don’t care how beautiful a country is, if the people aren’t warm and friendly, I’ll keep it moving.  I’m not down with snobbery or arrogance.
• Safe politically – don’t be freaked out by one news story in a country (if we judged the US by that same standard we’d never want to visit!) but also don’t mess with places where a coup or political violence is occurring.  Same thing goes for countries with terrorism, religious radicals, or drug cartel problems.
• Good WIFI (no kidding – I write/work as I live abroad so I’m screwed without a serviceable internet connection)
• City, town, or village?  There are pros and cons to each as you balance amenities, convenience, laid back vibe, nature, etc.

Tier 2
• Healthy, cheap food – I want to say “Yummmmm,” for $3 a meal, not for $7 a meal and up.  
• Culture – things to do like visiting temples, ruins, archeological sites, natural wonders, etc.
• Night life – of course you want a little bit of fun, but are you looking for mellow beach bars or clubbing all night long?
• Safety walking the streets
• Ability to get work –teaching English, teaching yoga, or working at a hostel or bar are some of the best possibilities for local employment
• Some tourism, but not overrun – the problem you’ll encounter is that the places you want to go, everyone else in the world wants to go there, too.  The trick is to find a place that is ahead of the curve, not way behind it when it will be too crowded/too expensive/soulless.  
• Diversity of population – I like a place that has a healthy blend of backpackers, expatriates, vactioners, and plenty of locals who still live there – not just work there.  That’s harder to find than you’d think!


Tier 3
• Speak some English – you should attempt to learn the local lingo but it really helps when they speak a few words of English.
• Proximity – The southern tip of Patagonia in Argentina is amazing, but don’t think you’re just a hop, skip, and jump away from main cities.  It’s fun to be in a city/country where you can get around easily, hopping buses and even small flights around the country or region easily.  
• Good gym – since I’m living in these countries I want to go to the gym every day and especially love boxing or muay thai, etc., but maybe you just want to surf or do yoga, etc.
• Family friendly – I like locations that don’t just have a bunch of 20 year old kids but a cross section of real life, including families and people who are old (my age.)

Based on those criteria, some great spots I’d suggest:  Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Cuba (I’m dying to go there!), India, Sri Lanka, Israel, Jordan, Ghana, Senegal, Vietnam (good one,) Cambodia, Thailand (a little too touristy for my liking,) Laos, Mynmar, the Philippines, and Bali in Indonesia.  That’s a short list.  You can do the Caribbean and Europe when you’re older, plus they’re a little too expensive. 

I hope that helps, and happy travels!

-Norm  :-)

To answer, let me first introduce you to the Spitler School, a private elementary school in the rural village of Ang Chagn Chass outside Siem Reap in rural Cambodia, founded and funded by an American businessman and a great Cambodian social worker.  The children in that village are very poor like most kids here, and without the school most of them would be in the fields working instead of getting any sort of education.  To illustrate just how important this school is, let me give you a few statistics about child poverty in Cambodia:

• About 66% of the country lives in poverty and over one third of the population lives below the desperate poverty line, defined as 45 cents a day.
• More than 50% of people in Cambodia are under 21 years old.
• The number of street children in Cambodia is increasing at a rate of 20% per year.  They are often forced into begging, crime, or the sex industry.
• A large portion of children between the ages of 5 and 17 are already working to survive, nearly 700,000 in a country of 14 million.  Of those, nearly 75% of them have dropped out of school.
• Almost 40 percent of children in Cambodia are malnourished, often just existing on a couple portions of rice a day.
• Girls always suffer the worst from the effects of this poverty and lack of societal safety net, as they basically have no opportunities in life if their basic education is discontinued.  
  

But here’s the great news – there is a proven, direct solution to improve their circumstances almost immediately and start reversing the cycles of desperate poverty!  It’s been shown time and again, all over the world, that educating and empowering girls first, and then women, is the best way to improve the quality of their lives, the lives of families and then whole communities.  The problem is daunting but the solution is crystal clear and well within reach!

So what are we doing about it?  
With your help, we're putting together a book with stories and essays (in Khmer and English) and photos and drawings by the kids.  We’ll also add information about their lives, the village they live in, their school, and Cambodia.  It But instead of just printing out a few copies and pass them out to the kids, we’re going to self publish the book and sell it via Amazon.com online, in both print and eBook formats. 

That means the world will know these children’s stories, and these children will have direct access to an unlimited international audience, changing their lives and broadening their possibilities forever.  All of the money from book sales will go right back to funding the Spitler school and the children’s continued education in perpetuity.  We expect this to become a yearly project and hope to expand to other schools and countries, giving kids all over the world a chance to stay in school and gain the education needed to nudge them out of poverty.

To get started, I am trying to raise $5k to cover the nuts and bolts of the project – like publishing  costs, printing, transportation, research expenses, and producing the book as a legitimate published commodity that we can sell worldwide.

How can you help?  
Please watch a short video about the school, read more, or make a humble donation at:

http://www.gofundme.com/6l1pbk