Friday, February 10, 2012

One Southern Oregon teenager is taking a trans-continental trip on a bicycle for PE


Ashland Resident Quincy Briscoe is biking across America. The 18-year old dipped his rear tire in the Atlantic Ocean a few weeks ago and is now biking to the Pacific Ocean.


Quincy graduated from high school last May and is taking the year off to explore the world. He's also cycling for a cause; he is raising money for "Project Enlighten" to help build a rice bank in Cambodia. He says that's what gets him through the difficult days.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

From sea to shining sea.

Wonderful article on the adventures of Quincy Briscoe and Project Enlighten!


Quincy Briscoe stuck his back tire in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday and started pedaling, but that's hardly where his journey began.
The former Ashland High School student is riding his bike across the U.S. in an effort to raise money for an outreach organization that funds educational programs for poverty-stricken Cambodians and others struggling around the globe.
The 18-year-old is attempting to raise $1 for each of the 3,034 miles he expects to travel on his lone ride across the southern U.S., he said.


http://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120126/NEWS02/201260306

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Thank you for all your support and generosity in 2011. We’ve had great success thanks to your belief in our programs; with your support we’ve helped hundreds of amazing youth realize the dream of education. You are:

*Supporting the University Education of five young women and two young men in Siem Reap, Cambodia through our scholarship program.


*Enriching the lives of over 400 villagers in Ban Navangtai in central Laos. Our school restoration project has already begun to greatly improve the quality of life in the village and will provide youth with greater education opportunities in the future. With continued support our vision is to help stimulate sustainable economic opportunities for local villagers through this investment in education.

* Allowing the dream of vocational training and scholarships for youth at the Landmine Museum, Siem Reap Cambodia. Two young women received sewing machines and vocational training for tailoring and sewing, while two young men learned the skilled trade of hair design and barbering. 

* Helping provide over 500 disadvantaged children a creative platform to foster and promote expression and self-confidence, through art, with our support for the Giant Puppet Project.

* Empowering over 600 youth at our VDCA supported free education schools! We are addressing the environmental and health issues effecting children and young people (HIV/AIDS awareness, general hygiene, drug abuse, child trafficking, pollution, climate change, global warming, environmental sustainability).

* Helping forcibly displaced Burmese Refugees with the resettlement process by providing computer training and access to educational materials and books. Project Enlighten continues its support of the Burmese Refugee Community Association (RCEA) in Houston, Texas, through RCEA's new initiative, the establishment of a Community Learning Center.


*When tragedy struck with the massive monsoonal flooding in SE Asia we were able to respond. You helped provide food, water and vital medicine to people in central Laos and just outside of Siem Reap, Cambodia, a rice bank was developed to provide rice during a critical food shortage.

With your continued support as we move into this next year, we hope to accomplish much more!

Thank you all so much, wishing you a happy and healthy 2012!

Asad & Olivia and the entire PE Team.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Raise the Roof in Laos!


The value of Education can never be underestimated. Especially in Laos where we care currently in our third and final phase of building in Ban Navangtai village. We URGENTLY need to raise $5000 to finish the construction and roof for this school. 



The  Ban  Navangtai  New  School  Project  will  have the  ability  to  greatly improve the quality  of  life  in  the  Navangtai  Village  by  providing  youth  with  greater  education opportunities and stimulating sustainable economic opportunities for local villagers. This school restoration project will serve as another model for future school projects identified within Navangtai Village.

We have a wonderful opportunity thanks to Patty Bustamante who has offered to match all donations up to $2500! Please see Patty's note attached below. 

Please follow this link to help us get the matching donations:  http://idbyp.blogspot.com/2011/05/join-me-in-raising-funds-for-project.html

Phouva Vorapanya has recently returned from his village in Laos and we wanted to take the opportunity to share some pictures of the progress so far with the school building. https://picasaweb.google.com/103080945342781607607/Laos2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCMWHrbyzsb-1qQE&feat=directlink

Help us make a difference in the lives of these Ban Navangtai children and make a childhood dream come true.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Fundraiser to Empower!

We have an opportunity to empower some wonderful students through our Scholarship program! We need your support for this to become a reality! We have partnered with "Chip In Tip" to raise much needed funds for our Scholarship program.

http://chipintip.com/share/member/project_enlighten

We truly need your help with funding this vital program. Please allow me to share two of our current Scholarship recipients who will benefit from your kindness.


Ut Channy:

Faculty of Study: Law

Bio: The early years of Channy's life was bittersweet. Her mother died giving birth to her youngest sister, good medical technology was not available to her family. Her father worked hard to try to support her family but ultimately had to place each of his daughters with other family members. Channy moved to Siem Reap to continue her studies and to get a job. It was difficult, she had many challenges but never felt hopeless because she was willing to do what she could and because she loves her studies. One saying she always remembers is "[Those] whom do good actions will get good results." Channy has been involved in various humanitarian efforts within her community, prior to receiving her scholarship from Project Enlighten.


Da Ratanak Theany

Faculty of Study: Law/Medical Field

Bio: Theany was born on the Cambodia/Thailand border in North Camp Site II Refugee Camp while her father was doing medical work for displaced Cambodian Refugees with the International Red Cross. The family moved Kandal Province when she was young and her father made ends meet teaching French. She was raised in a family of nine but lost her oldest sister to blood cancer. Her parents spent all they had in hope of curing their daughter's illness to no avail. The family helped harvest crops, grew their own vegetables and managed to keep afloat by working together. Theany's brother found employment and has helped sustain the family with his income. Each year she got closer to finishing high school, she observed more and more young women in her school stopping their educational studies. Society pressures challenged the women in her community and many believed that education was wasted on women because men are considered income earners. Theany is inspired by the worldview on human rights and gender equality, however, worries about tradition and culture in the countryside influencing prejudice and inequality towards women. She has worked with The Youth Council of Cambodia to help educate others about democracy and improvement of the country. Theany has spent much of her extra time, outside of work and preparing for University, learning to speak, read and write English at the Volunteer Development Children's Association school which Project Enlighten supports. She hopes to share with others what she learns and help improve society and dreams of a professional career in Academia, Diplomacy or the Medical field.

For 16 cents a day or $5 a month through "Chip in Tip" you can help us support our students like Theany and Channy. Please consider supporting this vital program, so we can continue to provide these empowering scholarships for University! You can make a difference!

http://chipintip.com/share/member/project_enlighten

Peace and Respect,



Asad Rahman & Olivia Lorge