'Heart to Heart' School in Rural Cambodia : Silent Art Auction
I have been invited to participate in an upcoming silent art auction as part of the American Assistance for the Heart to Heart School in Rural Cambodia Project. This is the main fundraising event to raise the $13,000 necessary to construct the school in Cambodia. The Auction will feature photography, ceramics, paintings and prints in a wide range of styles and values from local and national artists.
The two paintings I have selected to donate are:
"Verdant Landscape I"
Image: ©Jennifer J L Jones
and
"Verdant Landscape II"
Image: ©Jennifer J L Jones
In January ABC News aired a story about an organization that builds schools in rural Cambodia, called American Assistance for Cambodia. One of this organization's many efforts - The Rural Schools Project - has built over 300 schools in rural areas of Cambodia since 1999. The project aims to repair damage done during the Khmer Rouge regime, when all institutions, including schools, were banned, and the people were forced into communist slave-labor farming communities.
Jennifer and Michael Schwartz were blown away by this news segment, and after doing some further research on their own, they decided to undertake a year-long fundraising effort (from Valentine’s Day 2007 to Valentine’s Day 2008 – hence the name “Heart to Heart”) to raise the $13,000 necessary to build one of these schools.
And why this project? They feel very passionate about the power of education and are excited about being able to do something with such a tangible and impacting result. The Cambodians in these villages are living in extreme poverty, and the young, uneducated girls are at serious risk of being kidnapped for the sex trade. This program gives these children a school - equipped with teachers, books, computers and Internet access - and with it, a future.
It's my hope that those of you in the area will come out to support such a worthy cause and add some new artwork to your collections!
View the ABC News story that started this whole adventure.
Read short history about the Cambodian genocide.
Find out more about Bernie Krisher, the founder of American Assistance for Cambodia.
Want to become more involved? Visit the American Assistance for Cambodia website.
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