Be the Change Network

World Action Group welcomed independent author Kari Grady Grossman to Courtenay, British Columbia in Canada on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008. Zac Whyte of World Action Group interviewed Kari and George Grady Grossman after the event.

Kari Grady Grossman - “Giving” - World Action Group

“Peacemaker of the Year award winning author Kari Grady Grossman penned, Bones that Float - A Story of Adopting Cambodia, and is taking international development philosophies to the next level. Her work is inspiring everyone around her to be the change they want to see in the world.” —Zac Whyte, World Action Group

I was invited to talk about our school in Cambodia on the ABC-TV affiliate in Seattle, Washington. KOMO-TV’s Northwest Afternoon show was most interested in hearing about how “one person really can make a difference.”

I received this email from a Cambodian American viewer after the show….

“I was thrilled to have been home on Monday and have watched you on the NW Afternoon show. It was inspiring. I’m honor that you have chosen to adopt a Cambodian baby…how awesome is that. Your son is so blessed to have you. I’m Cambodian and came to the U.S. in the early 80’s. I’m very proud of you and what you have accomplished and in opening up your heart to the other side of the world and all that you have done for the Cambodian people.” Thank you, Sreytouch Ryser - Seattle

On Bones That Float: A response from a Cambodian American reader…

“Thank you for the inspirational story. I felt myself being part of Maly’s life. Her story is very similar to mine. It was as if I was reading about my life. It has always been my dream to write and to let many know what I and millions of Cambodian went through during the Khmer Rouge time. I feel the need to educate many about what war does to the spirit of human beings. I see so much violence and hatred among people and it is becoming more and more so. I just want to thank you for your powerful words in your book. I am grateful for your being to help the people of Cambodia. I wish I could only find the strength like you.” Thank you, Chanda Luker - Maine

It’s an honor to hear from the people who lived it, that I got it right….embed>

Last year, the Grady Grossman School had 92 kids in first grade, yet only 16 graduated from sixth. Fifty percent student drop-out begins in third grade because at 8 or 9 years old, children are needed to work. In the commune of Trapeang Chhor, where the Grady Grossman School is located, that means chopping down trees. 1.5 million people in the capital city of Phnom Penh cook with wood sticks. Currently, Trapeang Chhor is the largest source of these cooking sticks. Hardwood trees chopped up for cooking fuel is annihilating the forest, funding a culture of corruption, depleting the water source of the entire country, and keeping children out of school. In Trapeang Chhor, cooking fuel has everything to do with education.

Our goal is for every child to complete a primary education through 6th grade.Rather than build a secondary school which few could afford to attend, we’ve decided to make primary school attendance more economically feasible with a vocational training center where sustainable, income-generating skills are learned. Since students only attend school half the day, we intend to utilize the other half of the day to teach valuable life skills. The first project of The Abundant Forest Life Skills Training Center will address cooking fuel.

Cambodia needs an alternative. Who better than the children of Trapeang Chhor commune (aka Timber Town) to lead the way!

The Legacy Foundation, an Oregon based engineering development organization, has devised an ingenious solution to the cooking fuel problem in many poor regions of the world where natural resource depletion is taking it’s toll. Biomass briquettes are created from dead material collected from the ground: dead leaves, rice husks, saw dust, and even waste paper can become the raw material for a highly efficient and low cost cooking fuel.

Click here to watch a short video of the process.

Through the worldwide network of fuel briquette-rs we found Sanu Kaji, the Nepalese director of Foundation for Sustainable Technologies. Sanu brought briquette technology to Katmandu during a cooking fuel shortage and is now having success converting poor villages to sustainability. He is a finalist on World Challenge 2007, a worldwide competition that rewards people who “truly make a difference through enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level.” We’re excited to welcome Sanu Kaji to the Grady Grossman School. In December, we will begin the briquette training under Sanu’s guidance.Our next challenge will be to get people to buy our briquettes in the marketplace rather than wood sticks.

Stay tuned to this blog to find out how we intend to do that!

Do you have ideas or input that may help us achieve our goal?

September 13th, 2007 | by Angel Limb of WCVE Public Radio, Richmond, VA.

Cambodia’s long history of war and genocide has left thousands of orphans with little chance of a better life. WCVE Public Radio’s Angel Limb spoke with author Kari Grady Grossman at a Richmond homeschooling event about her efforts to improve the lives of Cambodia’s children.

Listen to the interview:

Dear Kari,I used the story of Amanda’s Thanksgiving dinner at China Garden in a sermon called “Table Manners” two weeks ago, and ended up (after the sermon) inviting the parish to read Bones That Float and do a discussion.

If you want to hear the sermon (and my best Kari Grady Grossman impression), click below.

Peace, Matt

Dear Matt,

Thank you so much for sharing.

Listen to a 6 minute “excerpt from ‘Table Manners,’ a sermon preached by the Rev. Matt Lincoln, Rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, North Haven, CT on September 2, 2007.”

Peace,

Kari