Rice for Cambodian Families - $26

Give nourishing food, and the hope for a better life, to the poorest of the poor -- families who used to scavenge on the massive, toxic garbage dump near Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Steung Meanchey is a massive open-air garbage dump on the outskirts of Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh. Imagine the desperate poverty that has led people to live near -- even in -- this toxic, dangerous "hell on earth," picking through the trash for anything that can be sold to recyclers to buy another day of food.

With the worldwide spike in the price of staple foods over the past year and a half, all the hard, dangerous work these families perform is often not enough even to afford plain rice. An estimated 45% of Cambodia's children suffer from malnutrition, but for children working in the dump, the rate is closer to 100%.

There is hope from an unlikely source: Cambodian Children's Fund (CCF), founded and led by Scott Neeson, former Hollywood film executive, who walked away from a successful 26-year career and sold his assets in order to help the poorest of the poor.

Cambodian Children's Fund is working to help the families and children of the Steung Meanchey garbage dump. CCF's subsidized rice distribution plan has become the lynchpin of the community food assistance program. Families who would otherwise be unable to afford the high cost of rice can buy this staple food through CCF at a fraction of market prices. Prices are pegged at pre-inflation rates of January 2008.

Through this weekly distribution process, hundreds of people are able to afford sufficient rice, keeping families healthy and together. The money CCF receives from the sale of this rice is re-invested in additional rice to keep the program going.

You can help. $26.00 purchases 50 kilos of rice for CCF's rice distribution plan. CCF is also committed to bringing clean water and education to the families of Steung Meanchey, and to the eventual goal of saving every single person from a life as "human garbage."

Cambodian Children's Fund (CCF) is a nonprofit organization working to improve the lives of Phnom Penh's most impoverished children and families. Providing hundreds of children with nutrition, housing, healthcare, and vocational training, CCF gives them the tools to break the cycle of poverty.

Upon purchase, you will receive an automated e-mail with a link to a full-color certificate of acknowledgment that you may print and frame for display or gift-giving. Adobe Acrobat Reader, or equivalent .pdf viewing program, is required to open the file. The certificate makes a great "instant" gift for an honored colleague, family member or friend.

Please note: Your purchase is tax-deductible in the U.S.A., and you will receive a receipt from GreaterGood.org for your taxes. 100% of your gift goes to Cambodian Children's Fund as a grant through GreaterGood.org. GreaterGood Network stores do not receive any profit from the sale of this Gift That Gives More™; we bring it to you in the spirit of the greater good. GreaterGood.org has ultimate authority and discretion with regard to the distribution of its funds. All expenditures made are consistent with the exempt purposes of GreaterGood.org.