Sharing Foundation

Decades of war and genocide under the Pol Pot regime have decimated Cambodia's infrastructure and the country now ranks as one of the poorest in the world. The large numbers of orphaned children in Cambodia are a direct result of this poverty as are the thousands of children growing up with no health care, educational possibilities, adequate food, or potable water. The Sharing Foundation is one of the few American organizations focusing on the needs of these children. Formed in 1998 by pediatrician Dr. Nancy W. Hendrie, together with dedicated volunteers, the Sharing Foundation now serves 1,500 children every day through its various programs.

To help meet the physical, emotional, educational and medical needs of orphaned and seriously disadvantaged children in Cambodia.

Dr. Nancy Hendrie and a group of like-minded volunteers created The Sharing Foundation almost ten years ago. Since then, as noted above, TSF initiatives have evolved from medical care for orphans and other disadvantaged children, to the orphanage built in 2000, and increasingly, to educational, vocational, safe water and community development programs, primarily in the village of Roteang. Recognizing a critical need and opportunity to provide a route out of poverty, TSF has increasingly focused its efforts on ways to create and improve educational opportunities for Cambodian children of all ages.

A small, volunteer-led, U.S. based non-profit organization, TSF has no paid American staff, though we employ 54 Cambodians, most of whom work in the orphanage. TSF's annual budget is just under $300,000, with most of the funding coming from individual donors. Additionial support is received from a few family foundations, corporations, the sale of crafts and small fundraising events.

Since its founding in 1998, the focus of The Sharing Foundation has widened from offering medical care to Cambodian orphans and other needy children to include educational, vocational, safe water and other community development programs. The Foundation has grown by working directly with community leaders to determine what they need and creating programs to address those needs. In-Country Director Chan Kim Leng, also known as Elephant, oversees the work of eight Project Leaders, and manages another eight programs personally. TSF Founder Nancy W. Hendrie MD travels to Cambodia every third month to follow up on every project herself. Other Board members come periodically, and needed volunteers often lend help.

Key programs include the following:

Roteang Orphanage
The orphanage represents a new standard for hygiene, medical services, nutrition and compassionate care for children in Cambodia. Orphans are admitted without regard for clinical status, such as HIV, syphilis, or cerebral palsy. The orphanage is now home to 67 infants and children, nearly half of whom, due to serious disabilities, will remain in TSF's care indefinitely. The ratio of nannies to children is 1:2; children with special needs have their own nanny. A preschool program was established on site in 2004.

The English Language Program
Young people in Roteang Village recognize that learning English will help them to move from their parents' lives of poverty to jobs such as tourism or word processing. TSF sponsors English classes, attended by over 500 children, after regular school hours, at the Roteang Village School, five days a week, year-round. Taught by college graduate Cambodians who travel from Phnom Penh by moped, the children are so excited to learn English that many have also formed study groups that meet early on weekend mornings.

High School and College Sponsorships
In 2004, TSF created a high school sponsorship program through which donors make it possible for over 40 needy students to attend high school and receive quality small group instruction. In 2005, the first ten students ever from Roteang Village were sponsored for colleges in Phnom Penh by the Foundation. Previously sponsored in high school, these students were able to pass the required National High School Graduation exams. Another ten college students joined the first group in 2006.

Vocational Training
The Sewing Program trains women so they can get supervisory jobs in the garment industry or work in the Foundation's local shop, providing good income for their families. The women produce school uniforms, which are donated to needy children throughout Cambodia, as well as handbags that are sold at non-profit venues in the U.S. TSF also sponsors Moto Repair and computer training.

The Roteang Orphanage, built in 2000, is a cornerstone project of TSF and it has motivated the Foundation's commitment to the surrounding village. Dr. Hendrie comments, "While several of our programs have developed in other communities, by focusing much of our energy in Roteang, we are able to evaluate the outcome of each project better and follow spending more closely, keeping overhead near 10%. More importantly, we are able to form productive relationships with community members. This is a significant benefit to our approach: by hiring Cambodians to implement programs and offering strong oversight and mentoring, the number of trained Cambodians ready to serve and lead their communities into the future is increasing."

Annual success is based on continuing to achieve our intended results for about 1500 children served daily through initiatives which include five schools, sewing and computer programs, outreach programs to handicapped kids, and a newborn program to prevent HIV transmission at the time of delivery by educating HIV infected mothers and administering niviripine. We are known in Cambodia for the high standard of care we provide to children in our orphanage. We have improved health in multiple schools and communities by providing potable water. We have changed the life trajectories of students in our vocational programs who are now self-sufficient as well as our students who now have access to a quality high school and college education. The college students sponsored by TSF are not only the first in their families, but also the first from their village, to move so far forward academically.

Now that TSF's founder, President, and primary fundraiser is in her 70s and the Foundation has been growing for 10 years, our most pressing goal for the coming year is continuing to generate interest in and support for our endowment campaign. It is not uncommon for American or other international NGOs to disband their projects in Cambodia, leaving those who depend upon them for better lives to start over again in a country where there is little infrastructure, and few, if any, established systems of social support. Our president and Board, all of whom volunteer their time to this effort, are determined to stay the course. We are working to raise a three million dollar endowment to ensure that the work of the last ten years can continue. Our goal is to keep the orphanage and other key initiatives in place so that Cambodian children, particularly those most vulnerable, continue to receive the medical care and educational opportunities they need to become self-reliant.

On the programmatic front, in addition to continuing to operate our core programs, we are seeking to raise $17,000 to immunize 570 children in Roteang Village against Hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, all potentially fatal and prevantable diseases.

We will also develop plans and raise funds to build an additional building at the orphanage so that we can separate the boys and girls into adjacent buildings as they get older.

Nancy W. Hendrie, MD, is a retired pediatrician from Concord, MA. She founded The Sharing Foundation in 1998 and, as its volunteer President, has led its growth and development over the past nine years, traveling quarterly to Cambodia for several weeks each trip.

From 1994 - 1998, Dr. Hendrie provided medical care for 28 adoption groups in China, for a large Massachusetts agency. She has also provided on-site pediatric care and evaluation of children in Korea, India, Vietnam, and Cambodia. From 1998 - 2001, she was the Co-Director of Adopt Cambodia.

During her nearly 30 years in private practice of pediatrics in Massachusetts, she was the first female president of the Medical Staff of Emerson Hospital in Concord, MA. In 2003, she received an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from her alma mater, Mount Holyoke College, for Humanitarian Service. She received the Angel in Adoption award from the Congressional Committee on Adoption during the same year.

Board

Executive Board
Nancy W. Hendrie, M.D. President, Concord, MA
Judith Jones, Founding Member, Concord, MA
Kathleen MacDonald, Treasurer, Lexington, MA
Richard Recknagel, Secretary and Founding Member, Bath, ME
Jim Ganley, Portland, ME
Beth Kanter, Norfolk, MA
Kelli Kirshtein, Watertown, MA
Kathryn Recknagel, Founding Member, Bath ME
Sally Stokes, Carlisle, MA
Lisa Hicks, Wellesley, MA
Mary Hult, Carlisle, MA

Advisory Board
Mary Lynn Carson, Plymouth, MA
Lisa Dennison, Kittery, ME
Marilyn Driver, Portsmouth, NH
Robin Jean, Concord, MA
Gracie Johnston, South Portland, ME
Jennifer Mendelson, Newton, MA
Deborah Nelson, Ipswich, MA
Liese Rajesh, Seattle, WA
Laurie Relinski, Dover, NH
Mary Beth Savage, Portsmouth, NH

Countries

Cambodia

Contact

P.O. Box 600

Concord, MA 01742

Phone: (508) 539-4960

http://www.sharingfoundation.org

EIN: 01-0518534