Marie Lai has changed the lives of more than a thousandCambodian children since she founded The Sophan Kith Education Fund in 2010. She and its president, June Copeman, hope to multiply their gifts of education on Australia's biggest day of garage sales – the Garage Sale Trail.
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The retired nurse from O'Malley volunteered with the Indo-China Refugee Association from 1978-1991 and assisted in sponsoring, hosting and settling refugees fleeing from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. While visiting some Cambodian families who had returned home after the Vietnam war, she was touched by the lingering poverty and desperate need for more education.
"So we decided we'd build schools in rural areas," Ms Lai said.
So far, the charity has built one school with three classrooms, another with six classrooms and transformed a termite-infested wooden school into a disability-friendly brick institute. They've been set up in honour of Sophan Kith, whose father was supposedly murdered by followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea in Cambodia, Khmer Rouge..
Ms Lai said all assets belonging to the family, which had six children, were seized and his mother later died of starvation in front of her youngest daughter. In 1977 Sophan was sponsored to come to Australia and met Ms Lai through her volunteer work. She helped bring his family to Australia and even took some of them in to live in her home.
Sophan was apparently one of Canberra's first refugees to flee from Cambodia and went back home to build a school himself before dying in 1997 at 42 years old.
Ms Lai is determined to continue his legacy.
"We've got $45,000 out of the $70,000 we need to build our next school, which can build six classrooms – fully furnished – with a well, a toilet block and a flag pole," Ms Lai said.
Ms Copeman said one priority was educating young girls who might otherwise be "put to the streets".
"Education sort of facilitates a way out of poverty for them ... to say this is not the only way to earn money, you can have your children and grow up and do things," she said.
They currently have seven sponsors and are reaching further out to the community. One way is through their Garage Sale Trail sale which they read about in its partner, The Canberra Times.
The household's vast array of sale items will include children's bicycles, furniture, garden equipment, sporting equipment, toys, paintings, glassware, bar equipment and books.
"It's a nice way of 'fun fund-raising' because we're not continually asking people to reach into their pockets, they are getting something out of it as well," Ms Copeman said.
The sale will be held at 10 Karawatha Place, O'Malley, at 9am on October 24. To support The Sophan Kith Education Fund visit skef.org.au.
