Ponts du Monde

Dear Charlie,

As you may or may not know, I have been traveling to Cambodia this last summer with an association called Ponts Du Monde. 
http://www.pontsdumonde.fr/
This was my first time volunteering, and this experience was one of the most rewarding of my life. It was indeed the kind that gives a new perspective on everything you know. There I took care of Cambodians orphans who I couldn’t leave after living such powerful moments with them. Even though we didn't talk the same language, we could connect easily, and I still miss them after all this time. It definitely changed my way of picturing my European way of life, giving me a more objective vision on things, and made me care about where we came from, and especially where things these orphans didn’t have came from for us to have it. 
I could write so much more, but I'm here for an other reason. APCA is where all these children live, and Dara, who is charge, tries to support them financially as much as he can. However they are having financial difficulties right now and could close any time soon. This would leave a lot of the children that I spent my days with without a home. To help them, we created a funding website. Here is the link: https://www.leetchi.com/c/orphelinat-apca

I hope I encouraged you to donate, or even to travel with Ponts du Monde, as this touches me very personally.

Have a nice day,
Irène

SOS Mediterranée #TogetherForRescue

Dear Charlie,

On the last Sunday of the holidays  I visited the Aquarius charted by SOS Mediterranee which was docked by the MUCEM.

The ship made a stop in Marseille, home city of one of the founders of SOS Mediterranee, before heading towards  Lampedusa, Sicily and Libya where they will operate.
On their board there will be doctors from Medecins du Monde.
Their first rescue mission started on February 26th .

Confronted with the nightmare and the growing number of refugees drowning in our Meditarreanan sea, right on Europe's doorstep, the association has decided not only to react but also to act.


Their mission is simple enough yet essential

To save lives

• Through maritime rescue operations for boats in distress
• Through emergency care delivered on board of the rescue boats

To protect and assist

• Providing medical and psychological care for the refugees on board
• Connecting refugees with existing support networks upon their arrival in Europe

To testify

• To inform European public opinion on the situation of refugees in the Mediterranean Sea and to pay tribute to those who disappeared on their journey
• To inform refugees about the reality of the access conditions to Europe and the dangers they expose themselves to
• To raise overall awareness about the consequences of European migration and asylum policies 

 To find out more about it:

http://www.sosmediterranee.org/

http://sosmediterranee.org/news/ 

 

I know that you and many of us care about this situation too so I decided to share this initiative on our blog.

If you also want to support them, there are many ways to do so.

http://sosmediterranee.org/support-us/

 

I know a certain number of you are interested in volunteering or internships. There are likely to be some limitations for underage candidates but it might be worthwhile investigating.

contact@sosmediterranee.org 

Take care,

Mrs. C. 

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