Childrens Future International

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Will you be in New York on Dec 8th? Come See What's Shining at CFI's 1st Annual NYC Event!

Thursday, December 8th

7pm - 9pm

Central Bar
109 E 9th St (between 3rd and 4th Avenue)
New York, NY 10003

Hors D’oeuvres & Cash bar

Join CFI’s Founder Andrew Wolff, visiting from CFI’s Learning Center
and Children’s Home in northwest Cambodia.

Make a contribution to the CFI Giving Tree – your opportunity to
support what’s most important to you

Click to RSVP or for more information!

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Thank you to Jessie Bonagura, Erik Wolff and Michael Weber for hosting a hugely successful event on October 4th in New York. Many thanks to everyone who came out to support CFI - - - The event raised over $6000! Thank you, friends!

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Floodings in Cambodia have already taken the lives of over 200 people, many of whom are children. With heavy hearts, we share the news that one of CFI's family members is among those. Dalin, age 12, drowned in the floodwaters next to his home earlier this month. His parents and neighbors found him after several hours of searching.

Dalin had been a CFI student for over one year. He loved playing soccer with his friends, was full of energy and had a beaming smile.

Overcome with grief, his mother repeatedly told us: 'He didn't even have a chance to wear his new school uniforms. He was so proud of them, and he didn't even have a chance to wear them.' Dalin would have started grade four two days later.

His father and male relatives carried him to the village pagoda in a simple wooden casket. Dalin was cremated wearing his new school uniform.

We wish to extend our deepest sympathy to Dalin's family. We will never forget him.

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CFI is excited to welcome two new volunteers - Jessica and Jiulius. Jessica and Jiulius will be spending a full year at the center through the German-based gap year volunteer program Weltwärts.

CFI is pleased to begin our 4th year of working with this extraordinary volunteer program. Our outgoing volunteers, Milena and Claudius, made a huge impact at the center and we are eager to see the impact Jessica and Jiulius have in the coming year.

CFI students and volunteers Fong and Sonthea have successfully graduated from high school. We are happy to announce that they will be joining our staff as full time employees. Fong will become CFI's new computer teacher while Sonthea will train as a social worker.

It's a common practice in Cambodia for shopkeepers to inflate the amount written on receipts for purchased by NGOs - allowing the NGO purchasing employee to pocket the difference. Its so common, in fact, that when CFI staff member (social worker) Chhorn repeatedly declined the offer from the bookstore where CFI buys hundreds of dollars of notebooks, the bookstore owners took notice. Last week the bookstore owners came to visit CFI's center. They were so impressed that they decided to make a donation to CFI.

This was a significant event for CFI. We have never before received support from any Cambodian individuals or businesses. Following Khmer tradition, we arranged for a formal ceremony for the family to present our students with their gifts - each receiving a school bag filled with 10 notebooks, pens and pencils. They also provided a big curry breakfast for all CFI students as well as books for our library and some sports equipment.

The kids had a great time and it was really nice for our Cambodian staff to see other Cambodians making a contribution to our organization.

CFI is proud of the culture of integrity we've worked so hard to create.

Chanthea has been a CFI student since January 2010. Like all of our students, she comes from a very difficult background and it has been a struggle to continue her education. She lives with her family in an impoverished village near CFI's Learning Center.

Chanthea loves to spend time with her friends on the CFI soccer field and plays on one of our girls’ soccer teams. In early 2011 she was selected to play on Cambodia’s National 14 and under Girls’ Team. Earlier this month, the team traveled to Vietnam to join the AFC Festival of Football, where they competed against teams from all over Asia. Coach Sam Schweingruber from SALT Academy in Battambang, a CFI partner, led the team. They held their ground but were defeated several times by stronger (and taller) opponents. They did have one victory; Chanthea and the Cambodian National team defeated Vietnam 2:1.

When she returned, Chanthea, sweet and calm as usual, smiled proudly while her friends surrounded her, excited to hear all about her big trip.

Imagine seeing a computer for the first time at age 8, 10 or even 15. What would you do first? Learn to send email? Play Oregon trail? Create a map of your village? CFI is proud to be introducing computers to our students for the first time at the new CFI Computer Lab; made possible through the support of the Rosenshein Foundation.

Click here to see video

CFI took their first trip to visit the beautiful temples of Angkor Wat near the city of Siem Reap in Cambodia. This trip was very special for our staff and children because Angkor Wat is the national pride of Cambodia. For most of our kids this was the first time they had been outside of their province. It was a very special day and an experience our kids will never forget. Many thanks to the donor who made this trip possible.

CFI's female students and staff learned basic Krav Maga style self-defense from longtime instructor and Karate black belt Rodolfo Ciucci. Rodolph volunteered at CFI's Learning Center for two weeks, in which time the girls practiced techniques to defend themselves and escape from threatening situations.

A huge thank you to the Max J. and Winnie S. Rosenshein Foundation! With the Rosenshein's support, CFI is excited to open a Computer Lab at the center. Paired with a computer literacy program, our goal is for all of CFI's 200+ students to have access to computers, a wonderful opportunity for CFI's kids, most of whom live in homes without electricity. In addition to helping CFI's kids develop computer skills, the lab will allow for enhanced subject area learning (e.g. reading, math, geography, critical thinking).

Sixty-six children proudly showed off their new white-and blue school uniforms on their first school day today. For 26 of them it was the first time they have ever gone to school. The other 40 children returned after dropping out many months or even years ago.

Since the opening of the center in February, CFI's staff was able to locate these children and help them get caught up in CFI’s literacy and math classes. Some older children very proudly entered directly into grade six after having studied for only seven months in their life.

Chreb, an 11-year old girl, has been a CFI-student for seven months. When we first met her, she didn’t know the correct word for ‘yes’. Raised by her grandmother, she had to look for food in the ricefields every day. Now she’s studying in grade three in public school. When asked what she likes best about school she says, with a big smile: ‘EVERYTHING!’

A third guard has been added to the rotation at the CFI center - in addition to ensuring the safety of all the children, the guards assist with gardening and moto-dup driving. Meanwhile, Chris, our one-year German volunteer is leaving Cambodia next week. While back in Germany he will stay involved with CFI in a variety of capacities, including helping to start CFI-Europe. Although Chris will be missed by everyone, there is no doubt that he will come back to Cambodia one day. Until then, two other motivated German volunteers are expected begin their work with CFI in September. We are also fortunate that Thomas, a volunteer from France, has committed to working with CFI full-time for the indefinite future. While his primary responsibility is to build and maintain our Children's Garden, the kids just love him and he's becoming an important part of the team thats provides for their care and well-being.

Every morning dozens of children wait with anticipation outside CFI's school for Sally's arrival. For Sally's arrival signifies the daily opening of the 'Activity Room' - stocked full of puzzles, colored pencils, LEGOs, chess sets and more. Sally is a wonderful veteran teacher from Australia and a new long-term CFI volunteer who has taken on the responsibility of developing and running our new Activity Room - a space dedicated for children to play freely when they are not in class. The importance of play and creativity for children cannot be overstated and we are all so excited for the continued development of the space.

The process of converting an old orange grove into CFI's football field has been completed....well, almost. After the old trees (past their fruit-bearing life cycle) were removed, approximately 30 truckloads of dirt and a bulldozer were used to level the land and render it flat and playable. We still need to work out some drainage issues as the monsoon season approaches. In any case, the field is up and running for CFI students. In a partnership with Battambang based SALT Academy (Sports And Leadership Training) CFI has four official soccer teams (girls under 12 and under 14 and boys under 12 and under 14) that practice during the week on site at the CFI Center and play games against teams from other villages on weekends in Battambang city.

The tournament, which was sponsored by Indochina Starfish Foundation (ISF) and SALT Academy played host to teams from all over Cambodia. CFI's two girls teams participated and had a fantastic experience. Many of the girls have never left their villages (even to visit the nearby city of Battambang) and certainly never visited Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital. CFI has developed a very close relationship with both ISF and SALT during the past few years as football has become an important component of our overall education programs.

CFI has developed a partnership with Dewey International University Battambang. DIU's diploma program allows talented students who have not yet a received a high school diploma to study a variety of courses at university level. Several of CFI's older students have been studying at DIU and we are looking forward to finding overseas sponsors to support their studies. Specifically, CFI is partnering with Andrew's alma mater (Great Neck North High School) to raise the necessary funds.

The final touches have been put on CFI's new five classroom school in Battambang and classes are set to begin. The school is an integral part of CFI's Community Learning Center for Children and will house our English, Khmer literacy, art and music programs. One of the five classrooms will be used as a library. Classes will begin immediately and we expect to serve up to 200 students in 2010.

After many months of meetings and countless piles of paperwork, Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave Children's Future International the final stamp of approval to operate independently as an International NGO. This comes just in time for CFI to open its new Community Learning Center for Children in the Ek Phnom district of Battambang.

Under Doug Gilmour’s supervision (volunteer and veteran builder from Australia), CFI begins construction of a five-classroom schoolhouse. The classrooms will be used for English, Khmer literacy, art, and music classes. One of the classrooms will be used as a library.

As the new school year began in Cambodia last week, four CFI supported children attended their first classes ever. Months of private tutoring prepared the children for their new lives as school kids. Channa, 14, impressed his teacher so much in the first few days of class that she named him class captain. We are all very proud of him.

It’s Official! After months of searching for the right location, CFI signs a lease to develop a new community center for children in the Ek Phnom district of Battambang. CFI is renting four adjacent properties that will house its offices, education programs, children’s home, garden and soccer field.

After many months of meetings and letter writing, Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports offers its official recognition and support to Children’s Future International. The ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ offers formal support for all CFI programs (‘Child Well-Being’ and ‘Non-formal Education’)

The generous and committed members of Temple Israel’s Beth Hagan nursery school PTA in Great Neck, NY have been working tirelessly to collect merchandise and sell tickets for their upcoming raffle fundraiser to support CFI. Tickets are now on sale and the raffle will be held on May 20th. We sincerely thank you for all your efforts.

Talks have begun with local village and commune leaders as plans emerge for CFI to develop and operate a community center in the Battambang area of Cambodia. The center will include ‘informal’ education programs (English, computer skills, adult literacy, art/music/sports, etc.) as well as a childcare and community outreach facilities. The center will likely be developed in stages with an anticipated start date within a matter of weeks.

Certified yoga instructor and friend of CFI Kelly Newsome gifted the kids with two days ‘Yoga for Young Artists’. She took the little guys on a ‘yoga adventure’ to the jungle resulting in lots of animal poses, animal noises and laughter. Older kids were taught more traditional poses. Everyone had a blast. In addition to being a yoga instructor, Kelly is a lawyer and helped CFI with the incorporation and 501(c)(3) filing processes.

Students and teachers at Great Neck North High school (Andrew’s alma mater) have joined in partnership with CFI to raise awareness and support for projects in Cambodia. Several student organizations have already begun helping with various aspects of CFI’s work - and the foundation has been set for expanding our collaboration in hopes of maintaining a long-term relationship.

'Spirit of Soccer' promotes leadership and teamwork through their soccer program. We are partnering with SOS to form a team of girls and a team of boys, ages 8-15. The teams practice at the local high school where a field had to be cleared of cow poo, rocks and tree trunks. SOS is training local coaches to teach the children the game of soccer with an emphasis on teamwork and leadership.

The patient recovery center is the third building in Tean Thor Association's 'Acts of Compassion Center'.

Tean Thor has a recovery center with 10 beds for patients who are too ill to care for themselves and who have no one else to care for them. In many villages there is a stigma associated with AIDS, and patients are abandoned by the community- and in some cases even their family members. The center is not a hospice or hospital, but rather a healing center where patients (and often their children) are given short-term care (ranging from a few days to several weeks), food and support, until they regain enough strength to return to their communities (where the social workers continue to visit them regularly).

CFI secured a grant from Switzerland based BASAID to fund the project.

We started the project because we understand the critical importance of inter-cultural communication and understanding. We partnered with Andrew's cousin Anna and her second grade class in Croton on Hudson, NY. Favorite foods, colors and hobbies were shared as well as photos and personalized drawings. Anna's classmates each donated one their favorite books and we had them sent them around the globe to the rice fields of Cambodia – our classroom library has officially begun.