“They have parents, but they live very lonely lives. They eat alone, they play alone.”

Producer: Catherine Lee Yuk San

“Children Left Behind”, a 30-minute documentary, chronicles the lives of children who are “left behind” in the villages of rural China, when their parents migrate to urban areas in search of work.

As part of China’s economic boom, it is estimated that over 120 million rural migrants have moved to urban areas to work in factories and construction. A new phenomenon in China, the number of children “left behind” is now estimated to be over 22 million. Although it is their basic right to have their parent’s love, concern and care, in reality you can see that they live like an orphan.

(For more info, visit http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/china_41650.html)

*permission given by TVB Jade
(C) 2008 TVB Jade

Duration : 0:6:9

[youtube SNTz24Pahnw]

“They have parents, but they live very lonely lives. They eat alone, they play alone.”

Producer: Catherine Lee Yuk San

“Children Left Behind”, a 30-minute documentary, chronicles the lives of children who are “left behind” in the villages of rural China, when their parents migrate to urban areas in search of work.

As part of China’s economic boom, it is estimated that over 120 million rural migrants have moved to urban areas to work in factories and construction. A new phenomenon in China, the number of children “left behind” is now estimated to be over 22 million. Although it is their basic right to have their parent’s love, concern and care, in reality you can see that they live like an orphan.

(For more info, visit http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/china_41650.html)

*permission given by TVB Jade
(C) 2008 TVB Jade

Duration : 0:8:23

[youtube ypLHHm7am2Q]

“They have parents, but they live very lonely lives. They eat alone, they play alone.”

Producer: Catherine Lee Yuk San

“Children Left Behind”, a 30-minute documentary, chronicles the lives of children who are “left behind” in the villages of rural China, when their parents migrate to urban areas in search of work.

As part of China’s economic boom, it is estimated that over 120 million rural migrants have moved to urban areas to work in factories and construction. A new phenomenon in China, the number of children “left behind” is now estimated to be over 22 million. Although it is their basic right to have their parent’s love, concern and care, in reality you can see that they live like an orphan.

(For more info, visit http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/china_41650.html)

*permission given by TVB Jade
(C) 2008 TVB Jade

Duration : 0:8:0

[youtube l4o0Vx6rSLk]

The documentary, supported by many of South Carolina’s leading foundations and community leaders, tracks the evidence presented on behalf of eight school districts in Abbeville County School District v. The State of South Carolina.

Duration : 0:9:31

[youtube rjY69hO0fxk]

The documentary, supported by many of South Carolina’s leading foundations and community leaders, tracks the evidence presented on behalf of eight school districts in Abbeville County School District v. The State of South Carolina.

Duration : 0:9:31

[youtube rjY69hO0fxk]

In this video I meet 30 kids who were forced to choose between either putting food on the table or getting an education. They are able to study part-time (for two hours each day) because local community members in this rural village pooled their money to form an informal school. The school teacher teaches these children English, Bengali, and Math all for a salary of $15 a month.

Part Two is Available Here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=83edvBwXJKI

For more information about what I’m doing in Bangladesh, check out my blog at:

http://uncultured.com

In the video, one of the kids said he sells “paan”. Here is some info on what that is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paan

By request, I am including a link for more information on Bangladesh:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a small country with over 150 million people (half the population of the USA) in South Asia. It is not Mexico (!?).

About My Reaction to the Various Names: This video isn’t scripted – those were my genuine reactions at the time. I still have problems pronouncing the various Muslim names in this country. The regional accent made it even harder to understand the names. One of the reasons I asked “You’re Muslim and your name is Johnny?” is because Western/European names are usually common with the Christian community that lives in an adjacent town.

The music in this video (in order used) are:

“How Far” – Jamison Young

“Love” – The Umbrellas

“Goodbye to Spring” – Josh Woodward

“Thinking of You” – The Umbrellas

Music by Jamison Young and Josh Woodward are used under a Creative Commons license. You can download their music for free at:

Jamison Young:
http://jamyoung.net/music.html

Josh Woodward:
http://www.joshwoodward.com/music/

Music by The Umbrellas is copyright of The Militia Group. Used with written permission.

This video is free for you to use and share under a Creative Commons license (BY-NC-SA).

Duration : 0:3:58

[youtube a9IS-3Z5EC4]

In this video I meet 30 kids who were forced to choose between either putting food on the table or getting an education. They are able to study part-time (for two hours each day) because local community members in this rural village pooled their money to form an informal school. The school teacher teaches these children English, Bengali, and Math all for a salary of $15 a month.

Part Two is Available Here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=83edvBwXJKI

For more information about what I’m doing in Bangladesh, check out my blog at:

http://uncultured.com

In the video, one of the kids said he sells “paan”. Here is some info on what that is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paan

By request, I am including a link for more information on Bangladesh:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a small country with over 150 million people (half the population of the USA) in South Asia. It is not Mexico (!?).

About My Reaction to the Various Names: This video isn’t scripted – those were my genuine reactions at the time. I still have problems pronouncing the various Muslim names in this country. The regional accent made it even harder to understand the names. One of the reasons I asked “You’re Muslim and your name is Johnny?” is because Western/European names are usually common with the Christian community that lives in an adjacent town.

The music in this video (in order used) are:

“How Far” – Jamison Young

“Love” – The Umbrellas

“Goodbye to Spring” – Josh Woodward

“Thinking of You” – The Umbrellas

Music by Jamison Young and Josh Woodward are used under a Creative Commons license. You can download their music for free at:

Jamison Young:
http://jamyoung.net/music.html

Josh Woodward:
http://www.joshwoodward.com/music/

Music by The Umbrellas is copyright of The Militia Group. Used with written permission.

This video is free for you to use and share under a Creative Commons license (BY-NC-SA).

Duration : 0:3:58

[youtube a9IS-3Z5EC4]

Duration : 0:6:17

[youtube NEKakkGRKeM]

Duration : 0:6:17

[youtube NEKakkGRKeM]

ABSTRACT

In the 1970s, essentially all of the educated population of Cambodia were murdered in the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge. Cambodia today, despite its rich culture and stunning temples, remains a devastated country, suffering from poverty, lack of education, and corruption. The best hope for Cambodia lies in improved education and new leadership. To that end, Lightman and Smead have been working to empower a new generation of women leaders in Cambodia. (Studies by the U.N. and World Bank have repeatedly shown that the most effective method of helping third world countries is through education of its women.) The critical obstacle to higher education for women in Cambodia , remarkably enough, is housing. Universities in Cambodia do not provide housing for their students. Male students can live in the Buddhist temples but not females. Seizing upon this weak link in the chain, in 2006, Lightman and Smead’s nonprofit organization built the first dormitory for female college students in the country. The Harpswell Foundation Dormitory and Leadership Center for College Women in Phnom Penh not only provides free room and board and medical coverage to its 36, carefully selected residents. The facility also gives them English and computer classes, leadership training, and critical discussions of national and international events. After two years of operations, these young women are at the tops of their classes at the 7 different universities they attend and are committed to leading their country into a new era of hope and transformation. In another two years, a new crop of 36 outstanding young women will enter the mentorship and cultivation of the Harpswell facility, and in ten years, we will have a powerful force of over a hundred women dedicated to revolutionizing their country. This is a story of how a small, highly-targeted nonprofit organization can potentially change an entire country.

In this illustrated lecture, Chenda Smead, who escaped Cambodia in 1979 at the age of 18, will describe her family’s experience living under the Khmer Rouge. Alan Lightman, founding director of the Harpswell Foundation, will discuss the work of the Foundation, the strategy of leadership training and maximum social impact for minimum investment, and the challenges facing modern Cambodia.

Speaker: Alan Lightman
A physicist and novelist, graduated from Princeton University and received a PhD in physics from the California Institute of Technology. Lightman has served on the faculties of Harvard and MIT, where he was the first person to receive a joint appointment in the sciences and the humanities. Lightmans novel Einsteins Dreams was an international bestseller, and his novel The Diagnosis was a finalist for the National Book Award. After a life-changing trip to Cambodia in 2003, Lightman founded the nonprofit organization The Harpswell Foundation, which has been working to empower a new generation of leaders in Cambodia.

Speaker: Chenda Smead
Chenda Smead is a Khmer Rouge genocide survivor who escaped Cambodia in 1979 as a refugee to the U.S. and later graduated from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln with degrees in computer science and mathematics.

She has helped build a school in Siem Reap and a Learning Center near Phnom Penh, as well as contributed significantly to the Harpswell Foundation Dormitory and Leadership Center for College Women in Phnom Penh. Ms. Smead is on the Board of Advisors of the Harpswell Foundation.

Duration : 0:50:44

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