Cambodia Life Center outreach 2009

Cambodia A war torn nation, full of despair and hopelessness, slowly moving out of its horrific past. A majority of the nation is poverty stricken and children are the most vulnerable in society .. many children have been abandoned and left to die as a result. Today, there are more then 600000 orphans & street children roaming throughout the city and countryside. On July 24, 2009 a 4 member mission team consisted of Ken Holzhei, Titus Tsao, Susan Tsao and aquaculture specialist Bernie Tsao arrived at the Cambodia Life Center just 37 kms northwest of Phnom Penh. The primary objective was to design & construct an intensive self-sustaining aquaculture system for the orphanage that will produce enough fish to feed 100 kids, twice a week and enough fish to sell in order to generate additional revenue to support the center. The facility was constructed on an existing site with an approximate area of 7100 sq. feet. These 20 ft. dia. Cylindrical growout tanks were made from simple ferro-cement construction. In addition to the 12 growout tanks, a hatchery and larval rearing facility was also constructed. All of this took a total of 5 and half weeks to complete. A hands-on workshop on induce spawning of Asian Catfish was also included. The newly completed tanks were stocked with a fast growing hybridized Tilapia. This aquaculture facility is estimated to produce 7500 kg or 16535 lbs /year. Simultaneously, Susan Tsao conducted daily sewing, art and baking lessons for the children