Heartprint

Emerging from a compassionate action or thought, a heart print is that which leaves a positive impression upon your heart.  Heartprint is an Australian based charity founded by Garry and Wendy O’Brien, dedicated to raising funds and offering ground support in Cambodia. Heartprint‘s goal is to leave an impression on the hearts of impoverished Cambodians.

Through supporting the relief of poverty, the generous folks at Heartprint support the obtaining of education and the breaking of child abandonment practices. Through fundraisers and donations, they are able to provide housing, education support and work opportunities to allow all Cambodians to have hope, dignity and the opportunity for a brighter future.

Many families are barely surviving on a day-to-day basis and simply don’t have the funds to build a house. These families are living in make shift houses that provide very little shelter, leak during rains and are unsafe for their children. Most people just need a little hand up in life and thrive knowing that people actually care about them. Building a house for a family can give them a sense of pride as well as a good nights’ sleep reducing illness and injury.

Heartprint builds stilted houses in areas in and around Siem Reap. Due to the availability and cost of timber in Cambodia, these houses are constructed from concrete stumps, with wooden frames and tin surrounds. Houses have lock up windows and doors to ensure the safety of the family and their possessions. Families who receive homes are generally in extreme need, destitute and include widows/widowers with children, people with life threatening illnesses or on a wage that makes them unable to provide for their family.  The poorest families are referred with the help of local volunteers; as well as meeting and profiling them, Heartprint collaborates with the Chiefs of the villages to make sure they are helping those with the greatest need.

Community builds consist of more than just building houses; toilets and wells are also a major part of helping families change their circumstances. By providing sanitation, the spread of disease and preventable illness can be prevented as well as teaching better hygiene practices. For every house built, if there is sufficient money and space, a toilet  and clean drinking water via a well is provided if they do not already have one. If the house block doesn’t have enough space to accommodate this, the village chief might be able to find an alternative, which may include building a community toilet block or well that can be shared with other families in the community.

Cost to build one house: $1,500 usd

Cost to build one toilet: $375 usd

Cost to build one well: $210 usd

Please visit here for more information about the great work being done at Heartprint