Items are broken into two groups; things we would rather have brought in and things that make more sense to buy locally.

BRING FROM WHERE YOU ARE 

Click here to see the PLF Amazon Wishlist for more ideas.... 

FLASH DRIVES~ With the advent of computer classes at Tchey and here at the office, there is an ever increasing need for students and teachers to be able to get their files mobile. The files they are moving are mostly text files, so the drives don't need to be huge. Don't hesitate to bring smaller drives, but the 4GB size is ideal. It's fine if they're used, it's fine if they are printed with some company's logo and we don't care what brand.

BIKE LIGHTS~

Now that we've got some evening classes going in the countryside, the students are coming long distances on bicycles and going home in that special kind of darkness that only exists in the jungle. We are in great need of some good quality bike lights. Batteries here are cheap (no need to bring them they are heavy). These detachable ones are great so they can use them off the bike as well. We don't much care about what brand or model. Showing this one from Amazon just as an example. Don't need the rear ones so much, the dirt roads they travel on won't have any traffic necessarily, the lights are so they can see where they are going!

 ALPHA BEADS~

These beads are used by the new English students to spell their names so they can remember how to spell them with an English Aplhabet. These particular ones shown are from Hobby Lobby, but I have also seen them in Walmart, Target, the Dollar Store. Go have a look in your local dime store. We are always in a great need for these.

 ~ LASER POINTERS       

Laser Pointers are incredibly useful in class (play "what is this, what is that" without ever leaving your chair!) A bonus is they make the students love to come to the board and have their turn with them. Bring a handful; they can be found at office supply stores, Target, your co-worker's junk drawer, etc and we can get the batteries here.

BANANAGRAMS~

About a million ways to use them in English Class.

 Toner Cartridges~

HP 21 & 22  The cartridges we buy here are somehow "inferior" and expensive, and well, we need to print things.

Used Children's Clothes: Baggage restrictions being what they are, this isn't as viable an option as it used to be. If you find yourself traveling light and can pack an extra duffel bag full of children's clothes, they will be very well received at Koh Ker. The clothes should be modest and long sleeved when possible. (lots of bugs up there and cooler temps) although T shirts are great too. No shoes, no jackets, no hats, no socks. Nothing too glittery or offensive. Any sizes from toddlers to teenagers. Please note that if you bring us clothes, they will be held in our office until our next trip to Koh Ker, the only school where we do clothes distributions for children.  We don't take them until we have enough for everybody (200 students)

Vitamins:

The koh Ker Students do well on vitamins, especially during the rainy season. The vitamins for sale over here are not as dependable as the ones from abroad, especially from the west.  Vitamins brought in should be chewable multivitamins for children.

BUY IT IN SIEM REAP

Because of the volume of buying we do locally and the fact that a surprising number of things are available here for a very good price, it makes a lot of sense to buy things here. Supporting the local economy is good too. We shop at Khmer owned businesses in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. You can buy on your own or let us take you to our usual sellers where we get better discounts.

Restock First Aid Kits: gauze, tape, thermometers, band-aids, disinfectant, anti-fungals, soap, etc.

Bicycles!  Every year we award bicycles to graduating 6th graders. We need to raise funds for almost 200 bikes. We'll take you to our bike dealer and you can buy a bike for $38. If you're here at the right time of the year, you can see it being awarded .
 

1. Wooden or Metal Free Standing Book Shelves for the Computer Lab at Tchey  $200  DONE JULY 2010