Alison W introduced Paul Deacon, a former Wycombe Town Clerk, who retired as an International Private
Banker from Coutts in 2008. In retirement he kept busy as a Toastmaster, while his wife Liz was still working fulltime
as a physiotherapist. Both had always dreamt of doing something interesting, exciting and meaningful.
In 2019, Paul was contacted by Mark McKeown then living in Cambodia and advising an NGO there called
KHEN (Kien-Kies Health Education Network) which focuses on educating children. Mark asked Paul if he knew
anyone who might be interested in raising £10K for a school in Western Cambodia. They both knew Mark, so
felt they could trust KHEN. Liz had discovered she was eligible for a 6-month career break. They decided they
could make this project part of their adventure, and Paul spoke of the many challenges they faced.
However, they found fund-raising wasn’t as easy as they hoped. Paul tried to establish the Cambodia
Community Schools Project UK as a charity – but the application failed. It took 6 months to establish a bank
account for CCSP. Eventually the money was raised through people they knew, through donations or charity
events, quiz nights and raffles. KHEN then used the money to build a 3-classroom primary school and to pay its
teachers for 2 years. If the school is successful, the government will take over the school’s running, and build
secondary schools for the children to attend.
Liz and Paul flew to Cambodia fin October 2019 for the school’s opening. Paul started his presentation to our
club by talking about the geography and history of Cambodia. The country had been at civil war until 1975,
resulting in the deaths of 2 million people. Their fields will not be clear of landmines till 2025: 4 million cleared
so far, 6 million to go. Poverty and malnutrition are rampant. One of the challenges was getting building
materials and equipment moved to the village. Roads from major towns and cities start well, but dwindle to dirt
tracks in rural areas. Paul answered a number of questions at the end.
Dorothy gave the vote of thanks for a very interesting and enlightening presentation.