Osoyoos couple Ron Stuart and Barb Chipperfield have spent much of their 13 years together travelling the world. They will be leaving in a couple of weeks to travel to Cambodia, where they will help at a school in the southeast Asian country. Stuart will use his carpentry skills, while his wife will teach English to the young students. The happy couple plan on travelling across other parts of Asia once they spend a couple of weeks helping out in Cambodia. They are accepting donations of school supplies and small toys before they leave on their trip on Dec. 16. (Keith Lacey photo)
An Osoyoos couple will be leaving soon to do their small part to try and improve the lives of young children in Cambodia.
And they will be collecting donations of school supplies and other items from Osoyoos residents who want to do their part to help them assist the poor.
Ron Stuart and his wife Barb Chipperfield will be leaving Osoyoos on Dec. 16 for Cambodia, where they will both volunteer their time to assist in construction of a new school in the southeast Asian country.
Travelling the world and doing their small part to help improve the lives of Third World citizens has been a big part of their lives since they met 13 years ago, said Chipperfield, who married Stuart eight years ago.
“I was one of the original hippies from the 1960s,” said Chipperfield proudly. “I moved to India when I was a teenager and lived in an Ashram and studied meditation and yoga … and returned to India and lived there for two years as an adult.
“I estimate I’ve visited 50 countries in my life and my love of travelling is stronger than ever.”
Stuart had done a bit of travelling himself, but that has increased exponentially since meeting Chipperfield.
“I think we’ve been to something like 35 countries in the 13 years we’ve been together,” he said. “We go on two or three trips a year. A big part of our relationship is our love of travel.”
Stuart recently retired after a successful 33-year career with Telus, while Chipperfield’s career involved taking care of and mentoring foster children for more than three decades.
Stuart and Chipperfield travelled to Cambodia for the first time as part of an extended tour of Asia 10 years ago and had always wanted to return.
“Cambodia is a very poor country, but it’s just lovely and so are the people,” said Chipperfield. “We’ve been talking about going back from the day we returned 10 years ago.”
Stuart is an accomplished handyman and will be lending his skills to helping build an International School of Siem Reap (ISSR), which is a private, international school that accepts both ex-patriot and Khmer students.
ISSR is split into two campuses.
The high school is located next to Wat Damnack on the eastern side of the Siem Reap River at the top of Sala Lodge Road. The infants and primary school campus is located nearby.
All of the children at both schools are taught British curriculum, which is very important because learning the English language is crucial for young Cambodians looking to improve their quality of life and escape the life of poverty so many of them grow up in, said Chipperfield.
More than half of the 80 children currently attending the school, who are between the ages of 5 and 13, are orphans, she said.
“We will be helping build a dormitory at the school that has been under construction for years,” said Stuart. “I’ve helped build a lot of houses through the years, so I will be lending my carpentry skills.
“Barb has training in teaching English as a Second Language and that’s where she will be helping out.”
Stuart and Chipperfield plan on staying at least two weeks, but are not adverse to staying a little longer if needed.
After they visit Cambodia, they plan on continuing to tour other parts of Asia for several more weeks.
“The entire trip will be two months, but we’ve set aside the two weeks for the school in Cambodia and we might decide to stay a little longer, depending on what happens,” he said. “You have to be flexible whenever you travel long distances and that’s our plan.”
Several years ago, Stuart and Chipperfield participated in the unique fundraising event called the India Rickshaw Run, where participants spend two weeks riding electric rickshaws, which are powered by 150 cc engines that power up to 50 km/h, said Stuart.
“There are 48 teams from around the world … and you try and cover 3,500 kilometres across India in two weeks,” he said. “We were the only Canadian team that was chosen that year.”
Each participant must donate a minimum of $1,000 British pounds ($2,000 in Canadian dollars) to compete and all of the proceeds were turned over to the Save Our Children Foundation and Frank Water, which helps purchase water filtration systems for India’s poor.
Even though the engine on their electric rickshaw almost blew up, Stuart and Chipperfield managed to finish the race.
“It was an unbelievable experience,” he said. ‘They basically give you this electric machine and you go … there aren’t a lot of rules. You just have to try and follow the map and get to the finish line.
“But it’s for a very worthy cause and you get to see so many places in India. It was a truly amazing experience.”
Stuart and Chipperfield say they are both very much looking forward to returning to Cambodia.
“These people don’t have a lot and they really do appreciate it when complete strangers travel there to try and help,” said Chipperfield. “It’s a wonderful place to visit and we’re just glad to be doing our little small part to try and help these people.
“We’ll also be able to spend Christmas in Asia and that should be another great experience.”
They will be accepting donations of school supplies like pens, pencils, crayons, markers and clothing like T-shirts, socks, underwear and even small toys.
All donations from local residents can be dropped off at the New Leaf Café on Main Street in Osoyoos before Dec. 16.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
