Vernon Morning Starhttp://www.bclocalnews.com
On Ouchs wants to pay it forward.
The owner of The Rice Box restaurant and a former refugee from Cambodia will donate 100 per cent of the store’s sales on Thursday to the Camodian Support Group and the SunFM Have a Heart Radiothon, with each receiving 50 per cent of the funds.
Cambodia is a poor and developing country that was torn apart by a vicious war from the 1970s to the late ‘80s.
“People in Cambodia do not have the privileges or luxuries as we are used to in Canada, or the U.S.A. or economically developed countries,” says Ouchs. “We don’t realize how lucky we are to come home with a roof over our head or worrying if there will be food on the table or having money to go to buy medicine or go to the hospital when you are sick.
“My relatives in Cambodia are still pumping water from a well and living in a hut with no electricity.”
During the war, Ouchs’ parents fled to Thailand, where camps had been set up for Cambodian refugees.
Ouchs was born in a refugee camp along with his two younger sisters and older brother. After the war ended in the 1980s, many refugees were sent back to Cambodia to start their lives over again.
“My family and I were among the lucky few to be sponsored to Canada in 1989, with the help of the Cambodia Support Group (CSG, a Canadian non-profit charity) which resettled over 200 refugees to Canada,” said Ouchs.
Through the sponsorship of the Anglican Church, the group helped to relocate Ouchs’ family to Vernon
The CSG supports the culturally-sensitive reconstruction of Cambodia, aids in the economic and social adaptation of immigrants to Canada and shares expertise and resources to promote peace and cross-cultural understanding. I owe so much to this organization that has given my family a better life.”
Last year, The Rice Box and its employees donated more than $1,000 to the Radiothon and decided they should do something bigger this year.
“The reason we thought we should do something big this year is because charities are struggling to receive donations due to the economic situation,” said Ouchs. “The Radiothon could really use our help because the funds from it will go toward the expansion of our overcrowded hospital.
“We are so lucky in this country to go to the hospital when we are sick or when we need surgery, whereas in Cambodia they don’t have the money to buy medicine or go to the hospital. To help a great cause like this is something we cannot say no to.”
Ouchs said the CSG could use any and all help in order to fund their projects in Cambodia.
“It is an organization that I always want to repay my debt to,” he said. “They basically bought me and my family the freedom and that’s something that is hard to pay back.”
Ouch and his family booked their trip to Cambodia for April a few months ago, not knowing that SunFM was going to host the Radiothon on April 30.
When Ouchs found out he would be in Cambodia on the big day, he decided to cancel his trip in order to participate in the fundraising event. Since Ouchs received his plane tickets with his Visa points it was non-refundable.
“It wasn’t a hard choice for me, I can’t miss out on this big day knowing it’s a perfect time and opportunity to raise money for both charities,” said Ouchs. “There’s always another time for me to go.”
Have a Heart is in its sixth year of fundraising for Vernon Jubilee Hospital. Ouchs hopes his decision to donate his restaurant’s sales to the Radiothon and CSG will help make the event even bigger this year.
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