|
IN
THE NEWS
This Article was published by the Rochester, MN Post
Bulletin, then covered by the Associated Press.
Next,
it was broadcast throughout Minnesota. Family told
us about the twin cities paper, the Pioneer Press
carrying the paper such as in this
blog.
WCCO, a television's website carried the story. Other
smaller papers covered the stories.
Next,
we got a call from Boston, a friend told us the story
was carried
throughout the country!
We
then found reference to this article
on Cambodian Websites such as:
What
was interesting abou this series of blog entries was
the discussion of what an "American" can
do in a developing country.
Cambodians both cheered and sneered about "aid"
and "NGOs." We responded to their comments
and even got replies!
A
related blog discussed the trash that litters the
countryside as well as the streets in Cambodia. They
stated,
"You
need to get the inestimable Naomi Wente in as
consultant of course, but even so, you’d
be up against it. you’ve [knowingly] failed
to factor in a rather important element: Cambodians.
As in, You can take a toilet to Cambodia, but
you can’t take a Cambodian to the toilet.'
"
(see: http://www.khmer440.com/) |
Another
blog site from
Cambodia mentioned:
| Shame
on you NGOs
It is by the acts of compassion
from people such as 15 year-old Naomi Wente
that puts all of your meaningless, pork-barrel
spending to shame and reveals your true identities.
(see: blogger) |
Perhaps
our biggest laugh came from finding the story on a
toilet website:
http://toilet.mask.com.ua/teen-toilet/teen-toilet-06.html
Just
when we thought the attention had died down, there
was an editorial written in the paper and even more
press attention came our way!
|
December
2006
By Heather J. Carlson
The Post-Bulletin
DODGE
CENTER -- For teenager Naomi Wente, a bulky
scrapbook serves as a constant reminder of why she
has dedicated herself to helping strangers living
on the other side of the globe.
Open
the book and inside are dozens of photos of men, women
and children living in Cambodia; of children scrambling
across a giant landfill; of orphans posing with Naomi
for the camera.
A
year ago, the 15-year-old Dodge Center girl said she
knew little about Cambodia. Then she and her family
traveled last December with a group of Rochester Community
and Technical College students and instructors to
the Southeast Asian country. After seeing Cambodia's
staggering poverty firsthand, the Triton High School
student decided she needed to find a way to help.
"I
wanted to be able to do something to make a difference,"
she said.
So
the teenager focused on something basic that most
Americans take for granted -- a toilet. The teenager
began raising money to install toilets, septic systems
and wells in Cambodia's villages. So far, she has
collected more than $2,000 toward her campaign called
"One Toilet at a Time."
In
Cambodia, having toilets means more than improving
sanitation. It can make the difference between whether
teenage girls continue to go to school, said Kim Sin,
who worked with Naomi's mother, RCTC speech instructor
Lori Halverson-Wente, to organize the Cambodia trip.
Sin's family fled the country when he was a child
to escape the violence during the Khmer Rouge's reign.
He now works for RCTC's media services department.
Sin
said often when girls begin menstruating they are
too embarrassed to use the primitive public bathrooms,
which are usually simply a hole in the ground. The
girls then either opt to go into a nearby forest despite
the risk of landmines and kidnappings. Or they simply
stop going to class altogether.
Sin
said he has been impressed by Naomi's commitment to
help other teenage girls in a foreign land.
"It's
wonderful," he said. "The future of Cambodia
relies on having girls have the education to become
future government leaders."
Naomi's
fundraising efforts got an unexpected boost recently
when she won two tickets to Las Vegas as part of a
drawing sponsored by Farr Development to celebrate
its Towne Square project in Byron. Her dad, Mark Halverson-Wente,
got the call saying Naomi had won the tickets.
"I
said, 'Naomi is 15 and I don't think she will be going
to Las Vegas any time soon," he said.
So
Farr Development offered to give them $1,500 instead
-- money Naomi will use for her return trip to Cambodia
later this month. She will once again join the RCTC
group headed to Cambodia to share the donations she
has collected so far.
"Cambodia
has such an impact on me spiritually and emotionally,"
Naomi said. "I just felt like a different person.
It felt like there were more than the walls of my
high school. There's a whole world out there." |
