For immediate release:

"United Nations" of Children Fund School in Cambodia

Members of Kid Delegation Plan to Attend Opening

September 25, 2007 Des Moines, Iowa—Seventy children, representing 48 U.S. states and 19 different countries, have come together, funding a school in rural Cambodia. The group of 10-15 year-olds was established in 2005 by 12 year-old Talia Leman of Waukee, Iowa, in order to create a means for children to work together internationally to address the needs of their less advantaged peers. By emailing friends who emailed friends, Leman was able to identify delegates, and through conference calls and chat room meetings, the group has been able to organize themselves to address causes that concern them. With the opening of their school slated for the second quarter of 2008, a number of the delegates are hoping to attend, and meet their fellow delegates for the first time.

The idea for funding a school in Cambodia came from the group's delegate from Japan, Abby Sneider, whose family has a relationship with Bernard Krisher, Chairman of American Assistance to Cambodia (AAfC). A retired journalist who served as Newsweek's Chief Correspondent to Tokyo, Krisher has many projects in Cambodia addressing the needs of children, one of which is building schools. Due to matching funds from the Asian Development Bank, arranged by Krisher, donors are able to fund and name a school for $13,000. These young donors have chosen to name their school "FOR EACH OTHER".

"I have learned that 75% of the kids in Cambodia do not have the chance to go to school", said Leman. "I figure, if we can educate them, we are making the best investment because then we are helping them to help themselves."

Coming from the U.S., Canada, England, Taiwan, Argentina, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Africa, Iceland, Germany, Nigeria, Italy, Australia, Japan, Denmark, Korea and Sweden, the children raised the funds in a variety of ways. A number of the delegates decided to give away character band-aids in exchange for donations, using the slogan "BAND with us to AID others". (www.randomkid.org/foreachother.asp)

Funding their "FOR EACH OTHER" school was the second project for these internet-linked humanitarians. In 2006, the group completed their first fundraising effort benefiting AIDS in Africa. After raising funds, the group met with UNICEF officials in an international conference call to learn more about AIDS and HIV prevention.

Leman's goal is to not only help less advantaged kids in the world, it is also to help kids organize themselves to make a difference. Having served as UNICEF's National Youth Ambassador in 2005, Leman got the idea of establishing a "U.N." of kids, and housed it under her non-profit, "RandomKid", that she founded in partnership with an adult friend, Anne Ginther. Her non-profit has the mission of helping kids to help others. Her kid-delegated "United Nations" is continuing to grow in it's membership, and is one of several RandomKid projects she has underway.

About Randomkid:

RandomKid (www.randomkid.org) is a non-profit with the mission to take the goodness of the child and turn it into goodness for the world, by helping kids help others. Founded by 12-year-old Talia Leman in 2005 after uniting kids across the U.S. to report more than $10 million for Hurricane Katrina/Rita relief, RandomKid now works to educate, mobilize and empower youth to meaningfully impact a broad spectrum of local, national and global needs. For more information on the positive impact children have made on the world through RandomKid, please visit www.randomkid.org/impact.asp.

About American Assistance for Cambodia (AAfC)

"American Assistance for Cambodia" is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving opportunities for the youth and rural poor in Cambodia.
Founded in 1993 by American journalist Bernie Krisher, AAfC operates interlinked programs across Cambodia in the areas of education, health, rural development, and technology.

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