{"id":396,"date":"2012-02-28T09:00:26","date_gmt":"2012-02-28T14:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lemonstolemonade\/?p=396"},"modified":"2012-02-28T03:08:46","modified_gmt":"2012-02-28T08:08:46","slug":"susan-barron-trenk-her-story-in-her-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lemonstolemonade\/2012\/02\/28\/susan-barron-trenk-her-story-in-her-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Susan Barron Trenk: Her Story, in Her Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It all started one day on the outskirts of Phnom Penh at the foot of a massive
\ngarbage dump.<\/p>\n

The scorching Cambodian sun backlit the plastic garbage bags that were being
\ncarried by small children as they scavenged through garbage for something to eat or
\nsell.<\/p>\n

As we stood and watched the smell was overwhelming and bits of garbage blew
\nthrough the air getting stuck in our hair and eyelashes burning our eyes. This was
\nthese children\u2019s every day reality.<\/p>\n

Then we learned that these kids could go to school if only for school supplies.<\/p>\n

A few years earlier Pymean Noun built a school at the Dump called the POI school
\nand gave the families rice in exchange for letting their children attend school
\ninstead of working the dump to feed their families. The money earmarked for school
\nsupplies was used up with the rice program and they had no supplies.<\/p>\n

Wanting to make a difference in these children\u2019s lives we went shopping! We
\nbought cases of school supplies and donated them to each and every student at the
\nPIO School plus more for those waitlisted so more children could attend.<\/p>\n

It was a wonderful and joyous day but I was haunted by it.
\nWhen was the next group of American women going to be driving past a garbage
\ndump outside of Phnom Penh and decide go shopping for school supplies? It was
\nsuch a random act. I wanted to find a way to keep those supplies coming on a
\nregular basis. On the plane ride home I wrote the business plan for The Pencil
\nPromise. Our Promise: For every backpack you purchase we deliver another, filled
\nwith school supplies, to a child in need.<\/p>\n

Since that first trip in November 2009, I have had the privilege of traveling the
\nworld working with many marginalized communities delivering school supplies and
\nopening access to education. We work with Tibetan refugees escaping tyranny and
\nliving in exile in pursuit of the right to an education. We work with Laotian orphans,
\nslum children of Indian, the Maasai and Samburu tribes of Kenya, and of course the
\nCambodian children of the PIO school where this journey began. Education is the
\nonly way to break the cycle of poverty and it is working.<\/p>\n

When we educate one child there is a ripple effect. They not only learn to read and
\nwrite but they then teach their families. They learn the importance of drinking
\nclean water and that vaccines are not the government trying to hurt you. They learn
\nAIDS awareness and the importance of prenatal care. This knowledge elevates the
\nstandard of living for every member of the community.<\/p>\n

Since those first few trips when we brought backpacks from the US to deliver, The<\/p>\n

Pencil Promise has started our Women\u2019s Empowerment program. We work with
\nsome of the worlds most marginalized women doing jobs skills training and then we
\noffer them employment sewing our backpacks. This has been a source of so much
\npride to me personally, and it gives these women a jobs skill and an opportunity for
\nfinancial independence, as well as creates beautifully made backpacks for children
\nin need.<\/p>\n

That day squinting into the sun at that garbage dump outside Phnom Penh I never
\ncould have imagined that this foul smelling rat infested setting would transform the
\ntrajectory of my life, bringing immeasurable joy and purpose, and along the way
\ntransforming the trajectory of the lives of so many women and children in need.<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Susan Barron Trenk founded The Pencil Promise<\/a> 2009. You can contribute to her amazing cause by purchasing a backpack <\/a>that will help children in need get an education that could turn their lives around, or helping your child engage in a rewarding cultural exchange by becoming a PencilPal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It all started one day on the outskirts of Phnom Penh at the foot of a massive garbage dump. The scorching Cambodian sun backlit the plastic garbage bags that were being carried by small children as they scavenged through garbage for something to eat or sell. 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