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My Personal Photo Album

Here is a direct link to my personal photo collection hosted at the Hopiland Network. Photo albums are arranged by date, and the collection grows with passing time. It seems I'm always a bit behind with updating the collection, but you'll find a nice sampling of where I have been in recent years. Take a look and enjoy some scenes of the places I've experienced. You'll have a better picture of how I spend my time alone on the road.

The Recycles.Org Project

Recycles.Org is my flagship nonprofit charitable project which I began in 1994. At that time, the idea of recycling old computers to "bridge the digital divide" was a novelty. I began the project in Flagstaff, Arizona, where I collected, refurbished, and distributed used computers freely to others in need. The world-wide-web was a new and growing phenomenon at the time, so the idea caught on as printed media discovered my work.

Today the Recycles.org Nonprofit Recycling and Reuse Network is an on-line project aimed at businesses, residents, schools, and nonprofit organizations interested in recycling and reusing computers. The website serves as a regional and nationwide exchange board which directly connects those wishing to dispose of equipment, and nonprofit organizations in need. There are hundreds of groups across America who love the service we provide, and we continue to grow and help thousands around the world.

This project is a labor of love, as it requires much time and resources to keep going every day. I look for support from our users, but cash giving often seems impossible for them. For those who cannot help, I ask that they promote the service whenever and wherever possible. If you can help to promote our service within your own circle of friends, your effort will be greatly appreciated. Please visit the website and take a look around.

My Independent Teaching Work in Cambodia

In Cambodia, my focus is finding and assisting promising, deserving, young adults who have the potential to become leaders, and empowering them with the tools and knowledge necessary for success. Such knowledge not only includes an understanding of English, but of business, computer systems, the Internet, leadership skills, and a concern for their environment. Young adults in the developing world need to learn many of the fundamental basic life skills we take for granted in the developed world, and it is a honor for me to be here for them.

Simple Textbooks for the Children

English is an international language. A strong working knowledge of English empowers youth in more ways than you might imagine. In the global marketplace, without English, a person is handicapped in areas such as business, computers, education, and tourism. Teaching English and life skills to very poor students who are ready and willing to learn is a rich and rewarding experience. If you're a native English speaker, you have all the credentials needed to start work today.

Helping with Needs

The nature of my work is such that I have many needs. In Cambodia, and in comparison to developed nations, the marketplace is limited. Consumer goods, both new and used, are more costly, while quality and service is poor. Young students can use your outdated laptop, as well as your memory cards, readers, and sticks. If you've upgraded your digital camera, the old one is a great tool for an emerging journalist. If you have any free tutorials on any subjects at all, whether on CD or DVD, please consider gifting them to us.

Whenever I am able upgrade, I give my previous computer to a deserving student. The time is approaching for my next upgrade, and I need your help. If you will be coming to Cambodia, I need a courier whom I can trust to accept shipment from Amazon, and deliver it to me. Shipping directly to Cambodia is not an option, and even small shipments are costly with a high probability of theft.

Introducing Len Laim

Len Laim has a desire to study medicine and become a medical doctor for his people. I went to visit his home, family, and schools, and felt that with his determination, intelligence, and hard work, he will succeed. He insists on learning English using a medical book filled with very difficult technical words. He comes to me for lessons seven days a week, for 1 hour each evening, after a full day of school. Muddy dirt roads, rain storms, and darkness will not stop him. He must ride his old bicycle many kilometers back home after each lesson. Home is a one room bamboo shack, with no electricity or plumbing, which he shares with six other young students. He studies under an oil lamp, and survives on less than one dollar a day.

Len Laim learning to make his websites.

Len Laim has a strong desire to help others, especially the people of his country and everyone back in his home village. Under my mentorship, he has developed two websites and started a project to assist the children in the elementary school of his village. I strongly encourage you to visit his personal website, and to also take a few minutes to read all about the Samrong School of Opportunity, which is his village elementary school project. Please read all that he has to say. You will find his courage and determination a story of timeless inspiration.

Introducing Thavry Thun

Thavry Thun is another very special student who I began to mentor immediately upon her completion of high school. At that time, she needed to leave her homeland for the first time, and begin to study away from her parents. I worked with her everyday as she attended schools in Phnom Penh, and then again in Siem Reap. In two short years her life has undergone a dramatic transformation, and recently she has won a full scholarship to study Information Technology in Czech Republic.

Thavry Thun - a rising star.

Born and raised a poor, simple farm girl in the Cambodian countryside, Thavry has a keen interest in art, as well as business and technology. I encouraged her to explore her writing and artistic talents, which were completely dormant before then. Family and friends would discourage her in activities that did not seem traditional, economically productive, or suitable for a young Khmer girl living in poverty.

You might imagine how completely absurd it would be for a poor farming girl to want to be an artist, writer, or computer technician. She was shy and withdrawn when I met her, but now she is shining brilliantly, with friends from around the world, living and studying in Europe. She had never used a computer before we met, but now she has created her own website. I tutored her in HTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL as she worked and attended school full time. For a unique view into the mind of this newly emerging leader and role model for young women around the world, it will be worth your time to browse through her website, read her stories, and view her drawings. There is no doubt in my mind that you will be touched and inspired.

Teaching in Southeast Asia

I am regularly offered traditional teaching assignments while in Southeast Asia. There is a great need for qualified teachers, especially those who are native English speakers. I will occassionally teach as a guest at public and private schools, but while I enjoy working with young children, I find 8 to 4 classroom teaching tiring and repetitive. The nature of my private work is that I select older, advanced students who want to learn programming, and tutor them privately. As they learn programming, they have the opportunity to tell their story to the world. I further help to improve their English reading, writing, vocabulary, pronunciation, and conversation. In our personal discussions, I offer mentoring and guidance for personal success.

My students come from poor farming backgrounds, and I work with them free of charge. I visit their homeland and become close with their families. These are young people whose families live with no plumbing or electricity, and their only means of an income is through laboring on the land. I look for young people who are determined, astute, and have the potential to be community leaders. In high school, they will already have learned to speak enough English so we may communicate effectively. They each must display a concern for helping to solve social problems in their country, and to improve our environment, both locally and globally.

Introducing Sopheak Monkol Sok

Sopheak Monkol Sok is another exemplary student with a desire to help others and to improve the quality of life in his country. Out of fifty applicants for a full scholarship to study Information Technology in the Czech Republic, the two winners were both my private students. Monkol too has won a full scholarship to study in Europe, and that is where both he and Thavry are studying now. In September 2009, they both left their homes in Cambodia for the first time, but because of the great costs involved, they will not be able to return for three years.

Monkol and Thavry, my two scholars hard at work.

Monkol also shows strong signs of community leadership, and a commitment toward helping others less fortunate. As an example of his work and involvement, please take a look at his class project, which he completed under my tutelage using HTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL. Once again, you will be inspired by the things our youth can do to transform our world.

I have several other students whom I mentor, but these I have mentioned above are a few who have recently completed web projects for your viewing.

Touk Thla Methodist Church and Free School

Along with young students and struggling village schools, I also tend to adopt small, struggling churches and pastors. My next big project is to help Pastor Pros Ieng and his wife build a free school for his community on the church property which they manage. The children must be feed each day, so we need to begin with a simple kitchen, which will be nothing more than a concrete slab with an awning overhead.

Tuok Thla students taking a break from studies

I began making a website for Pastor Pros and this project, but it will be his job to write the words which I will edit for proper English. This is very difficult for him to do without my direct help, so he has yet to submit anything for us. I will need to go to live with him at the school, and we will work together directly for a while. One of the first things I must do is buy the church and school a used computer. If there is any way you can help, your giving will be greatly appreciated, and we hope you are richly rewarded.

In this strongly Buddhist land, the school and the church are separate entities, and the teachings are not mixed. Here is the start of their new website. As you see, there are plenty of photos, but no words as yet. I believe the project has great potential for a positive impact in the community, and have set the task upon myself to raise the us$30,000 required to build the school and complete the project.

Existing open-air school building at Tuok Thla

Possibly you may be aware of caring church groups in your country with worldwide outreach efforts which would be willing to send a task group of helpers over. Those with construction contracting skills who would be able to help buy building materials and manage laborers would be invaluable to the project. Please mention our work to others, and network within your community of friends to somehow find us the help we need.

I have another church, pastor, school, and orphanage anxiously waiting on the sidelines for my help, which you will be hearing about in the very near future. Your involvement will deeply and directly touch the lives of everyone involved, so please help us if there is any way possible. May you continue to be richly rewarded with good health, happiness, comfort, contentment, abundance, and prosperity through all the days of your life.

Use the menu bar above and below to explore the website. If you'd like to write to me, you can make contact in a few ways:

• use the webform at www.recycles.org
• visit my Facebook profile
• comment on the Bikepaths Forum
• or send email to hopiland@gmail.com

Being on the road alone isn't always easy. One must expect tests and trials around any corner, but such things are what make us strong and cause us to grow. If you've found my site interesting, I hope to hear from you. Your few words of encouragement in passing are the same as a simple "thumbs up" from a stranger as I go along my way.

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