Solaid International
International health and development through grass roots aid and cultural exchange
Solaid International, Inc. is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to facilitating support and exchange across borders through the provision of health and educational aid. Though the material aid that we provide largely flows one-way, we endeavor that the educational, human, and cultural contacts that our programs foster benefit everyone involved in our projects. Our current area of concentration is in the Kampong Kreng village are immediately to the north of Kampot, Cambodia, where we currently:
support after-school classes in 5 public schools.
provision and fund libraries in 23 schools
give economic micro-grants to extremely poor families, usually for proposals geared to improvement their economic well-being
provide scholarships in the current academic year to 35 middle and high school students (with the majority being female), as well as to 12 students in university
support health measures through nutritional monitoring and support, public health classes, and medical aid and assistance
supplement a family savings account program
What's in a Name?
Our name does not come from the Spanish for "sun", but rather from the acronym for "Snow On Leaf." Doing aid work amidst poverty is akin to snowflakes falling on a leaf. Thousands, millions of flakes land on a leaf, with no apparent effect. Then, one out of millions finally drops, and.... Whoosh!, the balance is shifted, the leaf overturns, and the snowflakes scatter to the ground. It is impossible to predict which snowflake, or good deed, will be the momentous one. But all of the snowflakes and deeds are needed for larger change to occur. Simple? Yes, though not naive, as it is often the simplest ideas that carry the day...