Gravenhurst resident Lisa McCoy left Canada on Dec. 25 for her latest travel adventure. She arrived in Cambodia on Jan. 1 and will spend the month of January implementing the Muskoka School project, for which McCoy has been raising funds.

McCoy will also spend several weeks volunteering in Mae Sot, Thailand. This town near the mine-riddled Thai-Burma border is a base for many world relief organizations and NGOs dealing with the present Burmese refugee crisis.

Before heading back to Canada on April 2, McCoy will return to Cambodia to check on the progress of the Muskoka School project.

Cambodian dignitaries, team workers from around the world, facility staff and children all came together to celebrate a significantly special day for the Cambodia Landmine Museum.

On Jan. 10, a ceremony took place in which the facility was presented its official organization licensing certificate. In Cambodia, this certificate, difficult for most organizations to achieve, is imaginably more difficult to attain for an organization that has defused landmines on display. But this facility, an eight-year project implemented by Canadian documentary filmmaker Richard Fitoussi of Bayfield, Ontario, is more than just a landmine museum. It is also the home to Akira, his family and the 22 child landmine victims who presently live there.

As one of the “team,” I was delighted to be a part of this momentous day. The ceremony saw 23 noted dignitaries on the stage, and the event was covered by Time Magazine (Canadian edition).

At 9:30 a.m., after the opening remarks, we all rose to respect the Cambodian National Anthem. Fitoussi then thanked everyone for making this day possible, and read a letter recently presented to him by Lloyd Norman Axworthy, whose greatest success was the Ottawa Treaty, an international treaty to ban anti-personnel landmines. He also campaigned against the use of child soldiers and the international trade in light weapons.

In his letter, Dr. Axworthy spoke of keeping a landmine from Bosnia in his office as a stark reminder of the devastating cruelty of this man-made weapon. He noted that as of October 2007, 156 state dignitaries have signed the treaty, and 40 million landmines have been destroyed since the treaty’s implementation. Dr. Axworthy thanked and congratulated the facility for the success of all its endeavours.

The deputy governor of Siem Reap was the next dignitary to take to the podium and offer his congratulations, followed by secretary general of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority Sam Sotha. In 1997, Sotha attended the signing of the Ottawa Treaty. He spoke on how hard Cambodia, and other NGOs in place, work constantly to clear landmines. He stated the government has to work hard to assist the victims, and acknowledged the help the new facility gives to children injured by landmines. His department worked hard to check, and double-check, every landmine at the museum, to ensure they were defused. He applauded Fitoussi and Akira for their tremendous work, and then ceremoniously handed them the official licensing certificate.

The children were next in line to be honoured for their scholastic achievements, as each one in turn was presented with an Oxford Khmer/English dictionary. They were presented by Asad and Olivia Rahmen of Project Enlighten, the NGO that raises funds toward scholarships for these children. Richard Fitoussi Sr., along with wife Corrine, next presented gifts to the facility staff and educators.

Tol and Voleak, two resident children, gave heartwarming speeches of how the facility has given them the opportunity for a better education, resulting in hopes for a rewarding future.

Local police and military were also in attendance. Akira presented the police with a gift of hand-held radios, ensuring the facility’s immediate communication with the police, should the need arise.

Ending the morning’s celebration was one final speech, given by the man whose dream made this all possible — Akira. Akira’s never-ending vision “to make my country safe for my people” is a vision shared by many in Cambodia. Akira has never stopped acting on his vision, resulting in many years of having personally defused and removed landmines. He has also taken into his family uncared for children of landmine casualties. I was personally touched when he stressed his strong desire to build more schools in the rural areas of Cambodia lacking schools.

Within the next week I will be able to share this desire with Akira as we go to visit the Cambodian countryside to view the site for the future Muskoka School, funded by the generous citizens of Muskoka.

He is a man of many visions, and thanks to all of those who made this new facility possible. The facility is solely run on donations. It presently has a very small schoolroom that only comfortably seats five children. It is presently fundraising to build a new, larger schoolroom. Donations can be made through the Cambodia Landmine Museum Relief Fund website at www.cambodialandminemuseum.org/.