One of the reasons I’m in Cambodia working with the poor is because I believe that the children in the photo to the left, deserve the same in life as the children in the photo to the right.  Fortunately, my sister and her husband (the parents of the children in the second photo) also believe the same thing.

I was talking to my wonderful sister, Jennifer, a little while ago about the fact that we were fast running out of cash for the bridge.  She discussed our dilemma with her very generous husband, Brian, and they hatched a plan to help us out.

Brian had a work vehicle for sale.  He had bought a new vehicle some time ago and the trade in price they were going to give him was only $5,000.00.  Brian decided to sell it privately in order to get a better price for it.  He had a buyer lined up and the price agreed upon was $6,500.00 but unfortunately (though fortunately for us) the deal fell through.

Now, anyone who has ever met my dad, Barry Groves, knows that he is a something of a legend when it comes to buying and selling things.  So Jennifer and Brian set him a challenge. 

They told him they were going to put the sale of the vehicle in his hands and anything he could get over $6,500.00 would go towards the bridge.  Well, good old Dad, legend that he is, sold the vehicle the very first weekend for $10,000.00.  This means that Jennifer and Brian get their $6,500.00 and we get a massive $3,500.00 to put towards the bridge!  The magnitude of their donation is still sinking in. 

Brian and Jennifer’s surname is Swift so we will be naming the bridge Swift Bridge which translates to Spien Rohas.  I’m still coming to terms with the generosity of my sister and her hubby Brian (and this is not the first large donation I’ve received from them.) 

Brian is a builder based on the Sunshine Coast – his company is Brian Swift Constructions, phone number  07 5492 2950 and email swift@doggy.com.au so if you need a house, block of units, etc built, you know where to go.

Thank you so much Jennifer and Brian – I’ll never be able to repay you for all your generosity and to my dear Dad – he truly could sell ice to an Eskimo.

As Brian says “happy days!”  We’re building a bridge and we’re going to get over it…….

The bridge is coming along nicely.  Here's a sneak preview of how it looks now.  I'll post some more photos very soon.  

Why we need to build a bridge

Ready to begin  

Construction begins

Almost finished