Sip it Forward - by Sarah Marquis

Sip It Forward Bottle For a long time now Sparky and I have had a huge desire to help others less fortunate than ourselves. We were two young kids when we met and fell in love at winemaking college, and since then have been able to build a business which not only brings us huge enjoyment, fun and friendship, but allows us to help others.

In 2008 we set aside 1000 cases of the 2007 Two Left Feet, to be bottled under a different label, with all of the proceeds going to charity. We asked our Mollydooker Mates to suggest a name for the wine and Ian & Katie Muncy from Ohio came up with ‘Sip it Forward'. We loved the name from the first time that we saw it.

I was introduced to an organisation in Australia, Transform Cambodia which provides schooling and food for children and their families in Cambodia, and decided to visit. Our world changed from that trip.

Watch the video or read on.

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Proceeds from your purchase will be used to establish three children's centers.

I had heard about the poverty and poor living conditions in Cambodia, but you really don’t believe it until you see it. It’s something that changes your heart forever. It was important for me to see how they lived, to try and fathom how little they did have, so we visited many of the children’s homes. With no running water, no electricity, barely a roof over their heads, I really can’t imagine living like that.… And then we visited the main dump in Phnom Penh. I have to say that this was heart wrenching to see. The smell was putrid, and watching people scavenging for scraps in such a desperate way was horrible. About 2000 people live and work at this dump in conditions that are extremely hot, disease ridden and unbearable. Even young children were working there. Amongst all that rubbish, what amazed me is the Cambodian people were gracious and happy, and even gave me a smile.

We visited the Transform Cambodia centres and the children were so excited to see us. Their love and friendliness was special. To them, we care about them and are giving them a new life. They are extremely grateful. We got mugged with hugs by the children. They are given a chance to go to school, their school bag, their pride and joy, goes with them everywhere. They sang and performed for us many times… it was a beautiful way to experience their culture and gentle spirit. Everyday when the kids come to the centres they are taught about hygiene. They must wash their hands and brush their teeth. The children are given a lovely meal, and for some this is their only meal they eat for the entire day.

So many good things are happening, and families are being cared for - they were extremely grateful as they felt like they have been incredibly blessed for their child to be part of the program. The day of our visit was the day when once a month each child’s family is given 25kg of rice. To them this is equivalent to about $500. This is done to supplement their income because the children in the program are no longer earning money from working on the street.

What excited me is that we can do so much to give these kids a brighter future. The time I spent in Cambodia would not let me sit still and enjoy the wealth of the country I live in. It made me want to do something to give these kids a better life.

We are planning to fund 3 houses for use as centres, and to pay all the costs involved in running the programme in each of them.

Mollydooker One (see picture) has just been opened and provides food & education for 100 children. Transform Cambodia send the children to carefully selected local schools for 6 half days a week, and pay all fees and costs. For the other half of the day the children come to "Mollydooker One" where they are given meals and nutritional supplements, tutored in their schoolwork, coached to read and speak English, and are trained in life skills. To see what is happening at Mollydooker One click here.

From the entire Mollydooker Team we would like to thank you for buying our wines and helping us Sip it Forward and make this dream become a reality.

Cheers!

Sarah

Watch the video

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