WE'RE ALMOST THERE!

We only need $2000 more to get a new truck and $500 to build seats. Can you help us?

4 years ago we bought a small Suzuki Carry 550 for $3300. We built a roof and seats in the back and used it to pick up a small group of 5 children daily and take them to school. Now, however, we are moving over 20 children every day and the small truck just can't quite seem to manage it anymore. So now we're buying a bigger truck!

For months we've been raising money to buy a new truck and we finally found one! A 2001 Toyota Tacoma for just around $10,000. We made the down payment on it, transferred most of the money we raised to buy it, and all that's left is to pay $2000 more and build a roof and seats in the back.

We have been trying to sell our current truck for about $2000 to cover the final payment, but so far we have not received a decent offer on it. In the event that we cannot sell it for enough to make the final payment, would you be able to help us cover the difference?

HELP US NOW!

If there are any extra funds left over, do not worry... These will not go to waste. We are currently planning a farm project to help make Crossing Cambodia more self-sustainable, and the extra funds will go to this project. If we end up having enough money we will hopefully just keep the mini-truck to use as a farm vehicle. Your money will still go to helping the kids at Crossing Cambodia and providing them with a better future.

To learn more about the farm project, feel free to click here.

Why is the new truck so expensive?

Even though Cambodia is a developing nation and many things here are actually cheaper than in Western countries, vehicles remain extremely expensive. Because Cambodia is a cash economy the government is not able to enforce income tax, thus much of their revenue comes from property taxes and import taxes. The Customs Department uses a unique equation that considers the vehicle make and model, current value, and engine displacement to come up with a vehicle import tax amount that can range from 80% to 120% of the value of a vehicle. Because of this vehicles will often cost more than twice as much as they would in the US. This is why we need as much as $10,000 to buy a 16 year old vehicle.