First of all, I would like to pay my respect for Madam Bun Rany Hun Sen, President of Cambodian Red Cross! To Your Excellencies, madams, ladies and gentlemen and national-international guests from Ministries, Embassies and organizations in the Kingdom of Cambodia, who are present here!

On behalf of the Cambodian Organization of Persons with HIV/AIDS (COPHA), which at the moment exists only out of volunteers as myself, It is a great pleasure and honor to stand in front of you and be part of the official launch of the International Year of Volunteer. Voluntarism means participating in social activities to serve the interest of general people without thinking of money or salary. COPHA's volunteers exist out of three groups of volunteers. The first is the group non-infected persons, the second group are persons with disability and living with HIV/AIDS. Persons living with HIV/AIDS, like myself form the third group. Actually, in my own organization, nine of twenty- five voluntary staffs are persons living with HIV/AIDS. These volunteers want to show the society that it is possible to work all together for the benefit of everybody.

During two decades of civil war Cambodia social infrastructures were almost destroyed. Currently, Cambodian society needs all voluntary forces with good willing to participate to reconstruct the infrastructures.

Finally, I would like to thank all volunteers in the world as well as in our Kingdom of Cambodia, who have been doing activities for the benefit of common people and I would like to request everyone to keep on doing this. So that in all countries in the world it will lead to prosperity and I wish Madam Bun Rany Hun Sen, Your Excellencies, Madams, Ladies and Gentlemen will meet happiness and success in volunteering for the interest of common people in society.