A small group of local Cambodians are holding a fundraiser tomorrow for their annual project to send supplies and holiday cheer to the less fortunate in their homeland.

Hongly Khuy, a member of the Khemaras Center, said he and the others going on the trip simply want to offer encouragement to some of the disadvantaged people they left behind in Cambodia.

"I know how it is over there," said Khuy, who left Cambodia in 1979 as a boat refugee. "I was born and raised there. I remember when I was 11 or 12 years old, we didn't have any toothpaste, toothbrushes or slippers. None."

Now 53, Khuy has lived in Hawai'i since 1981.

About 16 people, both Cambodian and non-Cambodian, will make this year's trip, scheduled for Dec. 21 to Jan. 3.

The trip is sponsored in part by the Khemaras Center, the Cambodian offshoot of the outreach mission of the University Avenue Baptist Church.

The group coordinates its trips with Barnabas Mam, director of the School of Practical Ministries. The organization is based in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, Khuy said.

"They have a network throughout the country," Khuy said. "They try to pick different locations each time."

Over the past six years, the Hawai'i Cambodians have visited some of the most remote and needy provinces including Takeo, Battambang, Siem Reap or Kampong Speu.

The group distributes thousands of sewing kits, dental supplies, over-the-counter medications and hygiene products, among other items. Much of the stuff, Khuy said, goes to people commonly referred to as "rubbish scavengers" and their children.

The Lions Club of Honolulu has been particularly helpful, donating reading glasses and sunglasses to the mission, Khuy said. This year, about 1,000 pairs will be taken to Cambodia.

The most needed item is over-the-counter medication, he said, but "we'll take whatever people donate — books, school supplies, slippers, clothes and medication, and, of course, money," Khuy said.

The group collects money, typically between $7,000 or $8,000, that has been used to provide financial assistance for school children, as well as pay for water wells in several provinces, two silk weaving looms, a generator and copy machine at a high school, Khuy said.

"We don't raise that much money, but at least we do something," he said. "Somebody will remember that some people from Hawai'i encouraged them to study and to do good."

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.