As you know, I went
to Cambodia earlier this year, to look at the issues of child trafficking and
prostitution and to see if there was a way in which I could help. This trip was
very much an expression of my heart, as I have always loved children and have been
dedicated to promoting their well-being in whatever way I can. Children are the
future of our nations and of our generation.
For most of the preceding years this love was expressed in
the context of home education – supporting and encouraging parents in their
task, running my website and its associated discussion lists at www.Christian-unschooling.com, and
raising my own children as well as I possibly could.
As my own children mature, I find myself more able to devote
attention to other issues pertaining to children. I have been involved with
Ingela Larsson Smith’s ‘Horses for Orphans’ project for the last 18 months or
so, helping with the editing of her book and creating Journals for the
children. In October, finally, a great desire will be met, as Julie Anne, Kate
and I travel to Brazil to help with the project for two weeks, and to meet some
of the children whom we have loved from afar.
One week after I return to England, I leave for my second trip
to Cambodia with XP. Once again I will be involved with whatever is needed to
assist Cambodian Hope Organisation in their objectives – things like interacting
with children in the villages and with young prostitutes at the Karioke bars,
visiting patients in the HIV and TB wards, distributing gifts to the people
living and working on the rubbish dumps, and helping at Safe Haven, the
children’s home in Poipet.
As before, I would like to take gifts for the children and
young women. I also hope to have time, whilst there in the environment, to consider
more closely the possibility of setting up a preschool/mums and tots group in a
village... the long term dream is to see similar groups in all the villages
around Poipet. Obviously there are many steps to be taken between dreaming a
dream and seeing it reality.
You can follow along with my experiences and discoveries on this blog. Please pray for me, and for the projects with which I am involved.
I would also appreciate it if you would consider supporting
these ventures financially. You can do so via the Donations button below.
- Flights are expensive, and I would love to be able to go to Cambodia 3 or 4 times a year, and to Brazil as often as possible. My husband Craig and I are also committed to going to Pattaya, Thailand for the annual Extreme Love outreach to prostitutes. Our next trip will be in March 2013.
- In Cambodia, I met a young man with a great gifting for children’s ministry – he was one of the interpreters hired by XP to assist us on our last trip. Narith has determined to study English so that he can become more useful to this work. I would love to help him realise this goal by helping to pay for his studies. I hope too that he will be part of the preschool project of which I am dreaming.
- I am interested in setting up a preschool/mums and tots group in one of the villages of Poipet and resources are needed to start this project. If you want to know more about this particular project, please contact me.
- There is a wonderful fundraising initiative called 'Break the Cycle' - a cycle race from Siem Reap to Poipet, and it would be great if Craig, who is a keen cyclist, could participate in it sometime.
- It is a real privilege to bring gifts to the poorest of the poor – the people who live and work around the rubbish dumps of Poipet and Siem Reap. Last time we brought toys and clothing for the children, and toiletries for the adults. The currency exchange rate works very much in our favour, as our currencies go a long way in these countries.
- Finally, I have a dream. There was a young woman I met in one of the Karioke bars in Poipet. Her name was Siam. She touched my heart in a huge way and I have not been able to forget her. I hope to find her when I go back to Poipet in November. And maybe, just maybe, if I could help sponsor her rehabilitation, she could go to CHO and discover a new way to live.
More about XP’s ‘Operation Justice’ here:
More about Cambodian Hope Organisation (CHO) here: http://www.cambodianhopeorganization.org/
More about 'Break the Cycle' here:
http://www.breakthecycle.org.au/cambodia/
More about 'Break the Cycle' here:
http://www.breakthecycle.org.au/cambodia/
More about Horses for Orphans in Brazil here:
