The Orphans of Phnom Penh

Yesterday, we had another bus ride to the less tourist-visited town of Battambang where we've fallen even more in love with the people of Cambodia (but we'll get to that in the next post). Before we arrived here in Battambang, though, we stopped again in Phnom Penh in order to see the Royal Palace and go hang out with the kids at the local orphanage.


More bus-window-snapped pics on the way from Sihanoukville to Phenom Penh. Sorry, but until just this afternoon, we haven't had the opportunity to see the country and actually document it any other way.









On the bright side, we have yet to get sick of the surroundings (even when viewed from a bumpy dirty speeding bus).























After checking into the same, pre-Sville, Phnom hotel we arranged for a trip out to the orphanage on a tuk-tuk with our boy Borey. We snagged a big bag of rice, some pens, and some notebooks from the local market, and then off we went toward the distant Lighthouse Orphanage.







The kids at Lighthouse are between 6 and 18 years old. Some are the children of parents who have died of AIDS, others have parents who were forced to give them up due to extreme poverty.

You can't see it here, but the mission statement at Lighthouse is, "To provide a safe and healthy environment that allows each child to develop according to their own needs and wants." We liked this better than any other school-based mission statement we've heard; it's actually student- rather than curriculum-centered which we think is novel.



Lighthouse is entirely funded from the donations of tourists and community members. There is no government assistance.

Prior to a $26,000 donation from a Madame Eli Svanhild from Norway, this building was where 40 orphans crowded together on the floor to sleep.





Thanks to her donation, the kids now have two buildings, one girls' dorm and one boys' dorm. The buildings cost $13,000 each and house around 76 kids total. There are 98 kids currently at the orphanage.









There are four beds in each dorm room and three kids to each bed. Of course, the girls' dorms were pretty clean and the boys' dorms were messy!















We were happy to see that this organization is using funds very wisely. There are mango trees and even a new vegetable garden that yields vitamin-rich vegetables. It's still not enough to feed all of the kids each day, but it's a renewable source of food when donations don't come in!








A volunteer English teacher at work. The kids attend school sessions from 8-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. From 11-1 o'clock they eat, play together, and interact with people like us!










Thanks to further donations, they even have a small room for a computer class.












As we walked into the orphanage, Ty was immediately swarmed by little girls. They loved playing play-dough with her and sticking stickers on her face. An eight year old little boy ran up and grabbed my hand; he led me around showing me the playground equipment and his Spider Man stickers.







This little angel adored Ty and they pretty much hung out together during our whole stay. Meanwhile I played some soccer with the boys. Holy smokes they were good!











I promise that the bubble blower was more interested in all this than he looks. The other little dude ran up out of nowhere and jumped on my lap - he's actually in the process of giving a thumbs up while the photo was being snapped. It came out differently than that.

Dang I had a blast with these kids.




We had no idea how many kids there were here, so we only bought 25 kilos of rice, which only feeds half the kids for one day. It takes 50 kilos of rice (about 40 dollars worth) and another 50 dollars or so worth of meet and vegetables to feed all 98 orphans for a day. That's about 1 dollar per kid per day. Still, some days, they can't afford to feed the kids.












On our first visit to Phnom Penh, we were struck by it's elegance and posh French style. On our second visit and our trip just outside of the touristy river area, we had a reality check. The gap between rich and poor even within a few short city blocks is a chasm.








Same river as our last post... just a different side.



























And here's the area where the tourist dollars go. The headquarters of the Royal Palace literally across the river.





























This is the same palace where we took our sunset pictures last time. Across the street, there are homeless families sleeping under manicured trees dotted along the cobble stone sidewalks. So crazy.











Although we have a more realistic impression of PP, it is still difficult not to be awe-struck by the sheer brilliance of these buildings within the palace.















Yep, someone carved those designs into the concrete. Must have been a long weekend eh?

















I'm not very tall, but this still provides some scale for this place.















Searching for enlightenment.












This last one is for Sarah! Sarah, you said "keep the looms coming" so here you go. This gal is making a more ornate pattern within the walls of the palace.















Our morning with the orphans was heart-wrenching, exciting, and just plain fun! Although Nick wrote this post up to this point, I wanted to close it, as this short experience was a particular blessing for me. I was a foster child and remember feeling extreme loneliness and a constant fear of being rejected. I can only hope that our time spent with the children helped them feel accepted and cared for.