I feel like I read a great deal about history and social issues around the world, and I pay attention to my fair share of news (complete with photos) on the internet, but nothing could compare me for the slums of Cambodia. There are 400 such slums in Phnom Penh.
In October, we were in Thailand - and we were definitely NOT in the luxury tourist spots of Thailand- and I felt we saw terribly poor conditions. But, we saw mile after mile of unbelievably sad living and working situations.
Our flight from HK was only two hours, so we were able to drop our bags and get moving to the school in the slum, JJ Center. As we were driving to the school, I just kept looking at the surroundings and wondering how in the world this would ever be able to change. No one obeyed the basic traffic rules, children were obviously working entirely too young, and adults were crammed into backs of trucks to get to their factory jobs.
Yet, in the midst of this poverty and injustice, we saw so many rays of hope. The Jehova Jira Center is one such ray. It's a small school in the middle of a slum, started by a Cambodian woman and her husband, who decided these young children needed a place to learn and a place to feel safe near their homes. Most of these children are very young (4 to 11 years old) and they often work in the rubbish heap to find something to sell for their families, but here they can learn and hopefully stay in school. These children are really loved at the center, a place that is surprisingly clean and comfortable in the midst of the filth.
While we were visiting the center, we played games with the kids and had a birthday party for all of them, complete with candles and cake and fried chicken! Of course, every single child saved half of his or her food to take home to siblings or parents. This speaks volumes!
In October, we were in Thailand - and we were definitely NOT in the luxury tourist spots of Thailand- and I felt we saw terribly poor conditions. But, we saw mile after mile of unbelievably sad living and working situations.
Our flight from HK was only two hours, so we were able to drop our bags and get moving to the school in the slum, JJ Center. As we were driving to the school, I just kept looking at the surroundings and wondering how in the world this would ever be able to change. No one obeyed the basic traffic rules, children were obviously working entirely too young, and adults were crammed into backs of trucks to get to their factory jobs.
Yet, in the midst of this poverty and injustice, we saw so many rays of hope. The Jehova Jira Center is one such ray. It's a small school in the middle of a slum, started by a Cambodian woman and her husband, who decided these young children needed a place to learn and a place to feel safe near their homes. Most of these children are very young (4 to 11 years old) and they often work in the rubbish heap to find something to sell for their families, but here they can learn and hopefully stay in school. These children are really loved at the center, a place that is surprisingly clean and comfortable in the midst of the filth.
While we were visiting the center, we played games with the kids and had a birthday party for all of them, complete with candles and cake and fried chicken! Of course, every single child saved half of his or her food to take home to siblings or parents. This speaks volumes!
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