Day 1

So, after months of planning and 24 hours of travel I finally arrived in Cambodia this morning. I was greeted at the airport by Jacey and we left and headed straight to the guest house we are staying in. After dropping off my bags Jacey, Daniel (a volunteer from Seoul) and I headed to the Olympic market...think flea market on speed. We were looking for some clothing for some of the children that had been wearing the same dirty clothing for days. You have to barter for everything and most of these people wouldn't budge. This was one of the nicer markets so we decided to skip it and go to the cheaper one tomorrow called the Russian market to get the kids some clothes. Our next stop was the pharmacy to get lice shampoo, band aids, body wash, baby wipes and antiseptic. This orphanage is run by a couple who themselves were orphans. They receive no help from the country and take care of 72 orphans on $600 a month that is donated by a church in America and only pays their rent. They rely on the rest by donations from volunteers.

We arrived at the orphanage via tuk tuk and were instantly swarmed by children. It was love in it's purest form. They were all giving us hugs, holding our hands and trying to pronounce "Lisa Marie." Only a couple of them know English but they all know and say, "Í love you."

Today was their once a week bath and Jacey and I are the only volunteers at the orphanage. We washed all 72 kids, treated them all for lice (they all have it) and then cleaned and bandaged their cuts and scrapes. You would not believe how grateful these children were to have a bath and you could tell that soap was a luxury by their fascination with the bubbles. Some of them even snuck in two baths. We were able to give some hand me down clothes to the girls that were donated (thanks Kristina) and they were in awe. More than half of these girls don't even have underwear. They were the most cooperative and well behaved children I have ever been around, you wouldn't believe it. Most of them were half the size they should be because they were rescued from the streets and were malnourished for so long. A little boy who had just arrived a few days ago looked about 5 years old and couldn't have weighed more than 30 pounds. He was actually 10 and abandoned by his parents both with HIV and unable to care for him. Each of these children has a story but you would never know it by the love that they exude.

Jacey has done an incredible job so far, donating money for a new chicken coop so they can support themselves, teaching them to clean and take care of their surroundings and feeding the entire orphanage. We are going to get creative with helping them to help themselves. They usually have only enough food for the next four or five days and don't know what they are going to do beyond that. Basic toiletries are expensive so they have none. I am going to get the physical address tomorrow for anyone able to donate kids clothing, toiletries, and first aid supplies. To say the need is great is an astronomical understatement. This has been an amazing first day and a great start to my journey...looking forward to what the rest of the month holds.


xo,
LM