One of the greatest things about today was when Dina held on. As in, I picked her up to comfort her crying and she finally held on. At two years old Dina is the youngest of all the children at the orphanage and when we first arrived here she was always alone, off in a corner, crying. Her Mother is in jail for life for a crime she didn't commit. In a country as corrupt and broken as Cambodia this scenario plays out every day. What you don't see every day is the aftermath of an only child left behind, at two years old, to fend for herself. You look at her and you can actually feel the pain and weight of her heart. There are two other young girls, Tita and Mai-Mai but they both have siblings with them at the orphanage to watch over them, make sure they eat and give them love. Dina has no one. In the last five days there has finally been a shift and she has actually started to smile. We decided to appoint one of the older girls to be her "sister" and this has made all the difference. Srey Ming, who is 9,  holds her hand, has her back and comforts her when she needs her to.Dina has only been at the orphanage for about a month and at just two years old it is obvious she has already suffered a broken heart. When I go home, if I am ever having a bad day I will be thinking of this little girl. The feeling I get from her smile and getting her to hold on may just get me through anything. I know she will be O.K, I couldn't have said the same even two weeks ago. It's a living example of our capability of being resilient even when we are paralyzed by fear and feeling all alone in this world.

The most difficult part of this journey is going to be leaving it. It's nothing like the feeling you have when a trip is ending where you dread going home and are depressed about leaving the perks of room service and no responsibilities. This is different. There are faces, names, stories, and their love. You see that the power of a hug and the time it takes to give it are worth more to these children than any material possession in the world. You see the progress you can make every day with your two hands and one caring heart. You imagine them in the future, worry about their health, hope they remember what you have taught them and pray they never forget you. These children were perfect strangers one month ago...they now have a permanent place in my heart.

When I founded the Children's Global Alliance my goal was to help children in my community and around the world. It has all finally come together and I am more fired up than ever before about continuing and building upon this type of work forever. This has been fueled by my passion for this project, the inspiration of the children I work with here and at home and the encouragement and support from you. I am dreading saying goodbye to these children but I know in my heart that this is just the beginning....nothing is ending.

I am off to the Russian Market today which as you may remember is the hottest and grossest place on earth. I will be trying to avoid the hanging meat and live poultry aisle, this is almost impossible. I swear I didn't know I could hold my breath for an hour.  I am able to buy four mattresses and hanging fans for all the rooms. I am also getting a knife set and laundry baskets for all the kids. Tomorrow I am stocking them up with vegetables, fruit and of course, pork. Thank you for your continued support for these children. Their overwhelming gratitude is a direct reflection of their overwhelming need. I appreciate you all and will never be able to fully express how much this all means to me. Make today amazing!

All my love,
LM