Hello,
Today, a young child asked me why Santa Clause doesn’t come to Cambodia. I said that he couldn’t make it all this way and that it would be too hot for him anyway. In reality though, Santa Clause does only comes to the rich. There is no Santa Clause, no red jacket, no flying reindeers, no stockings, no candy canes and no presents if you have no money. How could Santa Clause be that mean to fly over them?
Love Gerry
Hello,
It’s great being at the Center for Children’s Happiness. And, it gets even better when you go back again. The second I walked in the gate, the children came running. They came running from everywhere and gave me great hugs. Naran is getting taller, Serey got a new shirt, Preuksa looks like he’s happier, Sokly is still shy, Virak is getting bigger… At the other building (CDCC) the kids came running and screaming to me… they call from above on the balconies… they are getting older too. Srey Pich still gets a chair for me to sit, Srey Moey is still goofy… the kids put on music and did a little dance performance.
This time is even better than the times before. It means so much to see them grow and change. It only gets better and better. And, all these bright eyed children grew up living and eating in the garbage dump. And now, their spirits shines like no other. I may never leave. I will be the one that will be running back to them when I have to leave.
Love Gerry
Hello,
Tonight I learned what it’s like to live without protection. I left my favorite pub late at night and saw two motorbikes run into a tuk tuk cart. There were four bodies lying on the street in front on me. People started running from all directions towards the crash scene. A couple girls from Australia came to me and went to the first guy to check him pulse. He was definitely dead. A guy ran from the side and yelled his name and hugged him as he cried. The blood dripped down his arms. The guys head had smashed against the pavement. The two other guys were still breathing and we didn’t know about the fourth person.
I went from person to person asking how to get an ambulance or policeman. One of the people pointed to two police that stood there smoking their cigarettes. He said “that’s police”. They did nothing. People surrounded the bodies. Someone told me that we needed to watch them, because people often steal from people lying on the streets hurt or dead. The ambulance came and the bodies were gone. Who cares?
Love Gerry
Hello,
The best days here in Cambodia are playing games with the children. The games they play here don’t need anything bought from the store. They can play many games with just the branch of a tree. They make games with rocks. They throw their shoes. They jump over things. They sing. It’s amazing to play with these kids. And, not one thing came from the store. I think we’d all be better off with less.
Love Gerry
PS: Do you know that there are more self help books sold in North America than the rest of the World combined. I wonder why?
Hello,
I’m not going to write much… except, today a dream came true. And, we purchased a piece of land where we will build future lives. And, many more children will be taken from the dump. There are no words to say. Thank you for caring about these children.
Love Gerry
Hello,
Sometimes you just need to make a decision! We’ve been raising money to buy land and that was a goal for this current trip. But, this day we found the best place for the best price and decided on the spot to start the youth house today.
The Director of CCH took us to a building that was for rent. The building was perfect and huge!!!!! There are eleven boys at CCH now that are around 18 years old. So, I made the decision just to rent this place and start our plans early. This youth house concept is new and this gives us the chance to learn and have programs developed, before we have 40 youth that need guidance. So, this was a gift to us to prepare for bigger things.
We rented the building that day. The next day we went to many shops and bought bedding and cookware and other things that would be needed. And, a week later we had our first house meeting. I had to laugh… no drinking, no gambling, only one hour of television, everyone had to clean, everyone had to cook for them selves, no fighting… I was laughing, because I thought I would definitely have been kicked out of our new home. LOL
This is the purpose. To teach these youth to live independently and show them that their CCH family and Canodia cares. These are good boys and I’m excited to know them better. I want you to know them too. Welcome to the Youth House! We are teaching youth to live independently, be good people and help others in need. Because, it’s only through teaching the generations will real change happen in this special country.
Love Gerry
Hello,
Many of you may remember our young Samnang. She’s a girl that I met at the Internet shop that I’ve told you about many times. She kept asking me questions and questions and questions. And, I had to stop everything to help her. We started a nice friendship that day.
Now, I got to know her brother over many e-mails. I learned about their family and was invited to spend time with them. I’ve heard about poverty and I’ve been out on the streets, but I wasn’t ready for this part. I mean, I’ve come to adore these two youth and when I saw where they lived and where they slept… I couldn’t take it. How can you leave someone you love, in a small wooden shack with mud floors and no place to sleep?
This ended up being one of the best parts of this trip. I took the family to the waterfall one day. The mother dressed up all nice, because this was a special day for her family. And, on the way home one of the younger kids fell asleep on me. I sat there in this van and enjoyed this little family that I’ve come to love.
When we got back to their shack, the kids started dancing in this small small place, with mud floors and dirty clothes… and… I actually thought that I could have died then and been happy. You see,,, that moment for me was more than perfect and wish it would have never ended.
$10 a month and the three kids now go to school. $60 and they have two bikes to get to school. And, the moment they gave me was priceless. So, who is helping who?
Love Gerry
Hello,
I can’t even begin to tell you what it feels like to be in Cambodia on Christmas day. At one point I took the time to feel the moment… children smiling everywhere, fish Christmas dinner, Khmer music, Santa hats, love abound. It was a most special moment for me with my Cambodian family. Christmas is certainly about love here in Cambodia. There are not lots of things and tonight I think that they are the lucky ones.
The children ran and played games and danced their Khmer dances and sang loud and hugged everyone and laughed… and it was like my own little piece of heaven. It’s hard to tell you in words. I wish you could meet these children and know them. You will know right away that Cambodia is different and special and these kids are a gift of Christmas. Merry Christmas to you from Cambodia.
Love Gerry
Hello,
Today, we walked to the dump for our Christmas celebration. The van couldn’t drive down the path, since it’s too bumping on the way to the dump. I had an amazing moment as I watched the children, dressed in clean clothes, and laughing and singing on their way back. Because, they were going back to where they came from… and they were different and beautiful. What a wonderful moment.
Love Gerry
Hello,
Our Christmas on the dump was amazing. The thing that surprised me the most was the number of children and adults that waited in the area for hours, before we started. We had to rope off the area, so we could set up the chairs. Eager little faces running and playing games and greeting us with their often dirty little smiles.
The energy was amazing. For these children, this was Christmas and they were excited. To be honest, our little show and little gifts and little food would not have been received like this at home. I mean these kids were so thankful and happy, just to get a sandwich and listen to music. It was amazing to know the contrast between what I have at home and what these children have every day. Sometimes, it’s too much to understand this crazy World. But, complaining never changed anything.
We planned for 300 children and we’re overwhelmed that more than 500 children came to our celebration on the edge of the garbage. The CCH youth put on plays and we gave out gifts and CCH children sang. Kids that came to watch jumped up on our small wooden stage and sang Khmer songs. It was beautiful. And, we fed the kids. When we finished giving the food, children kept reaching for more and couldn’t help but feel sad for these tiny souls in a country with people that I’ve come to love.
This was amazing, but I don’t think we changed any lives that day. But, you never really know. We will change lives. We present our little show and give our little gifts and offer a little food… and, I hope with all my heart that greater change can happen for these children that live in a garbage dump each day.
Love Gerry
