Children have a unique way of showing their love. They come showing love with such simple purity. The children that we met at Goducate Children’s Home in Cambodia filled our hearts with their love. I went not knowing what to expect, not knowing what I could offer– and really I didn’t have much to offer! I had love and a few ideas of things to do with the children but not a whole lot else. I walked away
from my visit with my heart overflowing.
I saw faces of children and their outward appearance but I wanted to know who they were as a person. Obviously five days is not enough time to genuinely get to know people–but it does provide time to get a glimpse into their world.
Some friends encouraged us to take along a simple but fun activity for the children which involved team work and fun adventures around the compound. I started planning soon after arrival—what would we play, what equipment was available, how would I organize teams. The “Cambodian Challenge” was to be held the next day. So planning I did. I asked the leadership for help with names of children and ages—andthat helped me get to know names and ages and helped me to organize teams.
The event went really well, different from what we expected but the children had fun and that is what matters.
When helping in the schoolhouse, I saw twins and imagined that they were about 10 years old. I looked at my paper for the teams for the activity and thought wow, this says they are 14. Sure enough, they are 14.
I couldn’t understand how they could be so small, so thin, so little, but many factors must have contributed to this. Probably malnutrition when they were young brought them to this point.
Another boy, Mark was very similar. Looking like a 4 year old, we were stunned to find out that he is 8. Though the boys look small, they surely do not act small. In an arm-wrestling competition, the twins were difficult tobeat.
A girl whom I had the chance to talk with on a more personal level shared with me how she is the youngest of 13 children. Her father had passed away some time ago and her mother is helping at the Goducate center. Her older brother also lives at the Children’s Home. She told me that due to Pol Pot’s regime in the 1970s, 6 of her siblings died of starvation. You hear of starvation but when you meet someone who never had the chance to meet half of her family due to it,it becomes more personal. Things like this happen because of an evil man, following his evil pursuits.
Our time was brief at the Home but we walked away with hearts full, thankful for our glimpse into their lives of the children there and their world.