Category: Cambodia

Last week, the Goducate Children’s Home in Cambodia held an opening ceremony for the newly built boys’ dormitory. The old dormitory was getting too crowded for the 24 boys in the Home plus the male staff. The new building consists of one large bedroom, a guestroom, and a bathroom with three toilets and showers.

The new dormitory was built to a large extent by the older boys in the Home as part of their vocational training. It is not fully furnished yet. The boys are still building the cabinets, which is giving them much practice in welding.

The new building was sponsored by a church in Singapore, and the official opening was timed to coincide with a visit from some of its members. After the ribbon was cut, some of the children performed music pieces and sang for the guests.

Cambodians generally do not celebrate their birthdays. However, at the Cambodian Children’s Home we do celebrate the children’s birthdays. It is one of the ways by which we let the children know that they are special.

With nearly 40 children in the Home, we try to observe the birthdays in the most economical way, yet make the celebrations full of fun. We thus celebrate birthdays with a little party by the month, with different kinds of cakes each month.

Although the parties are for combined birthdays, we do something special on each child’s birthday. There are no fancy balloons, clowns, or mascots, and there may not even be cakes. We often burst out in song, perhaps with special food and a gift. We may surprise the birthday child by suddenly singing while in the learning center, or even while the birthday boy or girl is still sleeping. Or we may go through most of the day pretending to forget that it is somebody’s birthday before acknowledging it. But it is always something special to let the birthday child know that he or she is loved and remembered.

June last year saw the opening of a boy’s workshop at thet Goducate Children’s Home in Cambodia. Since then the older boys have gone a long way in terms of the practical skills they have gained from the weekly training sessions. Under the careful supervision of their trainers, the big boys can now confidently do some carpentry, welding, electrical wiring, plumbing works, and basic car/vehicle repairs.

Among the projects the children have been actively helping with are the construction of the new Boys Dorm and Girls Workshop, both of which are expected to be ready before the end of the year. The Home’s leaders and staff are very proud to see how the children have improved in their practical skills. The skills learnt in the workshop have been extremely useful not only in the construction of new buildings but also in the daily maintenance of the Home’s facilities. In addition, many of the items in the Home, from tools such as rakes and hoes, to furniture such as lockers, beds, tables, and benches, have been made by the boys.

We hope that the training given at the Cambodian Children’s Home will open work opportunities for them. When resources permit, we will extend training to boys who are not residents at the Home.