Once in awhile you have a life changing experience . . .

While in Cambodia with 13 family and friends we took time to visit a place tourists would not dare to go, a place where locals would never visit.

The two-week trip to Cambodia was centered around a 10-day working stopover at an orphanage some 400 km from Phnom Penh where an Aussie couple care for 140 children, a number of who are HIV positive. At the orphanage we worked during the day painting a new dormitory and building a large storage shed. The hot, humid weather was draining and the mosquitoes were about as thick as you can get. In the evening we ran programs for the children and support staff which was appreciated. Over all it was tough living without many of the luxuries we normally take for granted, like running water, electricity, a fridge, western food, cool drinking water, etc. But the joy we received from our contact with the children far outweighed the hardships we endured.

After a couple of days of R&R in Phnom Penh I had a ‘life changing experience’, and I am sure all of our group would agree. It happened on the Sabbath of March 15. About half of our group came from Melbourne where they raised thousands of dollars, most of which was donated to the orphanage, but around $1,000 was spent in purchasing food which was bagged up into ‘family’ packs of around 5kg of rice, 10 packets of noodles, etc.

We loaded the bus with around 150 ‘family packs’ and headed off to the poorest people in the capitol Phnom Penh. These people live at the Garbage Village. They actually live at the rubbish dump, their ‘homes’ are built from refuge and on refuge. Their floor of

their ‘homes’ is the discarded garbage from the city! The heat, the stench, the flies, the filth are hard . . . no impossible to imagine. We were issued surgical masks which some of us refused to wear, at first! We saw people working, searching, digging through the garbage for recyclable plastics, metals, etc. A family (husband, wife and children too) if they work hard can make around $1 per day! We were all taken back and shocked to see the utter poverty the filth and the despair.

We began by passing the bags of food supplies from the bus and carrying them to ‘homes’ that were nearby, but soon dozens and dozens of people ran and swamped the bus in anticipation of receiving some food. I will never forget the tattooed arms of friends as they reached above the crowd to pass the food parcels out. This experience will live with us forever.

I have a trusted friend who has sponsored some children from the Garbage Village to attend school. Cambodia is a very corrupt, openly corrupt country! And even to attend school a student must pay daily money to the teacher for paper and lessons, not to mention having their worked marked, etc. So the Garbage Village children cannot even hope to attend school. I believe schooling is the long term answer to break the Garbage Village cycle. If a child can get themselves an education they have the opportunity to obtain work outside rather than follow their parents working as Garbage Village recyclers. If you are interested, have questions or would like to help please contact me.

I will be in Cambodia again the end of April and have arranged for help to distribute more food. We will also add a health book to each of the 100 food parcels.

John Brereton
Publishing Director & Spirit of Prophecy Director
Southeast Asia Union Mission
johnbrereton@saum.org.sg