A short report about the life of the children of FLO in Cambodia.
The war in Ukraine started on February 24th when I was in Cambodia and I haven't been able to tell you about my wonderful stay with the children in Phnom Penh and Ratanakiri until now. Although I was only supposed to spend 15 days in Cambodia, I had to stay for a month due to having contracted the Covid-19 virus.
kleine herzen is building a boarding school in Banlung, the capital of the Ratanakiri region, in north-eastern Cambodia on the border with Vietnam and Laos, thanks to the great support of the Merck Family Foundation.
This boarding school will provide schooling for 80 extremely poor local ethnic minority children living in distant villages.
During my stay I was able to participate in the lives of Flo's 70 children in Phnom Penh and Flo's 36 children in Banlung. I was pleased to note that the children are happy, receiving attention and love from the caregivers, and receiving the education needed to escape the misery into which they were born.
Thanks to the sponsorship donations I was able to buy the first fridge and freezer so that the children's home in Phnom Penh can store the food they receive as donations.
I was also able to purchase a washing machine as there was only one machine, not enough to do all the laundry. I also replaced the fans in the children's rooms that were no longer working.
Finally, a fence was installed to protect the children's home from theft of materials such as bicycles and computers from the computer class and to protect the children.
The most emotional gift, however, was the distribution of ice cream to the children.
I had an ice cream vendor come by tuktuk (A tuktuk is a light transport vehicle, usually a motorized tricycle made up of a monocorpus).
It is a pleasure to see the children happy.
In the morning around 6 o'clock the children wake up and wash outside behind the building where they sleep, boys separately from girls. There is a large water tank where you can wash yourself and your personal laundry.
They put on their uniforms and ride their bikes to school
The meals are prepared by the older children. The dishes are cooked in a large pot over a wood fire.
The children place the cutlery on wooden tables that are placed outdoors and protected with a roof. The older children serve the food and at the end of the meal the children do the dishes and clean their canteen.
in the afternoon the children take part in English and computer courses and do their homework. The little ones are having a siesta. There is time for outdoor games, reading and drawing.
In the evening, after the meal, the children wash themselves, with the little ones being helped by the older ones.
The children help and support each other. There is a harmony and respect for others anchored in their Buddhist traditions.
Yes, these children are very poor materially, but they are loved and respected so that their physical, intellectual, emotional and social development is a success.
Sponsoring a child from FLO makes it possible to significantly improve the children's quality of life and health. In Cambodia, any medical treatment and hospitalization is chargeable. To prevent the children from getting sick, they must be vaccinated, thanks to the generosity of the godparents and sponsors of Kleine herzen is possible.
The children learn English and correspond with their godparents by e-mail.
For the child, the godfather and godmother are the parents. When they write to their godparents, they call them Mama and Papa.
Finally, this sponsorship will allow the future sponsor to discover another culture and maybe have a wonderful journey to the land of the temples of Angkor Wat.
Thank you for taking the time to read this little report.
Pascale
