The Cambodian Children's Fund

The PEPY ppl were lucky enough to be invited to a special performance put on by the Cambodian Children's Fund in Phnom Penh, funded and run by Scott Neeson, a sort of Australian who used to be a film exect. The CCF is a shelter/school for around 120 kids who are either orphaned, abandonned or abused. See the website on what they do http://www.cambodianchildrensfund.org/

There were traditional Khmer dances which were just pure cute and enlightening, but also most poignent for me was the story of Srey, which is a true story of one of the students which she wrote herself - of the story of being born to a drunk father and gambler mother who makes them go through the rubbish dump and pimp for money. They get robbed by gangsters but finally gets sent to Scott's school where they found sanctury and education. It was a truly moving story because the actor/director/writer actually cried real tears on stage and made the rest of the childre and rest of us cry on the spot. All the children share pretty much the same story and they have been in really dark tragic places I could never imagine in my entire life. A lot of the girls barely 13 or 14 has been forced into prostitution and many many of them had not gone to school for a day before they went to the CCF.

Their generosity was so overwhelming - after the performance we got to mingle a bit with the kids & teachers. They were really curious about where we were from and what we did, etc etc. THey dressed in simple and clean uniforms and held our hands and asked our names. I had twenty kids one time surrounding me wanting to climb onto me. I let them play with my camera and they took some crazy photos. They tought me some Khmer like how to count and names of fruits. We shared a fantastic evening of dancing (break dancing & acrobats from the kids) they gave us lei leis of jasmine and orchids, it was just so warming. There's so much hope here, so much happiness. I have overwhelming admiration for not just Scott but the many many people - Cambodians and foreigners making a difference here. 18 months ago most of these kids were pretty much living just like in Srey's story - on the streets in a dark corner wishing that they weren't there.

When we walked out of the school and into the night there were more children in rags asking us for money and food. To think that there are only 120 of them here being protected and nurtured, educated and loved, and that there thousands and thousands of them still out there alone, struggling, cold, hungry, in dispair - I feel that the light at the end of the tunnel is still really far away.