We are happy to report that the Preschool in Prey Veng is doing well. We are very grateful to those who helped fund the start of this new project. The parents are very pleased with the progress their children are making, and for those parents who have been able to find employment while their child…
As we work toward mapping out the future of the SAHAKA Foundation, we decided to revisit the old Wat Opot Campus, since we were already in the area doing home visits. We found the girl’s dorm, which once stood on both the Temple property and the private land that now belongs to the PC Organization,…
I thought it was time to update everyone on the progress of the SAHAKA Foundation. The future is not clear yet, but doors are being opened, and we are checking out the possibilities as we continue to make home visits with the children who were transitioned after Wat Opot closed its doors. The day-care center…
This has been a busy week for me. I have moved into my new, comfortable, airy, 3rd-floor apartment at 102, 456 Street, Phnom Penh. It feels like home to me and a good place to meet with Wat Opot alumni and old friends. On Tuesday we handed out toothpaste, donated by the Sun and Moon…
It is good to be back on the road, with nothing planned and an open mind to the future. The only problem is that getting out of one’s comfort zone can get pretty uncomfortable. Living a carefree comfortable life for three months in the States convinced me that I was not ready for retirement, however,…
It seemed like a good idea at first, but only time will tell if bringing the kids back together at Wat Opot for the holiday break was the right thing to do… or not. We had a good time together rediscovering our old home. The staff were on holiday leave so we had the place…
Sorry for the silence these past couple of months but decisions at my age are not easy to make. I have missed Cambodia very much but because of my health was not sure that I could return, especially with the changes that have occurred in the Wat Opot Community. My health has improved and I…
Although the residential care of vulnerable children at the Wat Opot Children’s Community has been terminated, the follow-up work with the children continues… but it is no longer under the umbrella of Partners in Compassion-Cambodia. A new Organization has been formed to take over the administration and funding of ongoing programs that assist those children…
With the closing of Wat Opot, some children could not be returned to their families and were therefore placed by Social Services into the care of another orphanage. It is a much smaller operation than we were and the conditions, although not the same as Wat Opot, are satisfactory. We have been putting off our…
Phnom Penh has grown so much in the past couple of years that I now get lost in a city that I once could walk around with confidence, easily identifying my location by looking for one of only a few five-story structures that made up its skyline. Today, however, the buildings below sit on a…
On Monday we were on the road again, crossing the Mekong River at Neak Loeung for the second time in just a few days. I wasn’t sure the girls would remember me after four years… but they did, and we were pleased with the progress they are making. One of the nice things about visiting…
I haven’t gotten out of the house much lately because of the extreme heat, but was given the opportunity to attend a meeting with Social Services and two of the Wat Opot Children who were being placed in another children’s center, because they were not doing well with the previous placement. It was also my…
Years ago, when I first arrived in Cambodia, I would ride a ferry across the mighty Mekong River, to Vietnamese fishing villages on the other side. There were no tall buildings at the time in Phnom Penh, yet the differences between the two sides were drastic. The fishing villages had no electricity, or running water,…
Nightly visits at my flat are becoming more frequent as the kids in Phnom Penh learn that I have returned. Today Mr. Dara and I started the follow-up home visits with the children who have been returned to their families. We spent the whole day on the road but the results were encouraging. Everyone we…
The new place is starting to feel like a home, although nothing will ever be able to replace Wat Opot. Being with each other again, however, is at least the start of recapturing the Watopotian Soul. And what better way to do that than sharing a meal? Fortunately, this place has a large kitchen.for food…
