For the past 5 nights, this has been the scene below my bedroom window as literally thousands of people celebrated the extended Khmer New Year.

Crowds estimated at 600,000 splashed water and dusted each other with baby powder as they walked down the designated streets. To my knowledge, there were no incidents of violence during the celebration.

Other SAHAKA activities included a meeting with the University students at my place. They made there own meal to save on expenses. All of them are working while attending classes.

And we had a slumber party with the ex-Wat Opot children who now live back in their communities. We started with an all-you-can-eat dinner, a Mekong River cruise, a sleepover, swimming at a sky pool in the morning, and a luncheon at a riverside restaurant.

We also spent a day passing out milk cartons and 1,000 Riel (25 cents) to nearly 200 children. The milk was donated by the Cambodian Organization for Living and Temporary care (COLT) staff. The money came from SAHAKA funds.

We still do home visits to the families we support.

And often share a meal with them if we are far from restaurants. In the past, distance didn’t matter so much, but with the increased cost of fuel, we have to be more careful.

We are still in contact with authorities around the Wat Opot campus, and there is still an interest in having the SAHAKA FOUNDATION return. Although we have sufficient funds to continue what we are presently doing, for several months, adding something new would require finding new supporters. If that interests you, please get in touch with Mr. Dara for more information.

Thanks for stopping by,

THE SAHAKA FAMILY