We left Phnom Penh at 6 AM with our university students to avoid morning traffic. Traveling south on familiar roads, we went to Bati and stopped at a popular noodle shop just outside of Wat Opot for breakfast. After breakfast, we continued our travels to Takeo and beyond, until we reached the Wat Serei Oudom…
It is difficult to visit our newest SAHAKA members at home because of the distance between them. We sponsor these luncheons, sometimes at restaurants; however, we’ve found that many attendees prefer rice and sour fish soup and are not interested in even trying new dishes. For that reason, we decided to have our luncheon at…
After having to give up our home at Wat Opot, most of our supporters stopped giving. For health reasons, I returned to the States, believing I could retire, while Dara formed the new NGO, The SAHAKA FOUNDATION, so he could continue working with children being reintegrated into their communities. With limited funds, he was able…
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…
We have been busy this past few days getting to know better the new SAHAKA children. We started with the kids in Takeo with a luncheon at our favorite restaurant. Many of these kids are from broken homes and so the experience of being together for the first time in a setting that is usually reserved for…
By waynematthysse45@gmail.com / February 3, 2026 Last week, Dara and I took a trip to the Thai-Cambodian border in Pailin, Cambodia. I had been warned that it was dangerous because Thailand had bombed that area and was threatening to do so again. When we got there, we found that the border gate was being repaired, but not because…
This Christmas was special for us because our good friend and supporter, Bonnie G. was here to help us celebrate. We don’t have many opportunities to reunite as a family since the closing of our beloved Wat Opot; however, whenever possible, we arrange these outings so that the “kids” and their children can be together.…
We left Phnom Penh early on Monday morning and arrived at the SAHAKA FOUNDATION’s pre-school in Prey Veng a few hours later. Our goal was to start the long-overdue project to build a kitchen for the school, which had been delayed primarily because of funding. Thanks to an anonymous donor, we decided to get started.…
The SAHAKA FOUNDATION’s (SF) Pre-school in Prey Veng was honored to receive a visit from old friends and former NGO workers in Cambodia, Frida de Boer and Wilco Schijff, accompanied by Mr. Piseth of the COLT organization. They brought with them a generous supply of toys and food for the children, as well as a…
The SAHAKA FOUNDATION staff, with the cooperation of the Community Council of Women and Children (CCWC) and leaders of seven villages in the Dounkeng commune, Komchaymea district, Prey Veng province, allowed me to tag along with them as they assessed the needs of the poorest families in the area. We visited 13 families in the…