Finally! Today we were able to venture off the beaten tourist path and experience a local village. We were accompanied by our new friend Seyha, who I wrote about recently, that is dedicating his life to service in the local communities. We wanted to see the work he was doing, meet the village members and get an idea of what life was like in rural Cambodia. He took us to the village/orphanage which they have been building up over the years with a school, fish ponds, gardens, cafeteria, a small playground and teachers/foster parent housing. There are around 350 students in the school, at least 100 are orphans and about half are HIV positive. The project has largely been the vision of a man named Tim Maddocks, and began with the uphill battle trying to buy land which cost a staggering $1million dollars for only about 20-25 acres. In the end, through the help of donations and the powers of manifestation, he purchased the land, and built up simple yet adequate infrastructure. Now there are many volunteer teachers; community teachers; and parents who have agreed to be foster parents to 20 to 25 children for no less than 20 years! The children are learning to grow food; fish farm; play music; do art; and teach others. There is even a studio where the villagers are filming a cooking show of how to make vegan Cambodian food, which is airing on YouTube right now (look for vegan cambodian cooking)!
Being in this village was a breath of fresh air. The children are so happy, and there is a very peaceful energy everywhere you go. The volunteers are so kind and the foster parents are humble and caring. I am amazed at the way this vision has been realized, and the purity with which it has been carried out.
I feel very inspired by what is happening here. We have talked to Seyha about some of his plans. He is working to organize some biking trips across Cambodia to raise money to buy bikes for the village, and for continuing education for the children. His vision is to help the children reintegrate back into other local communities with skills to contribute. The children are being raised with a mentality to serve the community and set goals for their own educations.
Seyha is going to prepare for me a short description of the work he is doing, and I will then post it here for all who are interested. This is not a plea for your money...but if you want to be involved in these children's lives, and you do feel like donating money, you can contact myself or Seyha (on Facebook as Seyha Pen) for more information. I know that some of you make monthly or yearly donations to some charity or another. Many of these organizations may be using your money to pay employees; housing, food and per diem for volunteers; equipment; travel expenses; etc... If you want to make a donation straight to the source; that will be used entirely for the children and local communities... I can guarantee this will be a far greater use of your money. The proceeds go to starting new villages like this one and the ability to care for more orphans. I know I sound like those infomercials, but truly a little goes a long way here. Again, I am NOT soliciting money. It's just if you feel inspired and want to participate. It's a really good investment compared to many other organizations that are questionable and less personal. If you want to get involved physically, you can come and volunteer (for free- surprisingly not so common in the world); join a bike tour; or come up with a new idea for fund raising. Let me or Seyha know if you want to collaborate or generate ideas.
I will be posting lots of picture of the trip to the village on Facebook so check it out!!! You will fall in love with these faces :-)
Today was such a day of inspiration, motivation , heart-bursting-open gratitude, and visions of our potential for co-creating a change on this planet. Things are moving and shifting in my inner Universe and.... Ideas are forming...
;-)
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