Lighthouse Orphanage

Trip Start Jan 03, 2008
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44
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Trip End Ongoing


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Friday, June 27, 2008

The English girls (Ella, Polly and Rachel) and I decided to go to volunteer at the Lighthouse Orphanage. Like almost all Cambodian orphanages, they receive no funding from the government. We bought them a 100 pound bag of rice. They have very few adults to take care of the 45 children. The kids have virtually nothing but they are happy.

As soon as we arrived, the kids came running to the gate. They were giving us hugs and holding our hands. They were also practicing their English which was quite impressive. We bought a few of these friendship bracelets that they made. They were so happy! For the rest of the day, we just sat around and talked with them. I also taught them the game "Red Light, Green Light" and they loved that. They were masters at "Tic, Tac, Toe" because they play it in the dirt all of the time since paper and pens are really, really expensive. It was really sad because these kids don't have any toys and only 2 pairs of clothes. They do have a volleyball net and one ball. That's it. When I go back, I am going to bring them so many things like paper, pens, small toys, card games, children's books, etc. It broke my heart to see how they live. It makes me feel so fortunate.

The kids also sand us some of the songs they learned in English. When they sang, "You are my sunshine" I wanted to cry. They were absolutely adorable and I just wished that I could have taken all of them home with me. The day was wonderful and we didn't want to leave. I know at some point in life, I would like to volunteer for a long period of time in an orphanage.
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