We had one last stop with our wonderful tuk-tuk driver Parish after touring Kampong Phluk and the gator farm. He dropped us off at Little Angels Orphanage outside of the city.
The children have a decent place to stay. The orphanage serves as a school, a home, and a workshop. The children attend classes every day, including general studies and English. They learn how to carve and cut designs into leather hides, creating beautiful and original pieces of art and jewelry. Teaching them a trade and craft that can hopefully help them to make some money for themselves in the future is beneficial in this type of society. Meanwhile, the items sold benefit the school and help to feed and care for the children. While Cambodia isn't a place to go for swanky, luxurious vacations, it is a place to go and dive into the culture. It's a country that has recently come out of a horrible genocide and civil war, in which, there are still many problems stirring amidst its borders. The devastation here from the 1970's is apparent, and there are still landmines that detonate in the countrysides. It is not abnormal to see both children and adults with amputated limbs or mutilations from left-over bombs that were dropped during the Vietnam war in the central and northern regions of Cambodia. The orphanage, unfortunately, doesn't have a website. I am currently contacting some surrounding contributors in the area to get contact information. My goal is to start a Kickstarter and take my contributions there to help better the living environment and educational materials that the children have. Angkor Pearl gives back with a program Khmer Loves Khmer, but I haven't dealt with them personally. |