The Orphanage
Khmer Christian Orphanage
Despite tragic stories and homes riddled with poverty, the children in the Khmer Christian Orphanage have a faith so strong it is almost overwhelming. The older children gather at dawn every morning to pray that the Lord will provide enough food for the day and have full confidence that he will. Pastor Vanny and his wife Som Nang take care of 28 children ages 6 to 21. The children have nearly no personal possessions, all of their belongings fit in a one-foot box. The children have to share hairbrushes and the spread of lice has become a major problem. Even though they have nothing to call their own the children have an amazing spirit of worship and prayer.
The needs in the orphanage are immense. There is no running water in the orphanage, no electricity, no generator, and a no consistent source of food. The children take turns pulling unfiltered water up from a nearby pond through a plastic pipe using a pole with a cup on the end. The water is poured into a cistern and is used for cooking, dishwashing, washing clothes, and bathing. Many of the children have scabies due to the lack of clean water.
A reliable food supply has not been established at the orphanage. The children eat mostly rice and occasionally have vegetables and many show signs of malnourishment. While Positive Life Radio and the late Bobby Michaels have provided rice for the orphanage as well, the food is often within a day of running out. The food that is available is cooked on a single pot placed on top of two blocks. This is an inadequate system for feeding over thirty people. While the children have worked with Pastor Vanny to plant fruit tres and vegetables, and are raising a few chickens and a cow on the orphanage grounds, a consistent provision of a complete diet is the goal of Lydia for these children. The pressing needs in the orphanage are a water filtering system, a generator, cooking equipment or a stove, and a consistent food supply.