Author: wdmatthysse@gmail.com

Many of our children enjoy cooking and on any given evening you may find them in one of the kitchens making “legal” treats for themself or a small group. Some nights, however, I find them building a fire behind one of the buildings to barbeque something “illegal”, such as fish, birds, or frogs that they have collected during the day.

I don’t discourage it but do caution them to be safe, especially if smaller children are around. I have always taught the boys that they should learn to cook for themself so that they don’t become dependent on a woman to feed them. Marriage for love is fine but not because you need someone to take care of you.

Both Tori and Chay graduated from high school in December and decided to take cooking classes at the FRIENDS NGO instead of enrolling in college classes. They have already finished the course under the supervision of Mr. Rong, who is also a former Watopotian who teaches there.

Both are now interning at one of Phnom Penh’s finest 5 Star hotels and if they do well could get permanent employment there.

We wish them well as they start out their new life outside of Wat Opot. I would love to go and eat at some of the places where our alumni work… but even if the establishment let me in the door, I wouldn’t be able to afford a meal there.

Thanks for stopping in and thanks to all of you who are supporting us. If you are interested in helping us raise the 35 children we still have with us please, please visit our CONTACT PAGE.

THE WATOPOTIANS

The kids love eating outside and often will barbeque something they have captured during the day… usually catfish but sometimes frog, rice rat, or snake, in the evening. We had an old fire hole but it was usually full of trash and not a pleasant place to eat and so we decided to use some of the tile left over from our front sidewalk to make a barbeque pit. Yesterday was a holiday and so we caught some catfish and bought some meat and rice and had our evening meal at the new site.

The grills worked out much better than I expected and were much safer than the old fire pit.

Catfish is not my favorite meal but when it is grilled like this it really is not too bad.

Now that we know it works, we will be doing it more often… and I am sure the kids will be using it as well.

And what better way to end a Holiday Barbeque than to take a dip in the pool?

Thanks for stopping in and thanks to all of you who are supporting us. If you are interested in being one of our supporters please visit our CONTACT PAGE.

THE WATOPOTIANS

We have just finished repainting the crematorium and today were working on the Memorial Garden area, trying to get it back in shape for the upcoming Holiday when many families will visit the Buddhist Temple next door. Often families will also stop by to pay their respects to family members who were cremated here during the AIDS epidemic several years ago…or were cremated here during the COVID pandemic. We still have a lot of work to do but had to halt our work this afternoon because of call from the local police requesting the use of our crematorium for another victim of suicide.

Wat Opot was one of only a few NGOs that provided free hospice services to Cambodians during the AIDS era and the only one to my knowledge that provided free cremation services for the hundreds who died in it’s care. It was also one of the main crematoriums used during the COVID crisis because others feared catching the Virus, and while there was pleanty of Government funds available for the nearly 200 cremations performed… we asked only for $100.00 to cover our cost. We did what few others were willing to do out of respect for the victims. Much of the money we made has gone into the the making of and upkeep of the Memorial.

We are also known for our willingness to cremate the victims of suicide. Families often have a hard time finding someone to perform the cremation because of a fear, not of the body, but of the tormented Spirit that may linger long after the cremation… and so it is the fires are once again lit and I have just returned from checking on their progress.

Thanks for stopping in and thanks to all of you who are supporting us. If you are interested in being one of our supporters please visit our CONTACT PAGE.

THE WATOPOTIANS

We started a project of afternoon classes for community children several months ago during the COVID era when our resident population was only 23. There was considerable interest in the community because, during that time, no classes were taught at the local schools. Once the COVID restrictions were lifted and the public school reopened, we thought the interest in attending courses at Wat Opot would dwindle… but instead, they increased. The lifting of restrictions also allowed Social Services to start their community work again and we have since added 10 new residents. This increase has forced us to hire new staff as teachers and caregivers. When Mr. Dara returned to take over the management of our community he suggested starting a daycare center in the mornings while our children attended public school. We would charge $10.00 a month, as we already were doing with the community students, and if we got enough toddlers it would help cover at least some of the cost for the new staff. Today we have 13 children enrolled and are hoping to get a few more.

The afternoon classes are also going well with over 40 community children joining our residents every afternoon for classes in Khmer, Math, and English…

and there is also an English class taught by a teacher who has lived in Cambodia for over 25 years and still only speaks English and whose main emphasis is getting the students to stick their tongues out whenever they see a word that has a “TH” in it.

The lessons are simple, usually something I come up with just before class. The object is for them to write the words and say them even if they don’t really understand the meaning, which much of the time there is not.

Thanks for stopping in. If anyone would like to support us in this new endeavor so that maybe we can afford a real English teacher, follow the links on the CONTACT PAGE.

THE WATOPOTIANS

Mornings use to be a time of quiet with most of the children in school, however, with the opening of our preschool program, our campus is now active all day long. There are now 11 children enrolled in the morning program and one who stays the whole day.

They are an active group and seem to really enjoy their time here. Income from their $10.00 a month tuition helps to cover some of the cost for the four new staff we have had to hire.

In addition to the 11 energetic young students on our campus, we were also called on to take in one of our grandchildren, who, with support, had been under the care of her grandmother. While I was in town at a Doctors appointment we got a call that the grandmother had been taken to the hospital and she took the baby with her because she had no one that could look after her. With no other immediate option available to us, we drove to the hospital on our way home and picked up Srey Leap.

She didn’t like the ride home that much, mostly because of all of the lights and traffic stops and not being around people she recognized… especially one with a beard.

But that all changed once she got to Wat Opot and was surrounded by a Community of brothers and sisters who smothered her with affection.

We are not sure how long she will remain with us, that will depend on the grandmother’s ability to care for her after she is released from the hospital… but for now, she is a welcomed addition to our Community.

Thanks for stopping in and thanks to all of you who are supporting us. If you are interested in being one of our supporters please visit our CONTACT PAGE.

THE WATOPOTIANS

We have talked about it for a while but this week we finally put the program together and opened, what we hope will be a permanent program at Wat Opot. Last week we gave all of our afternoon students a brochure to pass out to their neighbors to introduce the program to our community.

By New Year’s weekend, we had six students registered. The cost is $20.00 a month, which helps to cover some of the wages of the new staff we had to hire, but we make exceptions when necessary. The purpose of the program is not only to give the children a head start in school but also to allow parents the opportunity to work.

The first day didn’t go so well. Most of the children had never been left alone with strangers before and there was a lot of crying… especially when I entered the room.

Today things went much better thanks to the purchase of bicycles and toys for the playground by our Four Volunteers from Germany. Two more toddlers were added today and Mr. Dara would like to eventually increase the number to 20, which I don’t think will be all that difficult… keeping it at 20 will likely be a greater problem.

Thanks for stopping in and thanks to all of you who are supporting us. If you are interested in being one of our supporters please visit our CONTACT PAGE.

THE WATOPOTIANS

The funeral services for Ms. Heng Nheng, a former staff member who left us just a few weeks ago because of health problems, is presently going on just outside of our gates.

She died at the Takeo hospital yesterday and leaves behind one daughter.

She will always be remembered as Om (Aunt) Nheng to all of our children.

Our condolences to her daughter and her extended family.

THE WATOPOTIANS