Tag: Partners in Compassion

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SPECIAL SUNDAY

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Yesterday we got a call from Mr. Chansovandara Hong, saying he would like to come out with some of his friends to meet the kids.

They arrived at about 9 AM loaded with supplies and gifts for the kids.

After the introductions, they handed out personal gifts to all of the children including school books and supplies, snacks, soap, and the children’s favorite drinks ( and mine) 2 cans of Coke.

It was a great way to start out the morning however most of the children decided to drink both cans of Coke and so to get them down from their high after lunch, Mr. Somoeun decided to take most of the kids to Chisol Mountain to burn off some of their energy.

It is a long way to the top, too far for me to go anymore, but for the children, it was no problem.

It was a good experience for all of the children since it was the first time in over two years they have been on any kind of field trip. We are hoping that someday soon we can take a longer trip… perhaps to the coast.

Not everyone could make the climb on their own but Mr. Somoeun was there to help our newest and youngest child make it to the top.

It was a good day for everyone and we are so very grateful to all of our supporters for making memorable days like this one possible.

Thanks for stopping in!

If you would like to be a sponsor of our community please go to the CONTACT page.

The Watopotians

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UNEXPECTED ARRIVALS

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We have been working on the papers for three new children but have not yet arranged a time to meet with the authorities. For that reason when Mr. Somoeun told me to get ready to pick up two children I at first thought it was the case we were working on but instead, it was a new case involving two newly abandoned children.

The authorities were waiting for us with the children at the commune office and Mr. Somoeun and his assistant Chavmean started the paperwork…

while the children patiently waited for the adults to decide their fate.

It was all over in about an hour’s time and we now have two more new Watopotians.

Thanks for stopping in!

If you would like to be a sponsor of our community please go to the CONTACT page.

The Watopotians

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VOLUNTEERING AT WAT OPOT

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The COVID restrictions are lifted and it is now time to start thinking about that Life changing experience of volunteering at Wat Opot.

Grace from Canada was our first volunteer in this new post-Covid era and stayed for a month.

Next came Giacomo from Finland / Italy, who is staying for a couple of months. This is his second visit, the first being a one-year tour before the Covid outbreak.

Last week it was Phil and Bronwyn from New Zealand who spent a week of their travel time with us to fix playground equipment. Phil has been here several times before.

No experience is necessary… stay at your own risk and expense and if you have a good time a little cash donation would be helpful in the end but not necessary. We are a community and enjoy sharing our daily life with others. For more information send your inquiry to wocommunity@gmail.com.

Wat Opot children with community children who study with us in the afternoon. So much potential with just a little supervision and guidance.

Thanks for stopping in!

If you can not volunteer at this time but would like to support our community, please check the “CONTACT” page to see how to send your donations.

The Watopotians

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BACK IN BUSINESS

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The uncertainties of the past couple of years have had a huge effect on our program… and on me. I was all set to retire in 2020 and had purchased a one-way business class ticket home, thinking it would be my last flight to anywhere, so I might as well enjoy it. The COVID Pandemic changed all of that of course, as my flight was canceled. I don’t regret that however, because we ended up playing an important role in the cremations of nearly 200 victims of COVID… and with the funds we received for doing them, we were able to continue caring for the children in our custody. Grants from the Sakka Foundation and our friends in Taiwan also sustained us, along with donations and gifts from others… however, most of that support has now been terminated because of the anti-orphanage campaigns or conditions resulting from China’s present aggressive behavior toward Taiwan. Don’t get me wrong… this is not a plea for money but I would be lying if I told you that I was not concerned for the future of our community. Other orphanages and group homes are closing down because of a lack of funds and for that reason when Social Services called and said they had six new children who they needed to place, my initial response was to say NO, for the first time in our communities history. After hearing the stories of the children, however, I had to reconsider.

Today we took in the first of the six children referred to us. A seven-year-old boy who has been taken out of his family for reasons I can not make known in this writing. We do not know the extent of damage done to him at this point… that will come out in time. He has never attended school.

Times have changed and what use to be a simple agreement with a guardian to take over a Childs care, is now a process involving several people. Paperwork has to be filled out and signed by Social Services and government officials.

 Our Director Mr. Somoeun and his assistant Chavmean do most of the paperwork…

 While social services and government officials wait to approve and stamp the papers with their Seal and add their fingerprints to make the papers legal.

The process takes about an hour and so there is time to discuss the circumstances that brought us all together …

 unfortunately, the discussions are done in front of the child, who has very little say in the decisions being made for him by the adults in the room.

“It takes a village to raise a child.” but when there are problems of abuse, it takes concerned people to look for solutions. Partners in Compassion-Cambodia and the Wat Opot Community are back in the business of being a refuge for the Vulnerable children of Cambodia.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Watopotians

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WORKING TOGETHER

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The rainy season has come again which is great for gardens, trees, and flowers, however, it also gives weeds and other unwanted plant life the opportunity to grow, especially in our fish ponds. The pond by the kitchen was so overgrown that you could literally walk across it.

It’s a lot of work and only the best swimmers can cut the sections of grass because the pond is deep and the weeds often don’t surrender easily and like to wrap their roots around the ankles of those who push the sections to the shoreline.

The weeds and grass are waterlogged and require a lot of teamwork from our strongest children to get them into the carts.

But once loaded they are carted away by our younger children, to our garden areas where they will be used as compost.

And even the youngest can participate in picking up the stuff that falls off of the carts while being transported to the gardens… at times putting it to good use to protect themself from the Sun.

Thanks for stopping in to check on us!

The WATOPOTIANS

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BROKEN NEWS RELIEF

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A hot and lazy Sunday afternoon with nothing to do except to watch CNN breaking news (or more accurately broken news because it plays over and over again like a broken record).

Decided to open the pool for the kids which got my mind off of the problems of the world for just a while.

I remind the children nearly every night at meditation of how fortunate we are to live in a peaceful environment. They do keep up with things on social media and so discussions are not unusual and I think it is important to remain open to their concerns.

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FIREWOOD

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A few months ago the Governor of our Province donated two truckloads of wood to our community, for use with the cremation of COVID victims. At the time I thought he had grossly overestimated what our need would be.

But I was wrong… here is all that we had left a few days ago.

I called the COVID office but was told there was no more money at the time to buy wood and we would have to find our own supply. On our property, there are some older trees that have died and we decided to take them down.

With the help of some men in the community, we carefully took them down, and while the men with the chainsaws cut them up in smaller pieces, the children brought them to the Crematorium.

Somoeun, our new Director of Programs, demonstrated how to split the logs into usable sizes… most of the time by swinging the axe only two or three times. The guys spent much of the next two days attempting to match his technique but found it a little more difficult than he made it seem.

Because the rainy season is upon us we had to move all of the wood to higher ground since waterlogged wood is difficult to burn. It was a lot of work but we are now prepared for several more cremations…

and even though COVID cremations have been down lately with only one or two per week, we would gladly have worked in vain if there was no more need for further cremations. Thanks for stopping in.

The Partners

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Second COVID-19 Cremation

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It is 4:30 in the morning and I am sitting here alone at the crematorium again, waiting for the COVID-19 team to come with another victim of the pandemic… a middle-aged woman who died within hours of being hospitalized. The man who did the last cremation lost his construction job when his employer found out about it and so he said he would not do it anymore. Not sure who they will find to do it at this hour of the morning.

People are either afraid of getting the virus or afraid of being ostracized by friends and family because they get involved. Only a fool who has nothing to lose would volunteer for this job.

Not the greatest fit but they did eventually find a way of protecting the vulnerable areas of my body, and we were finally ready to go.

Every precaution was made to disinfect the whole area prior to bringing the body in through the gate.

And again after the body was placed in the furnace the area was fumigated and I was doused in alcohol as I removed my protective gear.

Not sure if this is going to be my permanent job… but I doubt they will find anyone else willing to do it now that they know I can be talked into it. I hope that there will not be many more deaths in our area… but if there are, I hope they can find protection gear in XXL for me.

Thanks for stopping in on us.

The Partners

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A COVID-19 CREMATION

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Because the families of the victims of COVID-19 are under strict quarantine and can not attend the cremation service, we, who know a lot about death and cremations, perform a simple Buddist service in their absence. This video was made for those families in the hope that it will bring some comfort to them… knowing that their loved one was not just disposed of, but was treated with respect and dignity. The remains are saved until the family can claim them and have a proper ceremony.

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FISH AND COVID-19

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A few months back the Wat decided to fill in their part of the pond we shared and in the process, the deteriorating fence that separated us for several years was weakened and part of the wall came down.

It will have to be repaired before the rains return but all of the options so far have been rather expensive. While we make our decision on the next move, we decided to drain the pond and harvest the fish.

Several Kilos of Pra were captured including some very large Catfish, which explains why there were very few small fish in the pond.

We sold what we could and the rest, our kitchen staff are preparing for the children’s meals.

On another note, a government clean-up crew arrived early this morning to begin cleaning the rooms of the Volunteer dorm, which hasn’t been in use for over a year. and most likely will not be used again until the COVID-19 pandemic is under control.

The COVID-19 Taskforce arrived later this afternoon to inspect the rooms and offer their gratitude for offering our place as a possible quarantine center, should the need arise.

We all hope that our place will never be needed to house those requiring quarantine… but at the same time realize the necessity of being prepared, should the pandemic get out of hand. It’s scary to think that the virus is spreading and coming closer to us… but at the same time, using our facilities to help the nation prevent its spread, puts us back on the front lines.

Thanks for stopping in and a SPECIAL THANKS to all who have and are supporting our programs with your thoughts and gifts.