An Outing with Orphans
26 October 2000
The Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa's group) run an orphanage in downtown Phnom Penh. It has about 25 children from infants up to about 12 years old. One girl is deaf and two of the children are blind.
The sisters give lots of loving care, but the building that houses the orphanage was never designed for such a use, and the children have no playground at all.
Presently another orphange is flooded and those 13 children have joined the regular group at the Monivong location. To give the children a change of scenery and the chance for a different kind of play, our youth group picked them up one afternoon when the teenagers were free (because of a holiday for the king's birthday) and took the kids over to the International School of Phnom Penh where they have not only a big 
playground but even a swimming pool.
The youth group provided some cookies, lots of fruit, and some soft drinks to make the day more enjoyable. About ten of the youth group participated, and ISPP was very generous in allowing the use of its facilities and even the use of its vans to transport the children.
One important part of the formation program for the youth is service projects. Many of the youth here are already far ahead of their North American counterparts in the area of serving others because they are here with their parents who came to Cambodia to serve in various volunteer, UN, and service programs. We try to have two service projects each semester.