Helping a Cambodian Village

Last night, two friends of Ben & Ty's stayed at our house while their parents attended a wedding. The four kids had a great time playing games, and cooking hotdogs and s'mores over an open fire in the back yard. But the friends had come with a presentation to share with us, too.

After dinner we went to the computer and watched and listened as they told us about their upcoming trip to Cambodia - their mother's homeland, and their hopes of helping the village she lived in as a child. Their mother's family was torn apart by the war in the 1970s, and eventually the family members who survived made it to a refugee camp in Thailand. Some of them came to the United States, others went to France. And some stayed in Cambodia. This summer these two children (along with their parents) will travel back to the village which was their mother's final Cambodian home, and they plan to bring funds to dig a well for the village. Currently the village obtains water from the nearby river, which is filthy and diseased. Digging a well should do amazing things for the health of the village and should save many of the children, especially, from parasitic infections which can lead to severe diarrhea, leading all too often to an early death.

These children have spoken in a variety of places over the past few months and have raised nearly $1000 for their mission. I'm so proud to say that both of my boys chose to donate from their own money to help out, too. One of my biggest hopes for my children is that they choose, whenver possible, to help where they can, when they can, and however they can. We are so blessed in our suburban American lives - I don't want them to grow up taking that for granted, or to forget that with great blessings come great responsibilities.

After the trip to Cambodia I will get photos of the village and the new well. In the meantime here's the picture of the 4 children - Ben & Ty and their two friends who are working to improve their world.