Denise and I send you warm greetings from Phnom Penh,
Cambodia! February has been extremely
busy.
We had a very productive and enjoyable breakfast with Kip
(the Chairman of the Board of MERCY) and Elena during the World Sector
Leadership Retreat in California at the end of February, discussing ongoing
plans for the MERCY Orphanage in Cambodia
We are very encouraged by MERCY’s
partnership with the Cambodia Social Welfare Mission Orphanage (CSW), which
MERCY sponsors. Denise and I lead the
daily operations at the orphanage and are there on a regular basis.
Our shared vision is to improve
the lives of the children who live at the orphanage, helping them grow to
become responsible adults. Our goal is
to eventually expand the number of children that live in the orphanage from the
current number of 53 children to 100.
We have established Three Foundational Pillars Of Growth for
the children: Character, Education and
Health. In addition, we have
launched a “Clean and Green” Campaign
to beautiful the orphanage grounds and help the children develop a cleanly and
orderly mindset.
| 3 PILLARS OF GROWTH | ||
| CHARACTER | EDUCATION | HEALTH |
|
Basic Life Skills Training |
General Education Requirements |
Medical and Dental Care |
|
Clean and Green Campaign |
Foreign Language Proficiency |
Diet, Nutrition and Exercise |
|
Confident, Courageous, Considerate |
Computer Training |
Teaching and Training on Basic Hygiene |
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
– BOYS BATHROOM
One of the projects to this end has been the construction of
a new boy’s bathroom. We are very grateful to Dennis Wong, Chairman of the Sharon
Wong Foundation, for the generous donation to initiate the construction of this
much needed building for the 30 boys at the orphanage. Excitingly, the completion date is March
7!
Current condition of the existing bathrooms in the
boys’ dormitory.
Nick and Heng, the “big brother” at the orphanage,
inspect the progress at the construction site of the new bathroom, which is
over two times the size of the current bathroom
Denise employed here interior design skills and
experience to select fun colors to accent one wall of each of the different
rooms in the bathroom
Bright and airy, the new bathroom has five showers and
9 shower/toilet combinations (which are common in Cambodia), along with 3 large
sinks (on the right) with 4 faucets each.
DENTAL CARE AND HYGIENE TRAINING
In addition,
we will begin regular medical and dental examinations and teaching and training
on health and hygiene.
Srey Nich, 16 years old, was so embarrassed to lose
her decaying front tooth. Denise
contacted a dental school here in Phnom Penh, which gladly helped Srey Nich
replace her front tooth and fill her 12 cavities at a very favorable cost. We will begin dental exams for all of the
children over the next few months.
Srey Nich flashes a big smile, thankful for her new
tooth!
Our dear sister Naomi, a dental hygienist, divided the
children in small groups and taught and trained all the children about dental hygiene.
The roommate of our daughters at University of Oregon
raised over $4000 to create and send 60 dental packets (toothbrushes,
toothpaste, dental floss and her organization’s T-shirts – Save Our Smiles) to
the orphanage. The kids were so excited to
receive their personal packets!!
Much love to
all of you,
Nick and
Denise and the kids at the CSW-MERCY Orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia!!
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