The Orphanage

You always hear about people going to orphanages, don’t you? They start planning it 8 months in advance. They get their shots, sew their puppets, practice their skits, pack their crafts. Me? I decided about 2 weeks ago that I’d join my friend Sovannary this past weekend and see where she just started working. On Wednesday, my oldest class asked me about my plans for this week’s holiday, and 2 students decided to join me. No big deal – just a trip to the orphanage, out in a village in the province.

Orphanages are a dime a dozen in Cambodia. In fact, living in Phnom Penh’s NGO circuit, it’s kind of trendy to visit other organizations and help out for an afternoon or something. Many children in them aren’t true “orphans” – their parents just aren’t able to take care of them. If you’re not careful or scrupulous, you can even get kids from capable parents who just believe their child will have access to more in the orphanage than living with them. Many orphanages also deal with corrupt staff – corruption shows up at ALL levels of Cambodian society.

This one is far from a shining example. A foreign family started it several years ago, then moved back to the US, leaving people in charge who apparently lack both the competence and the virtue to do a good job. Sovannary was hired to try to get it back on track, visiting every weekend to manage it and hold them accountable. She’s perfect for the job in so many ways – a visionary, a great communicator, a no-excuses person, a real heart for God and the kids. But she says it’s daunting, and I believe her. The kids are lovely, although I’m sure they have plenty of issues. It’s the 5 staff members. Both house parents do hardly anything…during the whole visit, I never once saw them talk to any of the twenty children. The two cooks have huge fights several times a week, in which they scream obscenities at each other in front of the kids.

All of them claim to be Christian, but Sovannary believes they’re all pocketing orphanage money. Only half the food budget is spent weekly (the other half disappears), and the teenage boys complain that they never eat until they’re full. (Anyhow, I’ve seen what they eat: no fruit or vegetables except the produce from one fruit tree, and every dish is chock-full of salt and MSGs.) The house parents just keep saying “I don’t know,” not only about the food budget, but about the missing toothbrushes and toothpaste, and the shampoo, and other basic items intended for the children. From now on, Sovannary is having them write down EVERYTHING they use or distribute to the kids.

The best example to the children seems to be Rakhim, the computer teacher, who’s Muslim. He has a real relationship with the kids and is the only one who has earned Sovannary’s trust. He also displays the most interest in a genuine relationship with Christ; the others never live out their faith, but he has many questions for Sovannary. The staff are supposed to lead daily devotions (ex. Bible stories and singing) for the children, but lack the Bible knowledge to do a good job. When Sovannary offered to find them sponsors to attend a Bible school, only Rakhim expressed interest. Would it make sense to put a non-Christian in charge of devotions, and to send him to Bible school in hopes that he makes a decision for Christ? That’s what Sovannary is having to weigh in her mind.

As for me, the question I’m weighing in my mind is what I can bring them next time. This time, I treated everyone to mangos, for the large sum of $2 total: only 50 cents a kilogram! It’s a rare treat for them, one they’d have to save their pocket money for, because the orphanage never buys them. But I’d love to track down things for them to do, since there’s currently nothing. Besides some dancing and traditional Khmer New Year's games, we spent the day watching a few guys fish and playing hand-clap games. I’d like to bring anything that challenges their intellects or fine motor skills: books…puzzles…sidewalk chalk…crayons…buckets and shovels for the sand outside…I think it wouldn’t be hard to get them engaged in that kind of stuff, and they desperately need the stimulation. Not sure yet how to make this happen, but I’m praying that God will direct my steps!