Compassion in action

My first week of travels back to Southeast Asia in early December 2010, took me to Thailand. I spent a couple of days in Bangkok before heading up to Chiang Mai that would serve as my base for a 1-day visit to the north in Fang to visit the Compassion child I sponsor: Jairak Ja-U.

Our 1st meeting. Me holding the traditional bag his mother made for me.

I really didn't know what to expect since I had only just started sponsoring Jairak Ja-U a couple of months prior. The two other children I was sponsoring had both dropped out of the program within a month of each other, and Jairak was the recommended boy to replace them.

He couldn't have been a better match!

Posing in front of the "Christmas flowers" (Poinsettias).

The shyness was very evident, yet understandable. We exchanged gifts and asked a few questions (translated, of course) before getting a tour of the hostel where he is living. He seemed very happy to have met me. It was very special since many children don't ever get to meet their sponsors except through letters and photographs.

I think the best part of the trip was going to his high school to see his classroom and his best friends. It was a pleasure to be able to meet them and pray together before saying good bye.

Standing with his school mates & friends.

I will cherish that day, despite feeling a little under the weather in the morning. It was so adorable when we said goodbye as Jairak called out, "Good bye. See you tomorrow!" in English.

Precious.

Visiting the local hot springs in our matching hats (which we both like to wear).

Long Beach student, business owner raise funds for toddler's surgery

This is simply an inspiring story about how so many different people and groups can come together for a single cause without knowing it ahead of time. I'd love for something similar to take place with the Sustainable Sanitation Cambodia project!

Millikan High senior Lauren Briand and Socheat Nha in Briand's Long Beach home on Wednesday. (Jeff Gritchen/Press-Telegram)
Socheat Nha at Lauren Briand's home. Behind her is Nha's father, Phin Ken, and her cousin, Kenha Heang, right. (Jeff Gritchen/Press-Telegram)

02/25/2010
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram

LONG BEACH - A student and a Long Beach business owner are raising money to help save the life of a Cambodian toddler and support the fledgling local nonprofit that finds treatment for destitute children.

When Lauren Briand went to Cambodia, she was looking for a project. At Angkor Children's Hospital, her project found a purpose. Now that purpose has a face.

Lauren and her mom, Debbie, were part of an educational and humanitarian tour to Cambodia led by Cal State Long Beach professor Alex Morales. Lauren was hoping to find something that would inspire her for her upcoming senior project at Millikan High.

The 17-year-old found it when the group went to Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap and saw scores of children in need of help. Already looking ahead to a future in medicine, Lauren found a natural fit in doing something to aid those in need.

Read the rest of this heart-warming and inspiring story here.

CNN to air "World's Untold Stories: Innocence for Sale"

Unfortunately, nearly everyone who hears of Cambodia automatically associate it with either the Killing Fields or child trafficking. There's so much more to Cambodia than this, but it's still an important issue that needs to be addressed at numerous levels.

January 22nd, 2010
Swati Arya
TVnext.in

In a new "World's Untold Stories" program airing on January 26th, CNN travels to Cambodia to examine the heartbreaking stories of Southeast Asia's child sex industry.

Seen through the eyes of Aaron Cohen, CNN goes undercover into the karaoke brothels where sex with a child costs the same as a round of drinks. We witness the destitution and deprivation that keeps the young girls in the brothels and we're there when Cohen pays his final respects to the teenage girl he'd rescued, but couldn't save from the heartless grip of prostitution, in the face of her family's poverty.

What's uncovered in this half-hour will shed new light into the dark corners of the human trafficking problem in Cambodia, where we discover in many cases, the blame for the children's exploitation lies not solely with the pimps and madams.

The documentary will enlighten and inspire new conversation about e challenges currently preventing aid workers and authorities from declaring battle in the struggle to free children from this most despicable form of modern-day slavery.

Airtimes: Indian Standard Time (IST)
Tuesday, January 26th: 1900hrs, 2300hrs
Saturday, January 30th: 2300hrs
Sunday, January 31st: 1730hrs
Monday, February 1st: 0830hrs

Give and it shall be given to you

Last Saturday I spent the morning at Tepaday Village to the north of Puok District. This is the home village of Da's father and it is considered quite poor. We have been looking into building a well for the village, but the conditions are not ideal as wells have been tried before with limited success.

However, our purpose last Saturday was more of a goodwill gesture as I had organized some donations of small hygiene items and school supplies for the children. Twenty mothers were chosen who had children for us to give a school bag full of goodies to them.

Before handing out the bags, though, fun was in store as I brought a secret stash of bubbles. When I pulled out the bottle the crowd of children and women eyed me with uncertainty. "What is this barang going to do?" As soon as I started blowing the bubbles, the cries of the children were all the answer I needed. It was so noisy that I had to move out to a more open space so as not to irritate the older folks.

Leaping and dashing to their delight (sometimes in the oncoming traffic of motorbikes), the bubbles were a hit. I passed the first bottle off to another child and pulled out a second bottle which I eventually handed to another boy. It was fun to stand back and watch them try it out. It was even more enjoyable when they started making their own bubble wands out of pieces of palm leaves. How inventive!

After the bubbles, it was time to hand out the school bags. Once we finished that we gave out some crank operated LED flashlights (no batteries required!) and a couple of solar powered and crank operated radios. There were 10 flashlights, but unfortunately one didn't seem to work, and that was the one we gave to the monk. Oops! An aunt gave up hers to the monk and then he got a radio, too. All was saved.