Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hi Folks,
Just a brief blog about the Granny Program. One of the many community activities provided by the Cambodian Children's Fund is to provide food every day to the elderly who could not eat without this service. We distribute either 25 or 50 kilograms of rice and each granny also gets a check for $10 weekly. We accompanied some of the junior leaders of CCF. One was a young girl about15 and two other young people probably12 or 13. They were the nicest most polite children who probably thought it was a miracle that we could walk around. I had to fight the little boy over who would carry the rice. Their English was very good.
We have talked about the incredible poverty, but now we have seen it all.The living conditions for these old folks is almost beyond description. We walked into alleys with running waste on the dirt. Rubbage on the dirt looked like it was used to dry out the street. One granny lived in a place that was below the house and you could not stand up. There were hundreds and hundreds of people living in areas you could not see from the road. We saw several of our students living there.
One very old lady, the picture on the blog, was sewing together enormous bags that are used to collect trash on the dumps, a living for many Cambodians. She had to sew 55 bags a day with her arthritic hands. Probably makes about $5 a day.
This poverty breaks your heaart. The Grannies were so greatful and prayed for us. What a remarkbly resilient people. Joyce and I were sure we were the oldesr people in Phnom Penh. We were wrong. Our heads never stop shaking in wonderment.
Enough of my ramblings, talk to you soon.
- comments
Marlissa I laughed out loud thinking about you arguing with the young man over who would carry the rice! Seriously, I can't imagine what it's like to see people living in that type of poverty day after day. It's painful to read (much less see in person I'm sure). Take good care of yourselves - we miss you!