Saying Goodbye

The taxi to take us to the airport will arrive in 40 minutes. We have said many emotional goodbyes to everyone: from the kids to our tuk tuk drivers. Our last day at the orphanage included planting 8 trees (one for each volunteer on the trip) and then we had a little ceremony with the kids where we gave each one a bracelet to wear. I will always treasure mine.

Us with one of the Heart Touch trees.

This has been an amazing experience and I am looking forward to doing it again someday--whether that will be back here or somewhere else. And I will be keeping in touch with John & Kathy, especially since they are going to offer the opportunity to sponsor children very soon (a full sponsorship will be around $160/month, or you can sponsor part of the child's costs for $40/month). Besides, we still need to complete the sustainable massage project, so this is just the beginning of our relationship with them.

You can never hold just one kid here. It's simply not possible! And why would you want to?

I will post lots of photos when i get home. And that is all I can write for now, or I will be a sobbing mess on the airplane.

My most favorite boys.

The Power of Touch

Sokhal: my favorite little guy at Happy Home

We were finally able to make a trip to see the quilters a few days ago (Kathy and John hire women who are HIV+ to make quilts that they sell). This idea came about when they started a daycare for HIV+ widows to drop off their children while they went to work. Well, when a woman dropped off her baby and came back two months later, they realized that they needed to make some changes. There is a stigma to hiring these women, making it difficult for them to find jobs, so Kathy and John created a place for them to work! And they provide the daycare for their children while they are at work.


A happy quilter

We picked up some quilts to take home with us to sell and also massaged all of the women. The first woman I worked on started tearing up and crying as I massaged her. And when I was done, she gave me 5 of the tightest hugs I've ever received and 3 kisses on the cheek. All of the women were so appreciative of the work we did with them. I think we were all tearing up before we left.


Massaging the quilters! We had a great time with these wonderful ladies.

After that, we went to a different hospital than we usually go to. We started in the TB ward and then went to the AIDS ward to massage people. We only had about an hour and there were 30 people, so we only had about 15 minutes for each of them. Sometimes when we go in with all of our supplies, we're eyed with a bit of uncertainty (and who can blame them? they don't know us!). I first asked one man if he wanted a massage and he said no, so I went to the woman in the bed next to him. He watched as I worked on her and then he was ready to get one himself. I love that. We took a little longer than we had planned to, and it's my fault. I just couldn't stand the thought of anyone there not getting a massage (if they wanted one) when everyone else got theirs. I didn't make everyone wait for too long, though!


Here I am: Working on a man in the TB ward

After that we went back to Happy Home (the daycare/transition house) and brought the kids a bunch of toys. It was amazing to see how well-received this new stimulus was! We also gave the caregivers there a massage lesson, so they can continue the work after we leave.



Life is always good when there's a baby in your arms!

And so goes another long day in Cambodia!

Project Sustainable Massage

One of the homes at the orphanage

One of our goals when we came here was not just to provide compassionate touch for these kids while we are here, but to make sure they keep receiving it after we're gone. We planned on teaching their caregivers how to massage them, but quickly realized that their caregivers are just too busy cooking and taking care of the kids to do that. In fact, we've ended up massaging the caregivers while we're here. One great thing about the games we've taught is that they teach the kids massage so that they can actually massage each other. And what's even better is that we don't have to tell them to do it--they just naturally want to and start modeling our behavior, like in the photo below.


Future massage therapist at work!

Of course, being who we are, and knowing how much these kids LOVE getting their massages, that is just not enough for us. So now we are working on hiring a massage therapist for the orphanage. John & Kathy will find someone and we will train them in various modalities so they can work on the adults and the kids. We will also pay their salary and their living/food expenses at the orphanage (this works out to about $150/month). And we can continue training them when we return, and also implement this program in other orphanages around the world. When we approached John with the idea, he absolutely loved it, and actually went a step further in suggesting that we might turn it into a training for some of the kids too (AFTER they finish high school), so they can get jobs in town as massage therapists. Sounds good to us!


Naptime for the kids

It is so helpful to have these uplifting ideas and experiences while we're here because it can get extremely emotional. I actually had my tearful breakdown at the TB hospital yesterday and I was the last one of the group to have one. It can just be really heavy, hearing about children whose parents told them that they (the kid) gave their parents HIV, or kids whose parents died and when they were picked up at a relative's house by the orphanage, the relatives barely glanced their way as they left. Or the little girl who stopped taking her medication because she was told that nobody would ever love her, so she decided she would rather die. Then there are the kids who look years younger than they really are due to the fact that they failed to thrive in their early years (that's what happens when nobody touches a baby/child). And those are only a few of the stories. I just can't even think about them when I'm with the kids. I actually forget that they're HIV+ when I'm with them too. And that's definitely a good thing.


Penny and Patrick take a little break while the kids eat lunch.

Volunteering

Í have had a few people read this blog and ask me how they can get involved in a global outreach like this. So, instead of answering many different times, I figured I would put the answer here. And, unfortunately, I don't know how much help my answer will be!

There are soooo many orphanages in Cambodia. In fact, on our first night here, we ran into a group from Australia who was visiting another orphanage near ours. The man who runs it is also from Australia and invited us to come by anytime. Hopefully we'll make it there before the end of the trip. So...if you are looking for an orphanage to volunteer with, just start looking! But definitely do your research because sadly, a lot of people just want the money and donations that come with having an orphanage and end up starving or depriving the kids and keeping the money. John & Kathy are actually supposed to get 16 kids from one of those places in the next week or so. But keep in mind that not all volunteering involves working directly with the kids (if that is what you are looking for).

As for my specific trip, I am here with Heart Touch Project. Heart Touch does about one international trip a year (previous trips included India and Thailand). But to become a volunteer with Heart Touch, you have to live in the Los Angeles area and be a certified/licensed massage therapist. Once you go through their training, you have to commit to one year of working with hospice clients (it is very helpful to have this previous experience before coming on a trip like this). You also have to take the Children's Program Training, so that you are trained to work with children and infants who have special needs. And on top of that, you should probably become a Certified Infant Massage Instructor (which 3 of us on this trip are). THEN you can apply for an international trip with Heart Touch. Things could change in the future, but that's how it works right now!

Massage...continued

We've had some long, exhausting days at the orphanage, transition house (where some of the babies and little ones go to get medical help. Right now there is an adorable infant there who has full-blown AIDS) and the hospital. But the smiles we're greeted with keep us going.


Christopher. He has full-blown AIDS, but with medication and love, they're hoping to transition him to the orphanage soon.

Today when we showed up at the hospital, people who had received massages on other days and knew what we were there for rushed to their beds and laid down for their sessions right away. It was wonderful.

A hospital bed in the TB ward. The lucky people get a bed with a mattress. and the stay here can last from three to nine months.

And at the orphanage, while I was massaging one little guy who has seemed sad and withdrawn since we got here, another little boy came up behind me to practice his massage techniques on my back. And I am happy to report that he has got some seriously good skills! I'm also thrilled to report that my previously sad little guy was running around with a big grin on his face for the rest of the day and joined the others in playing with some games that we brought.


Another one of my favorite boys. You can't just have one favorite here!

So that's the latest. I'll try to write more when I'm not so exhausted.

And by the way, I am finding it very bizarre that the American dollar is so widely accepted here. They even write their prices in US $$. it's a bit disconcerting. but i'm getting good at figuring out the money rates, since it's helpful when you sometimes get your change in riel or have to pay for something partly in dollars and partly in riel.

And one more thing: Kathy and John were incredibly appreciative of the stuff we brought for the kids. Apparently you can't get coloring books here and underwear is $3 for one pair. Crazy!


just one more of my favorite kids!

Destination: Cambodia

After 30 hours of traveling (a 12-hour flight to Seoul, a 12-hour layover and then a 6-hour flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia), my fellow Heart Touch volunteers and I finally arrived at our destination. We took a day to get situated and then headed out to the orphanage to start our work!


This sweet girl is waiting to get cleared to get her medication.

And...wow. The orphanage is run by John & Kathy Tucker, a wonderful couple who moved to Cambodia from Texas a few years ago (6? maybe more). First we got a tour of the facilities, which are very impressive--especially when we found out that most of it has been built in the last two years. They have 8 clusters of homes and each cluster has 3 houses and a kitchen. The idea is to have a couple who takes care of the kids at each cluster, so each one feels like a family. They are also striving to be as self-sufficient as possible, using pig poop for methane fuel (and the pigs will be bred and sold), solar power and bio-diesel. There are over 125 kids there now, and they also support over 900 HIV+ children (who have families) in Cambodia.

We started out by gathering a group of about 40 or 50 kids so we could play some games to break the ice and give them some "touch activities" to play with each other after we leave. We all had a lot of fun and when it was time for them to go and eat lunch, a group of boys stayed behind, asking for "massage." Of course we were thrilled to have some quiet, individual time with them, and even more thrilled to see that they were modeling our behavior and massaging each other. It was really a beautiful sight to behold...and exactly the kind of thing we were hoping would happen, since peer massage helps create/strengthen bonds between the kids, reduces aggression, and keeps them calmer and happier!


Showing the kids some massage strokes .



Massage games!

We also took a trip to the TB ward at a local hospital to offer the patients massage. They were all more than happy to receive some loving touch, as were their caregivers.


The TB ward

When our van pulled into the orphanage on our second day, we were greeted with kids running up to the van, yelling "massage! massage!" and mimicking some massage movements we had done with them the day before. It's hard to get the games and massages done when you have two kids hanging off of you at all times, but we managed. My favorite part of the day was when we were playing one of the games and I looked at the little girl in my lap, only to realize that she was fast asleep! She kept sleeping through the games for another half hour, until it was time to wake her up for lunch (which she was not thrilled about).

Somebody's sleepy

Massaged kids are happy kids!

One of the most touching moments of the trip so far was when a young girl who is new at the orphanage, and came to them from a situation where she was being sexually abused, actually joined in one of the games. We got to watch her come out of her shell and open herself up to some healthy touch during a few short days. She was even requesting a massage on the second day. And for a bunch of massage therapists (aka: touch junkies), that is a wonderful thing to witness.


I'm hot, sweaty, gross and happy. I know we're not supposed to pick favorites, but, well...I just love this boy!

Today the kids treated us to a dance performance before we left for the day...and now my mouth hurts from smiling so much during the dances. And, as cliche as it sounds, I really do wonder who is getting the most benefit from this experience. Because I feel like these kids have given me so much already...and we're not even halfway through the trip.


Cutest.thing.EVER. The kids after their dance.

I'll try to get some more/better photos once i get home. I may have internet access here, but that doesn't mean the computers are fast! I think it might take me all day to sort through my photos and upload them. Make that a week. ha!

preparing to leave!

Wow...only three more days until I leave for Cambodia. I can't believe how fast the time went by. First, I want to say how incredibly grateful I am for everyone's love, support and donations. I surpassed my fundraising goal almost two months ago, thanks to the generosity of family and friends. I can't tell you what a wonderful feeling that was!

And now, I've received my immunizations, medications, stocked up on DEET and other things I'll need and am almost packed for the trip. I actually have to go out and buy a bag for my own clothes and things that I'll be taking because I filled my regular suitcase with supplies for the kids: coloring books, underwear, crayons, markers, stickers, pens, pencils, games, etc...

THANK YOU so much to the people who contributed to the supplies: Christina, Dan & P, Linda & Silvia, Simone, and my parents. I really can't wait to see the looks on the kids' faces when they get their hands on this stuff.

I will have access to the internet on my trip, so I will try to update the blog on what's going on over there and hopefully be able to post some photos, so everyone who helped make this trip happen can really see how they've helped.