Feeding the Street Children

Up on the roof again!  It's 9:00pm and I'm two rum-filled drinks deep.  A large group of us are booking our trip to Siem Reap tomorrow.  I had the day off from Maria Teresa.The nuns have prayer on Thursdays so volunteers and visitors are not allowed at the orphanage.  My roommate said I could tag along with her to her placement.  I jumped on the opportunity and headed out early this morning. 

Alexa works at a soup kitchen type place that feeds street children.  They get breakfast, lunch and these drinks that taste like bubble gum.  Mothers can bring their infants and get much needed formula. 

Once the hungry kids started pouring in for their food, I got a very close look at their dispair.  Most of them were filthy and had had on smelly, old clothes.  I'm now ashamed for thinking that the kids at my orphanage have it bad.  At least my babies have clean clothes, get bathed and get plenty of love and food.  The street children live in total poverty.  Most do not attend school and are forced to dig through garbage just to find glass bottles.  Kids as young as 4 years old ride their bikes great distances to receive a meal. 

It was tough to be affectionate with the children because of their filth.  But when a little girl with tattered clothing and unclean hair wants a hug, there is no way to refuse.  You smile, hug them and make their life better.  The meals were a bit chaotic.  The cook, (a nice lady/man) tells you whether the serving is for a small child or large child.  It was so hard giving a starving kid a tiny chicken wing and cup of rice.  The experince will haunt me for a while but make me appreciate everything I have.

After meals, we got to play games and draw with the children until they had to leave.  I taught a girl how to draw different things and she loved it.  It's amazing how universal art is.  I watched another girl write, "I love you" in both English and Khmer.  She was holding her 2 year old sister who definitely had CP.  The little sister flopped about and looked around aimlessly.  Other volunteers said they doubted that she had ever seen a doctor.  The big sister (maybe 6yrs old) carried the girl around as if she were a doll.  It broke my heart.  I was glad when we ended our day at 1:30.  The girls and I packed our towels, threw on our suits and headed to the stadium pool. 

We joked the whole way that the pool would probably be closed.  We got there and......  I don't wanna talk about it....  Let's just say we ended up in the city for rasberry lime daquiris and super sweet mai tais. 

Now, my eyelids are heavy and I need some sleep.  Goodnight everyone hope your day is swell and full of love, food and mai tais.