Educating 120 street-working children in Cambodia

It has been more than 7 years of running Lotus Kids’ Club since November 2010. There have been so many changes that demonstrate the growth of our project. If we compare the beginning where we were, we can see that we are now so far from that. In 2010 we just started with 10 preschool students from several families in the Kamaki community, Cambodia where many children and their families were working on the street, collecting recyclables and those children were at high risk to be trafficked for labor or sex. We have accomplished so much since then, and now we have more than 100 families, 93 primary school students, 54 preschool students and 30 students on average coming to our Afternoon Community Program every school day.

We have been through so many concerns, challenges and pain but we have always given hope to those who need us, and we always stay beside them in any situation. It has been much hard work and commitment to these families and children we are serving but we really enjoy this work, and we want our new generation to change and build better lives for their future and community.

To celebrate how far we've come, we decided to host our first ever Christmas party for staff and the children two months ago. We have done many parties for Khmer New Year for staff, the children and their families but this time was a bit different because we had Christmas gifts for all staff and children who joined the Christmas party. We would like to say a mountain of thanks to our managing partner AIM (Agape International Mission) for their cash donation to buy 300 pairs of shoes, 300 sets of sport uniforms and all the food and drink for the party, which was very enjoyable and unforgettable for staff and the children.

We were very busy organizing and preparing for the party but the end result was so rewarding and unbelievable. 300 children joined the party and all had fun together, played games plus the end of the party everyone got food, drinks and gifts. It was such the great party for everyone. Also, it was a great time for our staff ito bond and get closer with each other. They expressed their feeling to the group with very big smile and happy face that showed from the bottom of their hearts about the first Christmas party. “Thanks for all this warmest party and gift, I love it so much,” said one staff member.

The story behind the big Christmas party happened while we were having a meeting with Mr. Don Brewster, AIM's Executive Director, in the beginning of December 2017. We were discussing our day to day operations at Lotus Kids’ Club, and then we were doing the updates what we are going to do in Christmas because many students asked for the party so we decided to do a small Christmas party for children with the $70 donation that we received from some visitors. Immediately, Don asked us to do a big one with many children, and AIM will support for the whole party. We are so thankful to Don and AIM. It was an unforgettable experience for staff and the children.