Here’s a run down of our day: We woke up and ate breakfast, which was followed by a quick team meeting. We each talked about what had touched us the most. For me that’s been talking to my group members or having experiences that are helping me to deal with certain situations at home. I know that God has knitted together this group in such a way that it will all have a tremendous impact on each of us and on each of the people that we come in contact with. After that we went to Rapha House. This was a very sad and interesting experience. The girls that are at Rapha House have been trafficked and many were brought back from other countries. These girls range from six years old to twenty years old. Many have been raped and beaten. The program that Rapha House does is in three parts. The first is prevention. Rapha House has some part in prevention but they mainly focus on the second and third steps of the process. The second is that of recovery. They are saving the girls from sexual exploitation and trafficking so they need to be counseled emotionally, psychologically and medically. The third aspect is reintegration. They are teaching the girls a variety of vocational skills and then they have a process of reintegration into the community. After we went to Rapha House it was time for lunch at the Culinary Training Center.
Mallory and I trying to cool off before we eat at the Culinary Training Center.
The girls in this program have been taken out of extreme poverty situations or orphanages and are learning how to cook. This will give them a marketable skill that they can later use. After they complete the program, CGI will place them at a restaurant or hotel where they can work. They did an amazing job. They made traditional Cambodia dishes, as well as spaghetti and hamburgers. The food tasted wonderful. Next we traveled to some of the orphanages where the girls are from. We saw two orphanages in stark contrast from one another. The first was rundown and pitiful. The living conditions were sub par and the overall complex was not well kept. The second orphanage was a beautiful compound that did so many things to sustain itself.
One of the girls working on her loom.
They taught the children how to produce silk, sew clothing, and make furniture. It was a very lovely place, given the fact that it was in deed an orphanage. Then it was time for dinner. We ate at a cute little restaurant that has a very interesting mission. They are providing jobs for the extreme poor in Battambang. All of the people that work there are from the community and they have taken them in and taught them marketable skills. They also provide them with wages well above those at the poverty level, bonuses are offered and they get three good meals a day. It was a very nice place. It reminded me a lot of the place that my mom and I went to in Morocco where we had lemon tarts (I know this means nothing to anyone but me. But at least it will help me remember the ambiance since I forgot to bring my camera to capture its simple beauty). It also made me laugh that we ordered "Blizzards" there. They were much better than Dairy Queen, but I had to get one just to say that I had a Blizzard in the middle of Cambodia while listening to U2 and Fleetwood Mac play over the radio in the corner of the room. Overall it was a busy day!
There were a lot of mixed emotions with today. I am so unbelievably grateful that God is working in the lives of the girls at Rapha House. Many of them have been saved and have committed their lives to Christ. That is amazing to me because it goes against everything they know in relation to their culture and their family. It takes a very brave person to let those things go and embrace something new. It was wonderful seeing God work in their lives like that. It was hard to see them because many have been hurt in a way that no human being should ever go through. We weren't allowed to take pictures so I can't even begin to describe to you how petite some of these girls were. God has not allowed me the capacity of mind to comprehend what it would take for a grown man to sexually abuse any of those tiny girls and I am so grateful for that. If I could wrap my mind around that I think it would break my heart so much that I wouldn't be able to put it back together again. The wonderful thing to me is that Rapha House is creating an environment where these girls can learn vocational skills, but they also learn to be children again. They play games and do arts and crafts. They laugh at silly things and they take turns doing each others hair. Those are all things that young girls should experience and it is being given to them in an environment that fosters love and kindness instead of pain and hatred. Their smiles are so innocent and for many you can't see the pain that is hidden behind the smiling gleam in their eyes. Others wear the pain that they have in a place for all to see. It is hard to hide the pain of being beaten and raped and it takes a lot of time to process the emotions that come along with something so horrible. I pray that we can raise awareness for the cause that Rapha House supports and for CGI as well.
Please visit these websites to learn more about what Rapha House and CGI are trying to do through their missions:
http://www.raphahouse.org/
http://www.centerforglobalimpact.org/
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