Did you ever get to the end of the day and feel like the morning was a long, long time ago? That was today.
This morning, I met with leaders from the World Vision reintegration and legal teams. I am becoming aware of how huge, complex, multi-faceted and sometimes overwhelming the issue of child trafficking is.
I have to tell the story of one of the team leaders I met today, his name is not mentioned in this post and photo is not attached. In 1975 at the age of 14, he was a child soldier in Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge staged a genocide for 5 years in Cambodia killing over 2 million citizens. The AK47 they gave him came to the height of his shoulder. But he was given the detail of a medic, so for 2 years he did the best job he could assisting the dying, maimed and wounded of the army before escaping into Thailand. Needless to say he saw many terrible things. But to hear him tell his story with his eyes welled up is only inspiring because he knows God prepared him for his job today. Being involved in the trauma recovery for victims of child trafficking requires a heart filled deeply with compassion and a mind protected by the Lord. You know it when you meet someone who is uniquely qualified for their life’s work; I met a man like that today.
From there, World Vision gave us access to speak with the Ministry of Police here in Phnom Penh. Since 2003, World Vision, Unicef and 2 other global non-profits have funded the creation of the new departments of human trafficking, child protection, drug trafficking and domestic violence. The arrest, prosecution, conviction and sentencing of offenders is sometimes the toughest battle these brave people face. World Vision is involved every step of the way in changing the system from the bottom up. The commitment and perseverance I have seen all around here is inspiring.
The focus of the rest of the day shifted to the painful plight of the street kids here in Phnom Penh. It is difficult for the mind to process the gripping reality that in the span of just a few short hours, a child living alone in a dangerous, filthy environment can so quickly be enveloped by the love and protection offered by the World Vision child shelter I visited today.
Today was International Children’s Day here, so we were guests at a party thrown for the street kids living at this World Vision center. It was quite a moment in time to be sitting where I was, seeing happy, smiling street kids lip syncing the remake of “WE ARE THE WORLD”.
This center rescues and shelters street kids for up to a year or more. Cleaning them, clothing them, educating them and loving them. They have the daunting task of evaluating their circumstances and either trying to place them back to a family member or moving them to a more permanent shelter.
In the dark of the evening, we then went on an outreach into the slums of the city, where team members from this World Vision center go and provide minor medical care, small food supplies and educational tools to the children that come out to see them.
The World Vision trucks are like a beacon of light in a very, very dark place. On the ride back to the hotel, Keith, Aaron and I did not say too much…words cannot really paint the right picture.
Here are some other photos from the day:
