Covering children’s basic needs in housing and nutrition is a challenge we face every day. Having a basic and balanced nutrition and growing up in a stable and loving home is but a dream to many children. This is our everyday story.
Samut is just one more of the children in Tahen. He has lively and mischievous eyes and an unsteady yet independent character. He was abandoned by his mother more than 4 years ago. His parents had divorced and his mother left to Pailin, 100 km away from Tahen, to start a 
new life. She has married again and has two other children. We have not heard from his father. Everybody knows Mut. He was left under the care of his grandmother, who cannot stand up without the help of her neighbors. The lack of care, hygiene and food made Mut suffer from skin diseases, undernourishment and also develop a difficult character.
Covering children’s basic needs in housing and nutrition is a challenge we face every day. Having a basic and balanced nutrition and growing up in a stable and loving home is but a dream to many children. This is our everyday story.
We have started this year 2010 at a good working rate and with great energy that we bring from last year. All our foster homes are full, all our houses, rooms and centres are brimming with people, life and joy. This year also starts with the happiness conveyed by good crops that guarantee rice for the rest of the year.
At the beginning of the year we can see that all our foster homes – “Arrupe Centre”, “Metta-Karuna” in Tahen, “the blue house” for girls in Kom pong Thom, “Nazaret” for orphans and “Lidy Home” in Pharum’s house – are all overflowing with joy, smiles and activities that shape the future.
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| Residents of “la casa azul”, “Lidy home” and “Arrupe centre |
Last year, 2009, was a good year for our activities and social assistance to the underprivileged in the villages in which we carry out our projects. The Arrupe centre outreach team was especially active. It seems that this year not only activities from previous years in Tahen and Kompong Kor villages are consolidating, but also new initiatives for new communities and villages are arising, like the day centres and kindergartens in Chraviel and Poipet
Girls in Kompong Kor
The health centre in the Prefecture, under the responsibility of Sister Ath, keeps growing in health education, health service and outreach service. Assistance in prison also continues to improve. The “Miakia Chivet” group of Tahen regularly visits children, old people, the sick and the underprivileged and keeps a thorough record of their situation. This year has been welcomed with everybody labouring in the harvest, which overall has turned out to be a good one. Children and adults interact, sleep in the rice fields and work under the moonlight during the dry season. This rice production raises solidarity among the humble.
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| Dy and Noid from the “Meta-Karuna” Foster Home |
These days the barns are filling up with rice, which means stability for our foster homes, welcome programs, day centres and assistance to the homeless. Our rice banks for poor families are beginning to have the capacity to aid those who cannot produce their own food. The health centre is also consolidating its capacity to welcome the sick.
The year starts with all the houses full of life and a harvest that fulfils our hopes and covers our needs. Now, encouraged by this strength, we are ready to live the challenge of giving our children health and education.
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| Mut performing The Coconut Dance |
Mut had to visit our health centre on many occasions and received the care of Mech, Head Mother of our Tahen community, to recover from his skin diseases. He became a happy child in our “Metta-Karuna House”, in the Tahen Parish. Mut attended Kindergarten for 3 years and is now attending the village school, in the Pagoda, doing first grade of primary school.
Mut is 7 years old and has a great personality. He is already part of Tahen’s Dance Group and shows joy, skill and commitment when dancing with his friends. His favourite dance is “The Coconut Dance”, which represents pure love.
Whoever met Mut 4 years ago and sees him now, is witness of a miracle — the miracle of faithfulness and love aiming respect, esteem and encouragement for the lives of the youngest. This is a long-distance race that the Prefecture, with the support of others, is engaged in. This is our way of trying to turn the world into a better one, in the manner that God dreams it.
With the encouragement, faithfulness and constant caring of the youngest there is a present and a future assured for all. Thank you very much for your support and help!
Contributor: Fr Kike Figaredo. Battambang, Ash Wednesday, 17 February 2010