Our Homeless Children
From our first night at CESHEO, we noticed that six naughty boys had invaded the library and were using it as their home. It took no time for them to be part of every aspect of our days - waking up featured their playful shrieks, break times necessitated a card game or pretend sword fights with them and our nights ended in tucking them into their mosquito netted mats. While they became a beautiful part of our experience, we could not escape a thought: where were their parents and their homes? We later discovered that these children were without a safe place to live and guardians. Even though they have thankfully found safe refuge at CESHEO, their living expenses (namely the cost of their meals) are currently coming out of Gary’s contributor’s donations and Gary’s own pocket. Their generosity has enabled many children, including these homeless children, to get one solid meal a day. But this is not enough. This is why we humbly ask that you help us sponsor one homeless child for $32USD a month until they reach the age of 16 (after this, they will have to fend for themselves).
This is the breakdown of the monthly costs and the children’s profiles below:
31.25 USD cents per meal
31.25 cents x (30 days a month x 3 meals a day) = $28USD
Hygiene + health related costs + transport to public school everyday = $5USD
$28USD + $5USD = $32USD
This is the breakdown of the monthly costs and the children’s profiles below:
31.25 USD cents per meal
31.25 cents x (30 days a month x 3 meals a day) = $28USD
Hygiene + health related costs + transport to public school everyday = $5USD
$28USD + $5USD = $32USD
PAO
My first class at CESHEO consisted of this tiny man giving me the cheekiest look when I introduced myself. He was so curious about his new teacher and tried extremely hard to ensure he was known as the cheeky one. Pao is a student, who along with his brother, don’t have the privileged to go home after class. I soon learnt that Pao and his brother Dan do not have any living parents or anyone who awaits their return as they passed away from HIV. Before living at CESHEO, Dan and Pao would wander the streets asking strangers if they could sleep there for the night. If they failed to find a place to crash, they would sleep in the rice paddies. Finally, an elderly woman took them in, but unfortunately, passed away shortly after. Again, they found themselves on the streets until they stumbled upon CESHEO. Pao’s favourite animal is an eagle and loves the colour orange. You can always find him using my tablet to learn about snakes sharks and trucks off Youtube videos.
- Lily Dona
DAN
Dan is the brother of Pao. Before they lost their parents, Dan and Pao lived on the Thai Khmer border and had very little as both parents had HIV. Dan is a sweet soul who tries very hard in class and is always harmonious in his interactions with others. He loves dogs and loves that there are so many of them at the school. It is obvious that Dan is very musically-inclined. Just in one night, he was able to play several chords that Volunteer Teacher Alex taught him on the ukelele. He aspires to be a DJ when he grows up.
- Lily Dona
LAN
One of the first things I learned about Lan was his love for rabbits and his best friend’s love for snakes. This prey and predator duo sit in the front of the class. They are shy at first, but become ecstatic when they answer something correctly in class. Lan has no family or support, but his spirit is always high and loving. Even at 10 years old, Lan acts like one of the older brothers of the group with his maturity and his calmness. He loves to draw, even if he is too shy to admit it. His favorite color is red and when he grows up, he wants to be a teacher. Perhaps he has had good role models!
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
SIN
Sin is a rambunctious 10 year old, who has a mischievous spirit, but a heart of gold that forces him to reveal his trickery only moments after. Sin is the youngest of 3, but was the only one to be pushed out of his household to live with his Uncle and Aunt. This proved to not be a feasible permanent situation when Rady and Gary found Sin severely malnourished at his Uncle’s house and had to rush him to the hospital. Now, he lives at CESHEO and has regained his sneaky spirit. He likes cats and his favourite color is blue. He aspires to be a mechanic when he grows up.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
RONG
Rong is the youngest of the boys that live at CESHEO, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that by the way he eats. Too eager to eat, Rong will shovel rice into his mouth while standing (there is no time to sit down!). Rong’s English is the most limited, mostly due to his age, and is by far the shyest, being the latest to warm up to us. We also don’t know much about his background, but it was clear that he had never been into a town, let alone a city, when we took him to the market to buy new clothes. He never uttered a word and clung onto our arms throughout the trip. Despite his shy demeanor, he has a heartwarming smile and an extremely playful attitude, once he gets to know you.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
OUK
Ouk is one of the oldest children that live at CESHEO. He may have a hard and protective exterior, but as you breach that, you are greeted by a sweet and energetic soul. We know little about his background except for the fact that he is orphaned. He loves football and has a mean header on him. He also likes the color blue and his favourite animal is the dog. He wants to be policeman when he grows up.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
OUK
Ouk is one of the oldest children that live at CESHEO. He may have a hard and protective exterior, but as you breach that, you are greeted by a sweet and energetic soul. We know little about his background except for the fact that he is orphaned. He loves football and has a mean header on him. He also likes the color blue and his favourite animal is the dog. He wants to be policeman when he grows up.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
Our Children Lacking Parental Support
Along with the children that are around the school 24/7, we noticed that there were children that were being fed around class times. We later found out that these children had families who would not feed them due to the cost or pure neglect. Rady, understanding the fragility and complex nature of these situations, could not send them away hungry and therefore fed them out of his own pocket. This solution, however, is not sustainable. Even though these children do have parents or guardians, their next meal is never guaranteed. For these children, we ask that you help sponsor one child with $28USD a month. Please the breakdown of the monthly costs and the children’s profiles below:
31.25USD cents per meal
31.25 cents x (6 days a week x 2 meals a day) - $17USD
31.25USD cents per meal
31.25 cents x (6 days a week x 2 meals a day) - $17USD
NEATH & NITH
These two sweet little girls live with their mother and rely on the school for their meals as the mother receives no support from their alcoholic father and cannot find stable work.
Neath is an extremely talented young girl who always tries hard in class. She is one of the youngest students at the intermediate level, but makes up for her tiny size with her brains. She is always hyper attentive and is constantly the first one to raise her hand to answer a question. She is never shy to ask a question about something she does not understand nor is she shy about speaking English. When she grows up, she wants to be an English teacher.
Nith is my strongest English students. She is always excited to share her knowledge with other students. Her ability to retain knowledge is incredible. Once she recited the numbers one to ten in Chinese from a time that a Chinese volunteer taught her. She aspires to be a doctor when she grows up.
- Lily Dona
WID
Wid is a one of the shyest boys to the volunteers, but also one of the most energetic and loud boys among his friends. His family has no means to support him and therefore needs external help. We knew that we had to include him in this group when we saw him come into class everyday with only the same tattered and dirty shirt and swimming speedos on. Despite this, he always wears the toothiest smile across his face. He is definitely a familiar face around CESHEO as he spends most of his day at school listening in on other classes or finding a moment to play with the volunteers.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
SEI
Sei is a sweet little girl with the cutest ringlets of hair. Even though her English is very limited, she tries very hard to concentrate in class and copy down everything written on the board. She spends a lot of time at school and I have never seen her miss a meal at CESHEO.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
SREIMAO
Sreimao is one of the only girls that likes play just as rough and loud as the boys, but also loves using breaktime to braid other girls’ hair. Sometimes, the boys will think they can boss around Mao, but she will retaliate with a firm voice, proving them wrong. She loves drawing pictures of princesses and flowers for her teachers. Assertively, she will always make sure that her friends receive something if she does. Her, SEI and NAN have become a sort of trio of sisters as are the female students that spend the most time at CESHEO.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
LAK
Lak is one of the youngest children that attends CESHEO at the young age of 5. He is also Lan’s (find Lan’s profile in the “Homeless Children’s Profiles” section) best friend. Even though he is a little young to be in his class, his advanced vocabulary for his age warrants his place there. He loves snakes, evidenced by his obsession with them in our animal unit. One of the children also showed us a Youtube video of Lak holding a snake larger than him (the reasons and safety of this video largely unknown!). Lak is one of the only boys to play with both boys and girls and seems to be taken care of by all the other older students.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
SOPHEAP
As one of the older girls that spends a lot of time at school, Sopheap has seemed to become the other children’s older sister in both her protective nature and also teasing. When it was time to wash all the girls hair with anti-lice shampoo, she was helping me make sure all the younger girls had their towels and was washing their hair in the shower for them. Sopheap is also a strong student in my class and is not shy about it. Usually too eager to answer, she will blurt out the answer out of turn. Sopheap was ecstatic to receive a new dress from Volunteer Teacher Lily’s generous contribution. So much so that Sopheap wore the dress everyday for a week after its purchase.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
NAN
While seeming to be shy at first, Nan can be brought out of her shell very easily. The first time she gave me a drawing of a princess with the title “I love Teacher Claire,” she got Lak, a younger student in her class, to give it to me. Acting like she had no idea who had drawn the picture, she cracked a smile when I finally approached her and asked her if she was responsible for the drawing. Even though she acts shy about answering questions in class, she is definitely one of the stronger students in my class, understanding a lot of what is said. Nan is not only a very able student, but she is also an eager one. She is one of 3 students that opt to sit in two classes per day instead of playing.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
CHEA
Asking to hang off one of our limbs at all times, Chea loves giving and receiving the affection of all the volunteers. Her English is one of the weakest at CESHEO for her age due to her late start in education and perhaps a learning disability. Even though she finds it hard to concentrate in class, she loves it when a lesson incorporates arts and crafts . While many of the other children cherish the stickers they are rewarded for being good in class or winning a game, Chea usually gives her sticker to a teacher, deriving happiness from the teacher’s face.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
PIA
Even though we know very little about her family background, Pia spends a lot of time at CESHEO. This is an indication that she has an unstable home environment and does not want to go home. She spends a lot of time around the volunteers, sitting quietly around us while holding our hand and hanging off our arm. That is, until she gets to know you. When she’s comfortable with you, she will no doubt deliver hugs and punches equally. In class, her English seems limited, but outside of class, she seems to understand a lot more than she lets on. While Pia does not say much, her affection for us was evident when I noticed that she had left in braids that I did for her for 2 days. Only when I agreed to braid and comb her hair again did she allow me to take out them out.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa
TOY
As one of the youngest students to attend CESHEO, her English is extremely limited making her of the shyest students I have had here. While she has such a beautiful smile, she barely shows it as she seems to be quite serious and focused in class. When the volunteers kickstarted a lice prevention program, it was painfully obvious that Toy had not had much parental or guardian support by the fact that her head was covered in lice. On the first day, we must have found 40 nits in her hair! Even though her shyness, her extremely polite and grateful demeanor is obvious. Never failing to begin the class with the ritualistic “Good Morning Teacher,” Toy is definitely an eager student, trying her best memorize the names of the alphabet.
- Claire Hui Bon Hoa