The shelter

So many things have happened between this post and my last one, but the most important is our visit to the shelter. Absolutely nothing compares to the morning we spent with the girls. They were amazing. Everything is so worth it when you see what is happening for them.

The shelters are very minimal, which is fine because they don't really need much; however they are lacking in some areas. They only have one psychologist for all 3 shelters in Cambodia! They have 1 small barely there bookshelf of books for them to read and learn from. They have very little in the way of staff in general. The staff they do have are hugely underpaid; basically they cannot live off their income from the shelter. There is a lot they are still trying to develop as far as reintegration into society and learning a trade. So many needs but so expensive to do-even for Cambodia.

We had a wonderful tour and visit with the director who explained how everything worked and answered our many questions. Then we got to meet the girls...there isn't much I can say about that b/c it was such a touching experience. It was really tough and wonderful at the same time. They are so loving and sweet, but yet still a little guarded and out of touch. They absolutely loved taking pictures and having pictures taken of them. They would laugh and laugh. I kept doing funny faces for the camera, and they thought that was hilarious.

We passed out the gift bags, and the girls were delighted. They even stood and sang us a song to show their gratitude. Then we spent another half hour saying goodbye. Each girl wanted to hug everyone, and they would say "i love you, i love yoü." It was so sweet. We all had a hard time saying goodbye--not very many dry eyes.

We will be visiting another shelter in Phnom Pehn later this week. It should be anther amazing visit.