Life amongst the graves

We paid a little visit to the community living in the slum of Smor San ! The particularity of this slum is that it is situated on the exact location of a cemetary. Indeed, its inhabitants installed their homes and live amongst the colorful graves of an old graveyard ! Important to know here is that no Cambodian people are buried here, since the khmer culture is opposed to cemeteries and preaches that people should be burned.

We began with a distribution of hygiene supplies: some toothpaste, toothbrushes, some soap and clothes. We had enough goodies for at least 120 people, everybody was thus very happy because they all could manage to get something of their own ! 

Then, we went to the house of a disabled family taken over by Shanty Town Spirit, including a grandmother, a mother and her four children. We talked with them for a while and they showed us around their little habitation. The oldest boy and the grandmother are the only members able to bring money to the family. The grandmother washes dishes and the boy manages to find small jobs around the area, despite his disability. Maira, with the help of Shanty Town Spirit, provides them basic supplies to support them (clothes, hygiene products, medicine, food). 

After that, we met another grandmother from the community, who told us that she had problems with her eyes and that she needed help. We noticed that she might be needing a cataract surgery. We spoke with her and managed to get her one since then. It is thanks to the dedication of volunteers and the generosity of the donors that grandmothers like her are able to be healed and to live freely in dignity ! 

Everybody deserves the right to have access to hygiene, health products and decent clothes. 

                                                 One Spirit, One Heart, One Community                                      

      You can help us by sponsoring the Shanty Town Spirit program:

Click on Make a difference

                   OR contact  Ermine Norodom: +855 (0) 17 49 27 19 (French and English)

norodomermine@gmail.com

           Phirun Prak (Arun): +855 (0) 96 663 6666 (English and Khmer)

    arun.aenorodom@gmail.com

    words by Matthieu Membrez

Making later life a little easier

Shanty Town Spirit supports families- this means all generations that make up a family unit. Elderly grandparents are often part of a family and have special needs. We have been supporting eight community elders until two of the grandmothers passed away this year.

We cover the costs of medical and dental check ups , treatment, medicine, surgery if required, hygiene products, along with household needs like blankets , mosquito nets, clothes and rice. We also provide small monthly allowances to make life a bit easier in replacement of a pension and to help them see out the rest of their lives with dignity.

For those in ill health, there are no hospices in Cambodia. 

Recently we lost Mrs Ret, 72 year old the grandmother of three children who was taking care of them because their parents were away working to earn money for the family.  We were assisting with her medical care and paying a modest allowance for general day-to-day living. She died in hospital after surgery for an intestinal infection.

Mr. Ret and Ermine share a moment

88 year old blind and handicapped Mrs Thorn also died recently. We tried to make her last few months more comfortable with help from her neighbours who took care of her like she was their own family member.

Mrs Thorn

We paid for both these ladies' funerals. If you would like to contribute to an elders life, please see the details below:

                                   One Spirit, One Heart, One Community.                                        

You can help us by sponsoring the Shanty Town Spirit program:

Click on Make a difference

OR contact

Ermine Norodom: +855 (0) 17 49 27 19 (French and English)

Norodomermine@gmail.com

Phirun Prak (Arun): +855 (0) 96 663 6666 (English and Khmer)

Arun.aenorodom@gmail.com

words by Jessica Sander

In Search of Light

Shanty Town Spirit and Koya Project ventured out to Boeung Tumpun to donate some games and clothing to the Light of Mercy program and survey the site for an aquaponics system to be installed.

Light of Mercy  is a center for children with disabilities which was born out of the loving compassion heart of two sisters: Sister Marie-Adelphe, and Sister Denise.

Program Director Sister Marie-Adelphe with Princess Ermine

It is sad to say but often Khmer children with disabilities are left alone unattended at their houses while their parents are out working and don’t have much opportunity for education or a better quality of life.

The Center is run by the Providence Sisters as part of the Jesuit Service Cambodia and is aptly named  “Light of Mercy”  with the idea that this place offers light to children who are in darkness because of their disabilities and impairments (blind, deaf and intellectual) and a home full of mercy and loving compassion.

Smiles from Light of Mercy

They educate these children on the personal hygiene, environmental sanitation, socialisation and domestic tasks to make them more self- sufficient. The children attend school appropriate for their needs and receive extra curriculum activities through the center such as traditional and modern music, dance, language, and learning simple craft skills to enrich their lives.

We were impressed by the shining eyes of the 32 children who live here and how much light they radiate from within. The environment is very peaceful and you can feel the loving compassion being generated. The residents aged 9-25 years, treat one another kindly, demonstrated by the blind kids being guided about the center by their seeing buddies.

This lovely girl was born with multiple disabilities (deaf, blind & severe scoliosis)

Light of Mercy would like to raise funds to install an aquaponics system from the Koya project, in order to teach their residents new techniques for agricultural production which they could later use to sell at their local in local market if or when they return to their province. They could also share their knowledge with other people in their community so everyone could benefit from this technology.

To help visit koyaproject.org                                                                                   Words by Jessica Sander

You can help these kids

by sponsoring the Shanty Town Spirit program

Click on Make a difference

Or contact

Ermine Norodom: +855 (0) 17 49 27 19 (French and English)

Norodomermine@gmail.com


Jessica Sander: jessicasander87@gmail.com (English)

Phirun Prak (Arun): +855 (0) 96 663 6666 (English and Khmer)

Arun.aenorodom@gmail.com