I was able to spend some time in Kampot, in the South of Cambodia, a small town nestled between the Elephant Mountains and the Gulf of Thailand.
My family and I lived there for several years. We lived in a very simple home, next to a river. Our kitchen was basically outside. I homeschooled my four children and my husband created a community development program for the province.
Electricity was very sparse when we lived there, so much that we weren’t able to have a fridge, we used an icebox instead. We would buy big ice blocks that were sold at the market. One time, we had no electricity for 3 whole months. Good thing we had candles!
Yet, we all have a wonderful memory of those times. They are a reminder that happiness doesn’t come from things but from people, and a simple life can bring a lot of happiness.
I was able to meet with good friends Chenda and Ho and their 3 children and rejoice about how well they are doing.
When we first met them, they were extremely poor.
My husband had spent some time teaching Ho how to build simple bungalow houses and they had worked together on one.
From this knowledge and a new realization that he was able to build things, Ho built a little guest house with bungalows. Chenda, his wife, was a good cook but I taught her more new dishes and she now has a small restaurant which is doing great. By a little bit of teaching and encouragement and their hard work, they have been able to get out of the poverty cycle and do well for themselves.
When we lived in Kampot, we noticed that Chenda’s daughter, Leang, would tire easily after running and would often squat down after any physical exertion. We arranged for her to be checked out by a visiting foreign doctor. We discovered that Leang, Chenda and Ho’s only child at the time, had a serious heart defect. After more examination, it was determined that she needed a very complex operation on her heart that was not available locally. The only possibility was in the capital, Phnom Penh and the cost of the operation was well beyond the means of the family.
We were happy to be able to bring the family to the hospital in Phnom Penh where Leang was admitted to a hospital directed by French doctors. It was a scary time for everyone, but after a lengthy procedure, Leang’s heart defect was repaired. It took months for her to recuperate.
Now she is a beautiful and healthy young lady (the eldest child in the picture). She speaks English, as well as Khmer, and has an entrepreneurial spirit.
When I saw Leang, she thanked me. With her eyes tearing up, she said: ‘Thank you so much for what you have done for my family, I would not be alive if it wasn’t for you and for God’. This was very moving.
It’s not easy to try to solve the world’s ills. Many of our good intentions, plans and projects work out much differently than we intended. But it’s good to know that along the way, there are families whose lives are changed, improved. In the process, so is ours. I find great meaning and satisfaction in this. 
