On a Sunday in December we headed about an hour outside the city with about 50 university students to Andong.
What is Andong? It is a resettlement village. We have several in Cambodia, but Andong is one of the larger and more well-known ones. Andong started in 2006 when about 1,200 people were forced out of their homes because the land they were living on was prime real estate. They didn't have land titles because the land titles had been destroyed during the time of the Khmer Rouge. They were moved to a field outside the city without compensation, clean water, sewage, or electricity. They were further away from jobs and left with nothing.
A lot has happened since 2006 . Hope has been brought to Andong! A Khmer pastor and his family came and lived among the people of Andong giving up all the money they had been saving to buy a home. The pastor, Abraham, began campaigning to open an English school and to provide clean sanitation and relief to the villagers. Today around 400 children attend the school, and those who graduate grade six can move on to a government school.
On this particular day, we had gathered with some of our fellow teachers at RULE, along with a large group of college students. The students had put together a Christmas program for the children of Andong, complete with snacks, games, crafts, and a nativity skit. We joined the group, inviting two of Ryan's students (from NUM) to come along.
When we arrived, the children were waiting for us, eager to see what we had planned. There were about 275 kids that came that day.
The kids' shoes outside of the pavilion.
This young man won the "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" contest and was rewarded with a special snack and a picture with Melissa!
The children were very curious about the foreigners who came to visit them. Ryan and some of the student volunteers taught a group of kids how to play "Duck, Duck, Goose!"
Many of the children asked if they could take there snack home instead of eating it. When we asked a few more questions we found out why. They wanted to share it with everyone at home.
After the skit, we said our parting words to the children, who ran off towards home in every direction, smiling and laughing. Then Pastor Abraham gathered all of the university students under the pavilion and told them the story of Andong. He told them about the forced resettlement of people, and he told them about his decision to come and live among the poor. Many of the students found this puzzling, and asked him why he decided to do something like that. He said, "Because my Father asked me to." He went on to share with these students about the love of the Father for both he and his family and for all the people of Andong. He told them that he wanted to share that love with the community.
Picture with Abraham
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