Open Arms Cambodia

What a great week / weekend Open arms has had , we decided on Monday that after moving house ( exhausting, frustrating )and the kids going back to school the following Monday that we would have a few days at the beach so off we went.  Well it rained and blew but it didnt stop us we swam in the rain and found shelter when the wind got too strong and of course we ate . Its so nice now that all the k ids work they are so generous with their money and shouted dinner one night they did a great job, whole fish , prawn and lots of salad for me they also brought all the staff presents. It was the first time we have all gone away and left the center the girls and boys did a wonderful job well done team.   We arrived back Friday afternoon after a six hour bus trip to have a send off party for the first two girls to graduate from Open arms Housekeeping and Cooking Course . I was sitting there watching the girls as they giggled and chatted and I was remembering when they first came and the difference now there is a confidence in them they dont hang their heads and they look you in the face.   Again I am reminded of the beautiful grace of God and I know that God wants us to fiercely protect that which He has entrusted to us and that to the best of our ability Oen Arms is to be a safe place and a place of integrity and truth for these innocent kids that have been so hurt and again I am just absolutely blown away that He chose us to work along side of Him.   Open Arms is having a great great time of discovering that God perfect love really does cast out all of our fears so thank you all for your love prayers and support and we hope you enjoy the journey with us.

July Newsletter

Hi folks well Grahame and I have been back in Cambodia for a week now and as always we can’t say how proud we are of the young people here they do an excellent job of running Open Arms.

We want to take this opportunity to thank Del Strong and Karen Johns for coming to Cambodia and overseeing the work it enabled Grahame and me to relax a little more in Australia..

We have had to move again and hopefully this will be the last time for Grahame and me at least. The house we were living in proved to be unsafe with many attempted break-ins and as Grahame and I plan to be in Australia more now we all agreed to move back into the  training center as there is would be plenty  room with a reshuffle.

Whilst this is not ideal for us older folks ( the stairs not to mention 30 odd students in and out all day) but it is ideal for the kids as this is how Cambodians live when they operate businesses.

We had a three day leadership seminar last week and it was wonderful to be with Open arms staff and to be able to hopefully impute some good leadership principles into them, we had a great time with Karen Johns a volunteer sharing from  Bill Hybels book ax.i.om Karen shared it in such a practical way she really blessed them all.   Grahame and I spent our time encouraging them with our vision for the future and their part in serving in the Kingdom of God we also shared on their quiet time with God and the importance of it to keep strong and not burn out they are all so very young ( a lesson I have just learn the hard way mmm).

I had the privilege to talk to them about the Exodus and how it really was the same as when Pol Pot was victimizing their country and how Jesus has now set them free it was an honor to share it them.

Village.

At the moment it is impossible for us to get to the village we are in rainy season and the roads are cut to cars but our leader out there managed to come in to help us move, he says the children are still enjoying the English classes but numbers have dropped off.

He says that there has been less sickness since the clean water has been operating so we will plan to put another one in the next month or so. The toilet have been a problem as the people aren’t really understanding the cleaning process so more training is called for.

Tailor shop and Training .

Mon is making more clothes for Pathways an organization in Australia and can you believe it he has just finished making a convict costume stripes and all for a couple that are going to a fancy dress party dress night very cute indeed. He was approached by a security firm but we don’t know if we have won the contract yet. The training is going slow one of the boys ran away from home which is very sad he was going towards a good future so Mon is only training two boys but we will get onto that next week . Mon is one of the nicest boys and is always so rewarding to see a young one come into their destiny and to be so happy and enthusiastic .

Tea Room and Training.

Suzy the Tea Room leader is so excited not only did the Tea Room have the busiest month in June but tomorrow the first students will graduate, the girls will receive a reference and a send off party but the certificates come in February when Open Arms has its graduation party. Open Arms will send out an advertisement to let the community know that they are fully trained in housekeeping and cooking for a family could you pray for favor for the girls they need to be employed now.

We will take in more students on Monday one organization is sending us all their house parents to be train, I love that it’s so encouraging so please pray for these young but very good trainers they just amaze me their diligence and faithfulness for ones so young.

Salon and Training.

As always the salon business side is doing very well , Sreyna is putting a lot of time  into training the staff on Fridays it has been a great benefit to all as we can see their skill growing which of course is good for business. There are presently 32 girls being trained and we will take more in on Monday but we have nearly reached our limit I have to put a ceiling on it a Sreyna would say yes to everybody.

Volunteers. Open arms is in need of volunteers for the Salon and the Tea Room if you think that you would like to come short term and train these wonderful leaders please contact Grahame and I we would love to discuss it with you. Email.  world_wades@hotmail.com

Donations.

Open Arms is in  need of monthly sponsors , the money that comes into the business goes directly to the training and as we don’t charge the other NGOs a training fee our expenses , wages and rents are very high would you prayfully consider coming on our small but very effective team.

Blessings and Lots of Love Open arms Family. Grahame, Sandra and Open Arms family.

The haven Tea Room

The Haven Tea Room

As most of you will know the Tea Room has been going now for approximately four years.

It has been a great success in training Naroth a young rescued girl, Naroth and her team are now able to manage the Tea Room while we are in Australia  they are also training girls in a new course called Housekeeping for Westerners.

The business side of the Tea Room has been a struggle but as Open arms main focus is on training we havnt really worried too much about this but I am happy to say that the girls have had a record week.

Open Arms has had a request from an organization to train seven of its girls while this is very exciting for us we are only equipped to train the five we have at the present.

With these extra girls we would have to buy another stove and the equipment that the girls will need.

We have set up another kitchen above the Tea Room and its been relatively successful but we would have to extend again.

I guess by now you all know that we need funds for this so if any of you would like to donate to this worthy project could you please email me we are hoping to raise $2500. I appreciate you all so much and sometimes I think you must think oh no here she is again but guys I cant do it without you.

The $2500 would allow us to buy another stove and a kit each for each girl which would include all the equipment that they would need, also some benches as we don’t have any benches in the training kitchen only a table. The organizations pay us $150 each girl that is for the cooking needs and then the girls can take the food they cook home.

Well dear friends thank you so much for your love prayers and support…

Grahame, Sandra and Open Arms Family.

Safe Water for Konchey Village Cambodia

Open Arms Community Development Project in Konchey Village Phnom Penh Cambodia.

Safe Water at Last.

Open Arms has finally succeeded in getting a safe water project up and running in Konchey village.

Grahame had tried many different way of doing this but none were successful so as you can imagine he is very excited.

This is the start of what we hope will be the first of many throughout the village.

The people from Asian Outreach who make the actual sand filters  will come to the village and teach the people how to use them properly and how to keep them clean.

Water sanitation is a major issue in this village with children dying from water related diseases.

Cambodia has the highest infant and under-five mortality rates in the region, at 97 and 141 per 1,000 live births, respectively. Some 14 per cent of Cambodia’s children die before reaching the age of five; around 9.7 per cent die before age one.

Vaccine-preventable diseases, illness related to contaminated drinking water such as diarrhea and cholera, and respiratory infections are among the leading causes of childhood death.

Education.

Out of 250 children identified in the village only 25 attend school on a regular basis.  There are an additional 50 children aged 4 to 5 years who do not attend school or other learning activities. In Cambodia in general primary school enrolment rates are high, with a declining gender gap. But so many children repeat grades that it takes on average more than 10 years to complete primary school; less than half of all students make it that far.  Developing a desire for learning at a young age may provide benefits for these students in their later learning.

Youth in the village have very limited options for their tertiary education and employment opportunities are few. Most stay at home and assist with farming and household duties. This is true in general across rural Cambodia. A severe lack of employment opportunities face Cambodia’s young people, there is a need for vocational and business training to equip them with skills to establish and run their own businesses and create employment and income for them and their families.

Open Arms is happy to say that they have started their education program with 65 children and young adults attending English classes daily, our hope is to increase the teaching to computers at some time this year.

Bless you folks we are all very excited about the growth in Open Arms if you would like to be a part of our team below is how you can donate to this very stable organization.

Thank you for your financial backing there are two ways you can contribute to  “OPEN ARMS”

Approved aid & development projects of Open Arms are eligible for tax deductibility through Global Development Group. Global Development Group is a signatory to the ACFIG Code of Conduct, which provides standards of management, communication with the public and most importantly how funds are spent at all times. Global Development Group maintains the highest professional standards to ensure excellence in our performances, activities and accountability to all parties associated with our organization.

Global Development Tax Deductibility.        Comm. Bank   BSB 064 118                             OPEN ARMS”                            ACC 102 000 94                            PROJECT NUMBER J676    Bank details. Grahame Hamilton and Sandra Kay Wade Suncorp.        BSB 484799     ACC. 024 250

School Uniforms

Mon and the trainees from the tailor shop have just make 26 shirts for Pathfinders here in Australia, and among other things thye made  school uniforms for these four year old twins. Well done boys they are very cute indeed.