Today was enlightenting! We traveled out to Wat Opot Orphanage. It is about an hour outside Phnom Penh in the country side. This land is so beautiful, more so outside of the major city. All of the kids at this orphanage are living with HIV/AIDS or their parents died of the disease and there is no one to take care of them. This was my first expose to the youngest victims of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. I felt choked up the whole time i was there. We were greeted by several children ranging in age from 2 to 15 years old at least. My co-volunteers had been there before so they knew some of the kids. the orphanage is helped by Partners in Compassion. The kids receive HIV medication, education and life skills. There were two girls that had just arrived the day before. One was probably about 8 years, her younger sister just 2 years old. Their mom had dies of AIDS just 5 days earlier. The staff knew the older girl had been selling flowers on the streets of Phnom Penh. She was quite comfortable with adults which made the staff wonder how comfortable she was with Western Men. Lots of young girls here are forced into prostitution at a very young age. That too makes my stomach turn! She was very friendly and followed us around most of the time we were there. Then there was this adorable little boy and held my hand and hung out with me at least half of the entire day. i think he was about 3 or 4 years old. He was obsessed with my digital watch and kept on pushing the buttons! It came to the point of where i had to take it off when he wasn't looking. He too has HIV, not sure if he has AIDS. He had a bad fungal infection on his head- one of many infections that HIV can cause. He was very sweet! He had bowed legs when he was brought to the orphanage because his grandma constantly carried him around on her back since the time he was born so his legs never formed correctly. He couldn't walk when he arrived at Wat Opot. He now can walk and his legs are straightening out.
One of many reasons this orphanage is so important is that people with HIV/AIDS in Cambodia are shunned by the community. People do not understand how the disease is spread (or more importantly not spread) so fear is great. People and children living with HIV are abandoned. Wat Opot is trying to educate the community on the disease and that people cannot contract it from casual contact or caring for someone living with the virus. Wat Opot used to be a place for people with AIDS to come to die. Now kids there are living with the infetion thanks to medications. There is even a crematorian on site because so many people used to die there.
We enjoyed an iced coffee at the coffee shop on site and a meal of Spaghetti cambodian style- very good. We visited with the staff and other volunteer working there to see how we may be able to help while we are here. I hope I get the chance to go back out there and work with the kids and the local villagers to do some education! The kids know english and are very forgiving when it comes to us learning Khmer.
It was good for me to see a different side of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. That is one of many reasons I wanted to come here- to get a different perspective and see how I can help. The kids are so happy and it is inspiring! Really makes you think about what is important in life. The relationships you build and nuture are so important. Seeing people as people, not as a disease, poverty afflication, needy, etc. And always helping those less fortunate than you and in turn they can help others.
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