The CCT visit....

Battambang, Cambodia

Battambang is a great city and it is the place where Cambodian Children's Trust (CCT) is located. This time around it was a much shorter visit, so the connection with the children was not as strong. It was a very nice feeling when I walked through the gates and some of the chldren and staff remembered me. There was a lot of hugging, laughing and smiling. Admittedly, I had to remind them of the big spunky German boy I was there with last visit, but they worked it out in the end. Not long after the penny had dropped one of the staff members, through various hand gesticulations, reminded me that last time I had weighed quite a few kilos less. But, she said it with such a lovely smile I could only nod and laugh along with her. 

Unfortunately Tara, the founder of CCT, was in Phnom Penh with a very sick child that had just been brought to their attention, so I was unable to meet with her again. Fortunately Jedha, Tara's right hand man, offered to take some time out of his very busy schedule, to drive me around to look at some of the work they are doing. So I thought I would write about some of the families that they are assisting.

The lady in this photograph is only 62 years old but she seemed older than my 86 year old nana. Her daughter had a nervous breakdown that she never recovered from, so the responsibility of raising the two young grandchildren fell on this lady. They lived in extreme poverty, their only shelter a bamboo and thatch shack that balanced precariously over the water. CCT has rented a small one room house for thie family and has also given them some clothes to sell by the roadside to bring in some income.

In the above picture you can see the new one room home that CCT has built for the two boys pictured above and their mother and other brother. In front of the new building, you can see the pile of thatch and bamboo that was their old home. CCT has built them a new home and also supplied the family with a food cart, as a way to bring in some income to begin to support themselves. The food cart was only $50.00 which, for some of us, is only a couple of hours work. Not much money to make two little boys and their family so happy.

CCT has many similiar projects throughout Battambang, as well as the children's home and transition homes for teenagers. The work they are doing is so important to people who face hardships we can not even imagine.

Kit and I are trying to raise some money to help CCT continue to help the Cambodian people in Battambang. If youwould like to donate as a way of showing your support for our bike ride from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City the money will go directly to CCT. We have also got a couple of ace prizes donated by Agency of Sculpture and Innishfree Accomadation Daylesford for the taking.

To donate : http://www.cambodianchildrenstrust.org/donation-form/p/149

We really really really appreciate your donation and I guarantee if you could meet these kids you would not hesitate for a second.

A picture from one of the CCT kids.
Thats me on the left/bottom and Kit on the right/top

We were treated to a demonstration of some traditional Cambodian dancing, known as Apsara, by the kids at CCT.