As many of you have undoubtedly guessed after reading my last blog, orphans are the exception. Unfortunately, it’s not as clear cut as that. Most of the orphans here in Cambodia do have parents. There are countless stories of children thrown into orphanages by their parents because they cost too much. Their parents cannot pay for their education, their food, or any other needs. But no worries, because any orphanage will take them.
Why would they though? According to the pastor of the church here, there are over 100 orphanages in Phnom Penh alone. The majority of them are seeking to make a profit off the children.
The orphanage we have been going to nearly every morning gets lots of aid. They get medicine, food, and money, but the children see little of it. The medicine and food is sold for the orphanage leaders’ pockets. All the while, the orphans are malnourished, sick, and starving for love. A sad faced orphan placed on the right letter sent to the right person equals several hundred dollars split three ways.
I was talking with one of the eighteen year old orphans yesterday about writing his and others’ stories. “I get $30 a month from the donor,” he says. “But I don’t know where it is. I don’t get it. I think maybe the director has it.”
Not only do they suffer rejection, their beds are stacked three high and bunched close together, their home is regularly flooded, their meals are rice with some sauce and a slice of cabbage, and all the while there is the overriding mystery of what it might be like to be cradled by a mother and challenged and inspired by a father. They have no inspiration. But they do have freedom.
The expectations placed on them are next to none. They don’t have to brush their teeth, they can keep their bed area a wreck, heck – they can just drop their drawers and pee if they want to. It’s their area and nobody cares.
That’s the problem. Who will care for them? Are these orphans really better off than those children in families that expect them to provide financial support and continue in Buddhism? There is at least a limited freedom in the orphanage, but no discipline. There is lots of money waiting to be sent, but it’ll end up in deep pockets. I’ve given this a lot of thought and have been talking to the pastor here about what can be done. I’ll blog about it tomorrow.
