The Story of Luckyman and the Helper Students for the Poor Children of Cambodia - Page 2
The Lord says, "I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name." Psalm 91:14
John Wentz and Nancy Plaxico spoke at Trinity UMC in January, 2011 about their experiences meeting Luckyman and the children in Cambodia. Here, Nancy goes through a picture montage from her trip with Bob Plaxico. Read John's description of Luckyman's life.
Nancy: Bob and I went to Cambodia in November of 2010. We spent a day with Luckyman, visiting the schools and orphanages. We first went to a primary school in a rural area. The nearest public schools are a long way away. Luckyman said these kids did not have a school when this one was built.
That blue banner says the name of the organization, Helper Students for the Poor Children of Cambodia (HSPCCO).
They were holding class in the open air. All the schools do, because it’s very hot in Cambodia.
We joined a class where the kids knew we were coming, so they had a welcome song all prepared which they sang for us. They knew we were from Trinity, so they were really welcoming all of you in that song.
We sat and listened to the class as the teacher taught during those sessions. The students were very rapt and attentive while we were there. They worked on their notebooks – this was the one and only book they had – a notebook to write their lessons in.
While the class went on, we went behind the classroom, where the teacher lives in her one room home – very simple, very basic.
Before we left, they had a thank you song the children wanted to sing to us. Again, that was for all of you here at Trinity. They bid us farewell as we left the primary school.
We then went on to a secondary school that served ages 11 to 15.
There was an English class that afternoon. As John said, English really is the ticket out of poverty in Cambodia, so they were all very eager to learn English.
The teacher at that school has been with Luckyman for ten years. He met him in the refugee camps in Thailand, and they have been working together ever since. He, like the other teachers, is not paid. He is a volunteer. There is no money to pay the teachers. He lives there, at this school, with his wife and child. Also, he takes care of an orphan at the school.
This is in a class, an English class.
When I came back, Tracy, from Trinity, was very interested in all of this. We talked about how her class would like to become penpals with some of the classes here, so we’ve got that in the works. They won’t be able to do it by email, because they don’t have any computers at the school. We think they might write real letters, like in the old days!
The only book in the secondary school is an English book. They cost a dollar each, and are shared, one book for every two students. Everything is very meager…
As the class ended, they all gathered for a picture. They said goodbye, and we went on to the orphanage, which is in the town of Siem Reap.
The orphanage is located in a house where the twelve children live, along with their caretaker. We were there on an afternoon and most of the kids were at school. There is a public school in town, so the others were there. Just these two kids were at the orphanage.
A cook lives in the orphanage with them and takes care of the
children. Their sleeping areas are very basic, with mosquito
netting surrounding the beds. Under the bed are their
clothing and possessions.
Here is the kitchen, a very simple hot plate and rice cooker - very bare.
The one water source for the orphanage is this pump, which does provide water.
Everything is very Spartan. As John mentioned, the total budget for the orphanage and five schools is just $12,000 a year. So our $2000 from Trinity goes a long way and makes a very big difference.
Luckyman said repeatedly how he wanted to thank Trinity and all of you for your support. He told us how much that meant to him and to the children, how important it was, and how grateful he was for your support.
What we saw there is that Luckyman is doing the work of God in protecting and providing for and sheltering these children. We are the hands of support to help him do that work.
From an eyewitness who was there, I can tell you that you should feel proud that you are doing so much good in providing for some of the neediest children in one of the poorest countries of the world.
Luckyman’s dream is to acquire a plot of land and build a combination school/orphanage/church, with a small caretaker’s house for himself and his family.
He has obtained estimates that the entire project could be done for $150,000. One-third of that would buy the land. The building could be built for $85,000, and the house for $15,000. This would free up money currently being paid for rent to be used for the needs of the children.
Please visit his fundraising site on Razoo for more information on how you can help.