Cambodia Day 2

“Baby, baby!” Two women yelled as we hit the door of a local Non-Government Organization (NGO). They were watching 4 very young children so that mothers (who have all been exploited in the commercial sex industry) could work on jewelry, sewing, and cake decorating upstairs. Cana saunters up to the woman holding a four month old.

“Baaaaby, baaaaby!” The women all laugh, and we let Cana and the Cambodian baby talk, reach, and kiss at each other. It’s a sweet moment. At one point the Cambodian baby starts to cry (because Cana poked her in the eye) and I pick her up to bounce with me. Instinctively, I begin to whisper into her ear prayers as forcefully and boldly as I can. (Thanks, Kim for teaching me to do that – it’s not creepy.)

The tour continues to the next floor and we enter an 8x8 room with four girls sitting on the floor around several bowls of brightly colored beads. They are taking each individual bead and drilling a hole in it. It’s tedious work. They all light up as Cana hits the doorway. “Come here baby!” The bright beads hypnotize Cana. She sits on the floor and organizes all of the beading supplies. I meet the girls; they are adorable, smiley and fun to be around. They say my name over and over and over again. We need to continue with the tour, so I tell them that Cana and I will return. The rest of the building is filled with equally precious women. They are all working hard on various crafty projects that are all delicately made and beautiful.

One of the girls in the sewing room begins to cry when I hand her Cana. I ask if she’s okay, and she just holds Cana tightly, closes her eyes, and lets it all out. I try desperately to hold back my own tears. She opens her eyes, smiles at me, and says, “thank you”.

Next, I find myself in the middle of an English lesson complete with flash cards being taught by a Brown University student. The girls in the lesson are trying very hard to say each word exactly right. Cana gets in the mix and holds up some cards for them, then gives her very best baby applause.

We make our way back to the bead room, where I purchase a bracelet for $6. One of the girls smiles directly at me. “I made that one.” She tells me her name, and while I do not know the details of her circumstances, I know that she is a loving girl who is patient and hilarious. She sings Cambodian pop songs as she works and has some sweet dance moves. Cana adores her. One girl gives Cana a hair clip from her own head. We spend about twenty minutes on the floor together, and then give hugs and say goodbye.

We’re off to lunch at an aftercare home run by our dear friends James and Athena. We hit the gate of the home, and cheers ring out from inside. On either side of the doorway, there are 7 or 8 beautiful girls who have been waiting for us all morning. I wonder if they knew I’d been waiting for them over a year. A girl in a traditional Cambodian bright pink dress reaches out for Cana. Cana leaps into her arms. I didn’t hold Cana again for several hours. The 15 girls range in age from 14 to 17, and Zaya, who should be on a Crest commercial, mothers them.

We tour the facility while the girls complete the preparations for lunch. Lunch consists of 5 of the best dishes I have had in weeks. All homemade, and my own mother would point out, made with love.

We spent the afternoon with 15 girls who glow when you love them, and are on their way to true freedom. They watched Cana while we met about the program that cares for the girls and when I returned Cana was dancing, laughing and drinking green tea. She may never want to leave Cambodia. Cana cheers as we hand out care packages, and then takes a hairbrush from one of the gifts, walks up to a girl and gently brushes her hair. Love. Beauty. Freedom.

I talked to one girl for most of the afternoon. She’s been there for one week. Her sister was rescued at the same time, but she is in a different aftercare home. She tells me that this place is much nicer. She loves it. She is so happy to be there. The team there is actively trying to get her sister transferred, so they can be together again.

The crazy thing about interacting with these girls is that you get lost in their smiles and have to remind yourself why they are there. They are so pure and innocent, so beautiful, that you cannot bring yourself to imagine the evil they have been subjected to. I love them.

(no pictures on the blog, to avoid further exploitation of these girls)