To the world you maybe someone, but to someone you may be the world
Volunteering lets people know what else is out there and how they can help
Be the change you want to see in the world
The lunch program started!
It was an exciting week at our PURE! Dream Centre. After a year of raising funds for a kitchen, a dining area and food for one year, we finally started with the lunch program last Friday. The office in Siem Reap has been filled with plates, bowls, lockable bins, pans, dishes and cups for days. Everything was washed and dried, and then packed for transportation to our centre. Of course, like most of the time in Cambodia, everything needed to happen in the last few hours. Therefore, the windows were quickly attached on Friday morning.
With the start of the lunch program, we have two new team members at our centre. The mother of Samnang and Sey Ha is the head of the kitchen and is assisted by the sister of Meng Chou and Srey Ka. Both ladies were already prepared to start working at 7 am! In their brand new uniforms, they went to work. It felt still a little strange, of course, but they did try hard and clearly had fun. Cooking for a large group is hard work!
The children that used to arrive at 1 pm at the PDC, were already there at 10 o’clock. They found it very exciting and interesting and could therefore not wait. At the time the tables were covered up, everything was beautiful.
Before the official start the children washed their hands and waited at the table. On the menu was fried vegetables with rice and pork. A feast, because the children of the PDC normally eat only rice and a tiny piece of fish if they are lucky. They never eat vegetables such as carrots and tomatoes and meat is eaten rarely.
The volunteers and the teachers were divided at the tables and scooped the food. Actually, just like home. It was really exciting to see. The children couldn’t stop eating! It was as if their lives depended on it. For a moment we were afraid the children wouldn’t enjoy all the food served, but everything was neatly eaten. And they enjoyed it very much! Even the little kids filled their plates three times! It makes you seriously wonder where on earth they all leave it. In no time they finished everything and their bellies were full. They found it so beautiful that every time they lifted their shirts to show how thick their stomachs were, "Teacher, look, I am big!". The kids had found another advantage, "Teacher, I can play long today. And they played for a long time! They burst of energy. It was really a special moment. After one year PDC, we are all very proud that we can offer our dear children a very beautiful and important extension of the project!
We can’t thank all people enough who have contributed money to the kitchen, the dining room, the furnishings, kitchen equipment and not least the food! Of course we need sponsors for this important project to be able to continue, therefore we hope to have your support in the future as well.