Cambodia – Flood, Grief, and Rebuilding
Topics to Dig Into
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| Remnants of the cleanup |
hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths
of the earth. You will restore me to
even greater honor and comfort me once again.
Penh.
decorative potted plants, but there are no medians, backyards, fields, or parks
where the earth can absorb water.
with garbage and others covered by old rugs to allow drainage but prevent
clogging. To make matters worse, in the
name of progress, two lakes have recently been filled in for development,
further reducing natural water drainage.
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| Marks on the wall tell the story |
WL has constructed a berm (like a
speed bump) along the street to divert water away from their gate, and they use
piled sandbags to seal the bottom gap.
But last November, overnight, the water rose above the sandbags and was
thigh deep by morning. Security was
broken — the water flow bowed the gate, forcing its way through, so that the
swinging doors no longer close properly.
Safety was compromised — their pumping system was overwhelmed with
nowhere to put the filthy water, and broke down. Property was ruined – a week of slowly
receding water left a swath of mucky damage:
desks, shelving, and supplies were all ruined; sewing machines had been
rescued to the second floor, but only after a day under water. Transportation for the girls was cut off – the
tuk-tuk (think moped sized minibus) had sat in the muck too and is now
inoperable.
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| Can these shelves be saved or will they mold and rot? |
remediation” in Phnom Penh. You do it
yourself, shoveling muck into piles to dry and then sweep up, scrubbing walls
and furniture to remove the filth and prevent mold. Donna and I had packed yellow rubber gloves,
Band Aids and lots of anti-bacterial ointment, expecting to help with the
cleanup, but remarkably that part of the work had been done by the staff and
loyal friends.
from my church and Amilia’s Light to help with repairs – it was painful for
Sherry to take us to the property — so hard to talk about, so hard to make
calls for repair estimates, still grieving.
We helped tackle that next hump toward rebuilding with a plan in place
for a new gate, tuk-tuk, pumps, at least one commercial sewing machine and some
shelving. But more importantly, we
listened to the story and viewed photos, watermarks and dirty rags still
hanging to dry. Sometimes all you can
bring is love, and often it is exactly what is needed!
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| The pumping system was overwhelmed |
#Cambodia #sextrafficking #flood #recovery #loveoneanother
Read related trip posts:
Blastoff to Cambodia – The Never Ending New Year
God is in Control – How I Almost Missed My Flight
Don’t Do It Alone – How a Guide Can Help
Sister Visit – Visting The Woman I Sponsor
They’re Not Just Stories – A Prison Visit
The Goal – A Toilet in Every Hut, You Can Help
A Day With Survivors of Trafficking and Rape
Renewing the Spirit – The Missionaries Worship
Encouraging the Missionaries and Each Other
A Success Story – One Girl at a Time
Sowing Seeds of Kindness – Devotions with Survivors
Living Intentionally – Defining Yourself
Who Are They? – A Report About the Men Who Buy Sex
Who Are They? – The Missionaries
Part of the Problem – A Corrupt and Unjust System
Rebuilding After Loss – Recovering from Flood Damage
Spend a few minutes to plant a quick Seed. Or stay longer and plant a whole garden.
