Child Sponsorship at the Seametrey Children’s Village

Bridget at the Seametrey school

When Bridget came to Seametrey Children’s Village in September 2OO6, she found a school with fifty children aged one to thirteen years old working along side each other in an open environment. A few of them were from expatriate families, the rest were Khmer from middle income or economically deprived families. It was cultural and social integration in action. Children hardly seemed to notice the differences among themselves. If they did, they didn’t care. They were happy - the world had come to them. Through T2T a stream of volunteers from far away brought a flavor of the outside world and “Teacher Bridget” was a favorite. She took the children to the land of the Wizard of Oz, sang and played the piano, directed, choreographed. There was hardly anything she couldn’t or didn’t do. The children, of course, loved her and she, of course, loved them, especially two of them, Srey Mey and her brother Channit.

Channit was the oldest child at the school. Bright and hard working he was best in art and computers. He was a favorite among teachers and peers. Srey Mey was 8, an alert girl of average height, a plump face with dark vivid eyes and a broad smile. Both of them lived at the school. Their father died a few years ago and their farmer mother lived in a village outside Phnom Penh. To give them an opportunity for quality education they were allowed to live at the school. Srey Mey came first, three years ago. The first time, she didn’t return to the school after her first weekend back home. She went to hide in her neighbours’ houses, refusing to answer her mother’s call. We had to give up. At the next academic year, her mother made her come to the school accompanied by her brother Channit.

At the time of Bridget’s arrival, they had been at the school for two years. Srey Mey seemed to have settled. One afternoon, we heard a scream, a loud screechy scream of an injured beast. It was nap time. I thought it was a child in the neighborhood. As it persisted I went down to see what was going on. I found Srey Mey sobbing her heart away. Her mother had been visiting and when she left, the girl wanted to go home with her. I told Srey Mey she could have explained instead of screaming. She answered, “I explained I wanted to go home. Nobody listened to me, nobody at all. Nobody cares. I have to scream.” I was upset myself and was unsure whether we had the right to go against the child’s wish. I conferred with Bridget and we decided to break her heart and make her stay. It took a lot of talking. We told her to wait until the evening to make a decision. In the meantime, Bridget took care of her. In the evening I asked Srey Mey whether she wanted to go or to stay. She said, “Stay”. It was a relief.

Was it at that time that the idea of sponsoring came to Bridget? In any case she told me of her intention to sponsor Channit and Srey Mey. We devised a plan. Every month she would pay $25 for each child. $1O would go to the school, $1O would be saved for the child’s future and $5 would be for their pocket money. We wanted to set up a saving account for them but in Cambodia an account holder has to be 18. Opening an account in my name on their behalf would be too much a hassle and the interest would not be worth the trouble. In the end we decided the best way would be to buy saving boxes that I would keep for them. Once a month, they could see the money they have saved accrued by $1O and write down the amount in their account books. They now have $5O each. For five months I have been the custodian of two Winny the Pooh boxes, a blue one for Channit and a pink one for Srey Mey.

What did I say? I am the custodian not of two but four boxes, for Bridget had set a trend. Sarah who came towards the end of Bridget’s stay was very much a big sister for our children. She taught them games and interacted with them in a very spontaneous way. I knew she enjoyed herself at the school but still was quite surprised when she e-mailed me after she left saying her parents would like to do what Bridget had done. They chose Srey Lin and Srey Ly, two girls who also live at the school with their mother who is illeterate. Their father had a mistress, kept the children and kicked his wife out. She came to ask for a job and a roof. So we employed her. After a few months, the father dumped the children at the school for their mother to look after them. That’s how the two girls ended up at Seametrey Children’s Village. It has been hard work normalizing them, especially Srey Ly who, at 5 and used to growing up in a less distinguished area, could swear like a horseman. Now with Mr and Mrs. Johns’ support they live the happy life of normal children, can afford small treats and feel confident about the future. Mr. and Mrs. Johns came to visit last March. Mrs. Johns thanked us for Sarah’s transformation. ‘She has matured and become less self-centered, more caring’, she assured. That was the best compliment we have ever received. With the help of T2T and all the volunteers we have built a bridge for mutual enrichment and understanding. More will come with Bridget’s plan to set up an exchange program some time in the near future.