Off to Siem Reap

Hi guys!
I'm sorry that we haven't been able to go into much detail lately, it's just been so busy...whatever we don't write about now we will write about when we get back from the trip.
Our NGOs are moving along. We have a few more sessions with most of the kids before we are done.
Jordan is going today to work on a mural which she likes. The mural is of the Cambodian landscape, ranging from buildings in the city to the countryside. Landscapes in Cambodia never includes cityscape so she is breaking the rules a bit. Everywhere there are landscapes of Angkor Wat, so she is finding other things that they can be proud of in Cambodia.
Raina is making nets with one of her NGOs, Lakeside. It is a school in a neighborhood where the houses are on stilts over the lake. Very poor slums. The lake is very dirty and people litter and don't try to take care of it, so we are making nets for the kids to use. We are using bamboo for the stick, mosquito netting that is doubled for the net, and a coat hanger to put the net on. Our student from PUC that is working with us is going to bring someone tomorrow to help reinforce them so that they can be used for a l0ng time. There is a rewards system for the kids cleaning up the trash. We also painted trashcans with them. They then glued on pictures that they had taken of outside and the lake and neighborhood onto it. Next time, we are going to plant a small tree in each. We made two.
At her other NGO, CCPCR, Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children's Rights, the final project, although the girls there don't know it yet, is a journal. We are taking the projects that they do each time and making the first pages of the journal. More detail as it goes on. And pictures will help. First class we made nametags that we personalized. Monday we made collages of things that they think are beautiful. Today we are going to draw/paint about past experiences and then share them.
My heart breaks for them:
Some of the girls are dropped off here by their families. They aren't all rescued from sex trafficking like I thought before. They are so poor, but they have just enough. There are 15 of them, but we only know 10 because the other ones go to high school. To go to high school you have to have a "family book" as I've had it described to me that says where they are from (probably like a birht certificate), and so the ones that don't have it have to learn at the center. They have computer class, but now they only have 1 hour of instruction. THey used to have 1 hr instuct. and 1 hr. to practice, but because of cut funds they have to let some things go. They learn skills they can use to get a job, such as cooking, and sewing. They want to have someone to train them to cut hair because a number of them want to do that, but they don't have the money. They also have a counseling room, but it is used as a laundry room because they don't have any money for therapy. They now eat half as much food as they used to. If they lose any more funding, they are going to have to let some of them go, which is heartbreaking because they are like family to each other. They look out for each other, and they don't fight. We told them that we would try to get them some money, so I'm looking for anyone that would like to donate. I asked them how much, and they said anything helps, even if it is just $10. They said they would rather eat even less food than have any of them leave. If you think you can contribute, please let me know. You can send it via paypal to milanorain@yahoo.com. As John Tucker at the other site we talked a lot about says, "Pray for us, and if you don't pray, just send money."
I promise I will give you more info about these girls as soon as I get a chance. From the bottom of my heart I thank you.

Tom. we leave for Siem Reap, and it's six hours away by bus, we'll see how that turns out!
We are excited, and it will be a nice break from NGOs.

Thanks guys,
Raina and Jordan

PS if anyone needs anything let us know bc its really cheap here. and clothes.