Guest post by @aseper

For an entire year, we were fortunate enough to travel the world, seeing and experiencing some of Earth’s greatest wonders. We saw and did enough to last a lifetime. Places like Machu Picchu, Iguazu Falls, and the Taj Mahal obviously stood out as highlights of our trip. But one of the best, most rewarding, and humbling experiences of our year-long round the world trip was the time we spent at PURE! for Kids in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. As far as highlights, it didn’t get much better than this, and the few days we spent here impacted me forever.

We were lucky enough to have an acquaintance, Nicoline, who runs PURE! for Kids, an orphanage located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cambodia went through one of the most horrid and violent times in human history when Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge took over the country in the mid-1970’s. An estimated 20% (at least) of the population was killed, and thirty years later the country still reels from the effects of this genocide. As a result, much of the country’s poverty-stricken children are displaced from their homes and families, and so many need a place not only to live, but to learn and try to get them out of this cycle of poverty.

Children at PURE! for Kids learning a new song

That is where PURE! for Kids comes in, a Dutch based company whose mission “is to inspire young people to work together for a better world by giving the children of Cambodia and Bali a better future.” My wife, Megan, met Nicoline when she was an exchange student in her high school, and they have managed to stay in touch since. She splits her time between Holland and Cambodia, and we were lucky enough to cross paths when we were in Southeast Asia. She was very kind and generous to invite us to the orphanage for a few days to give us a tour and help out where we could.

I immediately fell in love after walking through the doors of Pure and being greeted by 34 of the most happy, smiley, and cheerful children I have ever laid eyes on, who ranged in age from 18 months to 16 years. We arrived mid-morning, and the kids were in the middle of classes, which was just one of the many impressive aspects of Pure. Not only did they provide a home, food, companionship, and love to these children, they provided an education, vital for the future of one of the poorest nations in the world. Nicoline gave us a tour of the place, allowing us to pop our heads in and out of the three classrooms, always receiving smiles and emphatic waves from the children.

The orphanage was a simple building with all the necessities the children needed, but not much else. The little ones slept in tiny little wooden bunk beds in a large, dorm-like setting, and the older ones shared smaller rooms located upstairs. There are three full time live-in women as part of the staff, and typically there are three volunteers who teach classes every day. The six months that Nicoline spends in Cambodia is shared between Pure and other projects her NGO supports in Siem Reap.

When we were there, two new volunteers were just beginning, and the staff was planning a rededication ceremony, so things were a bit more chaotic than normal. It seemed as though we came at the perfect time as they really did benefit from having a few extra hands there to help out. We did what we could in the few days we spent there, from helping out with serving lunch to teaching classes to herding all the children to the bathroom to clean up and get ready for meals to just simply playing and spending time with them. It was a magical few days, and everything we witnessed and observed is ingrained in my memory forever.

It’s interesting to put experiences like this into perspective. During part of our time at Pure, it was just like it would be anywhere else in the world where thirty plus kids were present. They laughed, they played, they ran, they sang, they ate, they cried, they fought, just like kids would from Bangkok to Mumbai to New York to Paris. There were many times where you could never tell the difference between the kids at Pure from kids at any other school in the world.

Then we looked a bit closer. To the minuscule, little dorm beds they slept in. To the one communal downstairs room they ate in. To the tiny, little back yard where they housed their chickens. To the few bathrooms available for the nearly forty people who lived there. To the simple meals they ate. To the classrooms they studied in and limited supplies they had. To the few toys available to play with. It was true that as far as material possessions, these kids didn’t have much. But you could never tell it from looking at their smiling faces.

There was no doubt about it that these kids were extremely happy. They didn’t need fancy televisions, PlayStations, or iPods to get them through the day. They didn’t need their own bicycles, McDonald’s Happy Meals, or portable DVD’s to keep them happy. All they needed and wanted was a little bit of love, and they received it in bucketfuls, from the staff and volunteers to each other. Each child came from a different situation, but the one thing they all had in common was that they wanted and deserved affection. Imagine being forced out of your home as a young child, being separated from your family, and living on the streets. That was the reality for some of the children at Pure. So it came as no surprise that what these little boys and girls really wanted and needed most was love, not any possession.

It was evident from the minute we stepped through the doors. Hugs and cuddles were the norm amongst everyone, no matter the age or gender. After a few short hours there, every single kid was playing, hugging, and treating us as though we were their big brother and sister. We had the eighteen-month old wobbling over with his arms up in the air, the toddlers wrapping their arms around our legs, and the older ones using me as their own personal jungle gym. It was also common to have the teenagers join in on the love. There was no chance of losing face and not acting macho here at Pure. Teenage boys would follow me around, subtly laying a hand on my shoulder or wrapping their arms around me for a picture, something that would never have happened here at home. It was a refreshing and humbling thing to see, and my heart melts thinking about it as I sit here and reflect on our time spent there.

I can’t speak highly enough of the job that Nicoline, the staff, and volunteers do at Pure with what little they have, both in supplies and financial support. They do this not because they have to, but because they want to. There is no doubt that people like Nicoline and everyone involved at Pure and places like it simply make this world a better place to live in. Many of these kids went from having literally nothing to having an entire family looking after them. And that’s what Pure is, a family. They may not be the richest family in the world, and they may not have the best and fanciest stuff, but what they do have is love. And I am thankful every single day that I was able to be a part of their loving family, if only a few days.

To find out more about Pure, visit their website. If you are interested in volunteering or donating to Pure, please check the links for further information. Pure! for Kids is an excellent organization, that despite the fantastic efforts of everyone involved, could always use more help and support, so please consider learning more about what they do and help out however you can.

Adam

Adam set off on a year-long RTW trip in October 2008, touching down in eleven countries and ninety cities over three continents. Now back home in St. Louis, Adam is trying to bust into the travel writing business. You can check out Adam’s brand new site, still a work in progress with new content being added daily, at www.worldtravelforcouples.com, or you can follow Adam’s journey to become a travel writer at www.journeyofatravelwriter.com. Adam also kept a blog of their RTW trip, at thewanderyear.com.