Makara Graduates from Flame

Makara has been with Flame since 2015, and is now ready to leave the Flame Leadership Academy and be launched into a new phase in her life. She started her Biology degree at the Royal University of Phnom Penh but had to drop out when her sister became terribly unwell and needed her alongside to help with her care. As orphans, these family relationships are very important. Makara has been volunteering at the Flame Activity Centre in Sensok and has enjoyed her time teaching younger slum living kids.

Makara has recently been accepted into an elite cooking school here in Phnom Penh run by Pierre Tami, a Swiss entrepreneur. The Academy of Culinary Arts Cambodia offered Makara a full scholarship, and she will be attending the course for two years, with six months of the course in house, and six months in a placement. 

She is super excited already about what she has been learning, and will be able to live off site with her younger sister and younger brother. We celebrate families and are so happy that she will be able to be with her siblings. We wish her all the best in this new adventure!! 

Makara the up n coming chef!  

Time for Teeth

I took the photo above of these two begging boys on my first Mobile Medical trip. Have a look at the teeth of the boy with the huge smile. In developed countries we all have access to clean water and often dental care for kids is free. Brushing teeth is normal and rotting teeth is not. This has been on my mind, and Flame really wants the kids in our project to have healthy teeth.

Cute kid, nice photo thanks Esther!

We reached out to an organization called One2One who among other things, do dental work among the poor. Now, over 30 Flame kids have had their teeth checked! This is one more step towards whole minds and whole bodies! Collaboration like this makes the world of difference! Thanks One2One!!

Mobile Medical on Steroids!

8 nursing students from Edith Cowan University in Perth come to help Flame

The students and Flame volunteers did medical checks, ear and eye checks, lice treatments, fingernail clipping and tutorials on brushing teeth with 450 slum dwelling children.

Hundreds of kids in the Cemetery  

The nurses also conducted first aid training for the Flame Young Adults. It was such a full weekend! 

The students were able to see the entire Full Circle: the slum living kids, the kids in our programs, and the young adults who volunteer now as leaders. The nursing students were stunned and teary eyed at the impact of the Flame leaders who knew poverty and are now university students and graduates who work among the poor.

 "this has renewed my faith in humanity"  

Hounthy doing eye checks

Greg's Blog part 2

 The Flame Young Leaders are so devoted to the cause, inspired by the regular training and mentoring they have received, they step into their own initiatives and serve in slum communities, inspiring hope and change in the lives of others ... This is what Flame calls     the full circle

The hard backgrounds these guys come from haven't deterred them one bit. This is a long journey and at times a tough one. Let me tell you about Esther.

Esther is the Flame Photographer

Previously she was so very shy, she was the kid that just didn't speak. Now she's the one behind the camera as the Flame Photographer and is bubbly and friendly and confident. She can talk with foreigners without any fear. She is teaching photography and has completely come out of her shell. She was mentored, and now she is the mentor! 

Kids at Sensok photo creds to Esther

Flame has embarked on an incredible journey, from about 14 months ago til now, and the input from these young leaders makes a huge addition to the lives of the kids around them.

You can see the light coming from their eyes and the smiles on their faces- they know they are loved.

Pchum Ben Celebration

The noise from the Wat (temple) next door has been almost constant in the lead up to Pchum Ben, similar to Christmas Carols on repeat at the Mall!! This is a hugely big celebration here in Cambodia, it's the one time of year that the Gates of Hell open and ancestors from up to 7 generations past are revered and fed. The atmosphere is thick with anticipation, roads blocked by people flocking to local the Wat with copious offerings, and the city empties as people return to their homelands to celebrate and honour their dead. 

Happy faces at SenSokSenSok

At Sensok this week we celebrated by feeding the kids a full meal of curry, rice, and a fresh apple, in addition to the usual soymilk. What FUN!! We will be having a Big Break over the next 2 weeks... Back after the holiday!!

Standing guard outside a Wat

Greg's Story -part 1

Greg Stocker is a veterinarian based in Hamilton who works for AssureQuality. He has been to Cambodia three times but this time it was different. This is his story.

First Visit to Sen Sok

The first time I went to SenSok on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, it struck me how obviously malnourished and unhealthy the kids were. I saw how they lived, the extreme poverty. 

Second VISIT TO SEN SOK

The second time, I saw the very first medical clinic, kids covered in sores, quite badly malnourished, lice in their hair, pneumonia, diarrhoea, ear infections. It was just the beginning. They looked ragged, like you would imagine.

A couple of months later, Flame was born and things changed big time.

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12 Months later at Sen Sok

Now, Flame Young Adults run the Sen Sok kids club and there are programs morning and afternoon and even a soccer team! Kiwis have donated books and interactive toys for the activity centre to help the little kids development.

The difference was almost a shock. I knew they were the same children, but I couldn't believe it! Bright eyes, clean faces, with footwear, no sores or skin diseases... they look so healthy. They are getting some proper nutrition, they can focus and learn. Just about every kid was locked onto the teacher and completely engaged with their learning. Every kid in the room knows the maths, and they are being taught to read and write - and are motivated to learn and learn more.

The kids are fully on the way to being integrated into what most people would consider a normal upbringing - food, education and good health. They are being taught they have value, that there's a God who loves them, and that is being demonstrated by the service of the Flame Young Adults.

I walked in and thought wow, like night and day. They still live a slum, but they have hope in their faces now, it's written all over them.

Kids playing in the shoe rack.        @SoEsther

Welcome to the World!

We celebrate the arrival of a new baby and the beginning of a new generation at Flame today! Last night Houn Thy and Lili became the proud parents of Lysearng, a beautiful boy! Congrats guys. 

Houn Thy leads the activity centre at SenSok and embodies the full circle. He comes from a very difficult background, and is now investing his life back into the lives of the kids in our project. Well done Thy! You and Lili will be great parents!

Cute baby, just a few hours after his arrival  

Monsoon Madness

Our Sunday kids club at SenSok was completely rained out today. On the way we saw trees down and had the wipers on full blat! Lots of wet kids and laughing. Our young adults were soaked, but happy to hand out soy milk to the kids! 

Wet kids running home with their soy milk. Thanks again Entrust for sponsoring us! 

Celebration

Khmer New Year is just around the corner, so yesterday we had a special day at Sen Sok with games and fun, and a huge selection of food for the kids and their families to enjoy.  

Happy Khmer New Year! 

This is the sound of New Year:

Hot Days at Sen Sok

Today we have the kids program again at Sen Sok, with over 80 little kids in the heat. The Flame young adults led the kids in songs and games, with the Littlies colouring in.  

The big kids who look after their siblings get a well deserved break, and the little kids love colouring in!! Win Win. 

Cute kids love gathering at the Flame Community Centre at Sen Sok

Rithy held a clinic at the end of the session for anyone needing medical care. 

Happy Easter to everyone from the Sen Sok Team!! 

English lesson at Sen Sok Activity Centre

Here the children have having English lessons. Just before this they were repeating the English sentences. This extra study will help them do better at school - and when they get older get a better job.