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Theresa Hudler in Cambodia What I Do I work with Wayne Matthysse, who is also a Vietnam vet medic and nurse. We have started a local non-government organization (NGO) called Partners in Compassion. We treat HIV/AIDS victims and the children left behind. With the funds that come in from church family and friends, we provide HIV/AIDS education. Food is supplied through the World Food Program and Partners in Compassion. We also provide medicine and basic healthcare to HIV/AIDS victims and their families through clinics, home visits, and supplies for income generation (see below). For the children of these families, we educate their schools in HIV/AIDS, so that they will be accepted by their peers. While the clinics are being held for the parents, we have education programs teaching the children about their health, the world around them and the heavens above. When HIV/AIDS victims become seriously ill, they come to the Wat Opot Project with a family member, who is taught how to take care of their sick loved one. The idea is to show the love of Christ through compassion. We provide nutrition, basic skin care, medicine and prayer to enable them to live their remaining lives more comfortably, whether it is with us or with their loved ones at home. Another use of the funds that come in is to provide cremation for the victims who die with us. When we started in 2000, people with HIV were dying. Now, people are living due to the Anti Retro Viral (ARV) drugs, and they are in need of an income. We are teaching them how to be good Cambodian citizens by sending them to school, teaching them to weave and sew, and helping them to to raise ducks, chickens, pigs and fish, that they can sell to earn an income.. Through the packages that come in with seeds, we have planted a garden that provides both nourishment and education so that the children can learn how to grow their own food. As with the adults, we are also encouraging the children to become productive citizens of their country through hands-on training. The children who live with us have chores, for which they receive a daily allowance. No chores done - no allowance. We are also teaching them to budget for what they need to buy and to save the rest for things they would like to have. |