In November 2012 UK trustee John Geden took
his family to Phnom Penh and visited CCF as part of their holiday in SE Asia:
“I was a little nervous about taking my
family to Phnom Penh, not because of any danger that I thought they might face
but because I did not know how my wife and children would cope with seeing such
stark poverty amongst the people and their daily struggle just to stay alive. Through my work I have witnessed the terrible
things that happen to children across the world, but my wife and children have
been protected from this.”
“It was fantastic to see how the children
are flourishing under the care of CCF
and for my family to visit CCF an organisation that I have worked with in a
professional capacity and for which I have the greatest respect.”
“I had managed to persuade my
long-suffering wife Jo – an experienced cook - that it would be great fun to
teach the older children to cook five classic European dishes . However things
don’t always go to plan in Cambodia and it was soon apparent that we would struggle
to find all of the ingredients we needed. Also, the word had spread at CCF and
on day one we were presented with 50+ CCF kids all wanting to take part in a
cookery lesson with many more who wanted a ‘taste’ and a kitchen that lacked
many of the modern catering conveniences Jo was used to!”
“We quickly hatched a plan to teach four
separate groups to cook a classic Italian ‘Spaghetti Bolognese’. So for the next
two days we visited four separate CCF facilities and cooked ‘Spag-bol” both
morning and afternoon for around 50-60 on each visit."
"The CCF kids threw themselves into and any
language barriers were soon broken down. Jo did really well and both my
daughters Ellie (16) and Mollie (12) got heavily involved and showed the CCF
kids how to prepare the ingredients."
"Ellie is currently doing her A levels and
is keen to be a teacher and enjoyed the opportunity to help the Khmer children
with their English language and spelling. Mollie also helped the kids with
their English and spent a long time helping one little boy how to advance
through a computer game on Patrick’s tablet!"
"The highlight of the week was watching my
two daughters interacting with some of the CCF girls, all singing along to a
One Direction song. That one moment evidenced the fact that no matter what
their country of birth, kids across the planet are all the same and love having
fun and deserve to be safe and loved. It really was a special moment."
"Since returning home Ellie has continued
selling the CCF ‘Tote’ bags made by the local women in a CCF run workshop which
she had the chance to visit and speak to some of the local women who make them."
"We left Phnom Penh exhausted and with heavy
hearts, Mollie and Ellie met some very special kids at CCF and I know they will
never forget the experience….neither will Jo or I."
