Sunday, 10 June 2012

Michael Mansfield QC Visits CCF


‘SUCCESS COMES IN ‘CANS’ by Michael Mansfield QC

‘Failure comes in ‘cant’s’.  These are the words of welcome and encouragement which are painted on the wall of the school foyer.  As we were to discover very quickly they represent the thematic motto of every aspect of life for the children and staff who live and work in this converted period building in the centre of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

The driving force behind this endeavour is Scott Neeson, ably assisted by Patrick McKinlay.  They suggest we visit one of the villages where the families of the children live.  Such an invitation commonly conjures up an image of sunlight dappled bamboo in peaceful paddy-fields, especially in a country of spectacular beauty, on a penetratingly hot humid day.  Yvette, my wife, is with me and we are driven for about twenty minutes to reach our destination.

No sooner had I got out of the car and started to walk, than a small hand entered mine on one side and another on the other side.  Children were emerging and erupting from everywhere.  These were no ordinary children.  The small boy holding my right hand was probably about four or five years old.  He had no clothes and no shoes.  His friends had little more.  The ground they trod was no ordinary village street.  It was an alleyway of earth, dirt and mud, strewn with litter, embedded with bottle tops and metal can ring pulls, and peppered with broken glass.  But then this was no ordinary village. 

Please contact enquiries@CCF-UK.org for the full article  ....

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