My name is PHAMARA UONG. I was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I came to live in the United States in 1981 and have been back to visit Cambodia three times. All my visits have been punctuated by deep sorrow, having witnessed the immense suffering of the children in Cambodia. I have seen children collecting food from trashcans and landfills or waiting in the back alleys of restaurants to beg for leftovers.

Many children go hungry and are extremely undernourished. Some children have no homes to go to so they sleep on the bare ground during the day and prowl the streets at night. They have no one to love and care for them. They are forced to live in unhygienic conditions and are defenseless against sickness and disease.

The sick children just lie in the streets and cry because they have no one to help them.  Others escape the harsh reality of the slums by seeking temporary comfort in the illusionary dream world of dangerous drugs, like Kav (sniffing).  They come to feel they cannot live without it.  Kav makes them happy for awhile so they relish it and enlist others to do the same, fueling their addiction with a life of petty theft. 

These children are victims of circumstance, abandoned by adults who were too busy fending for themselves.  Some children roam the streets as shoeshine boys for a small fee. Little girls sell flowers at restaurants and local temples, while others rummage through dumpsites for used plastic bags to exchange for whatever little food they can get.

After my first trip back to Cambodia I realized I needed to help these children.  I just couldn’t leave them to suffer and die. In 1999, I formed a non-profit organization, CAMBODIAN ORPHANAGE INTERNATIONAL.
 

Help Us send those Kids to schools this year. Your valuable help is needed greatly! PLEASE HELP US TO EDUCATE THESE CHILDREN''