Place of Rescue

The story of Dara    
Darkness had fallen on the steamy streets of Phnom Penh. Little children, safe in the care of loving mothers rich and poor slept soundly under mosquito nets. One by one lights were turned out and the city began to quiet down.

On the lawn of a business establishment near a busy market lay a poor deranged woman her clothes filthy, her hair matted and dirty. People passed by and noticed with shock that she was in labor. Soon a small crowd had gathered to watch wanting to help. Suddenly the woman got up and squatted and then reached down and pulled out a tiny baby boy. The craziness took over then and she stood to her feet. Strong arms held her struggling body to the ground while someone ran to call an ambulance.  more...

The story of Baby Marko

Bopha’s story mirrors that of many women in Cambodia.

Some ten years ago she married a man she trusted and loved. Her family and friends joined her in the happy celebration. That day she was the star as she was helped from one outfit into another and photographed over and over. A feast of special wedding food was enjoyed by all even though it was held under a make-shift shelter of tarpaulins erected in an open space in her village.

Soon Bopha happily anticipated the birth of her first baby. Poor as she was and disillusioned with her husband’s lack of affection and care, her baby was her only real joy.  more...

and his Little sister Lena             

Dany and Lena came to Place of Rescue with their mother, a widow living with AIDS three or four years ago.

It was very difficult for the children when their mother was so sick. At that time Dany had a huge problem with anger. He would lash out at any one who he got upset with. I loved him so much because he was so feisty and brave. He was my favorite kid!

After their mother died Dany lived with a kind staff member named Oy for a couple of months. She loved him a lot and helped him so much and he became calm and polite.  more...

Rany’s Story
   
From her home shared with 9 other girls 13 year old Rany remembers. She recalls a time long ago when she was just a little girl. She sees a loving father and mother who played with her and loved her and her baby sister, Sorya.

But that idyllic life was not to last. Through ignorance and sin it was destroyed by her father who never would have planned to hurt his little girls or his wife. He did not realize that his recreational visits to the brothel would give him a serious disease that would condemn both him and his wife to death.  more...

The streets of Phnom Penh may be exotic and fascinating to the curious tourist. But they are not a happy home for a little girl.

It was on a Phnom Penh street that a little girl named Penny was compelled to make her home. Here she and her mother tied up their mosquito net and slept at night amidst all the sin and fear of a large city.. Here by day Penny left her mother, sick with AIDS, to go beg or steal whatever she could so that they could survive.

One day a compassionate man who ran an AIDS hospice found them and took them to his place. He could care for the mother but had no facilities for looking after a child so he contacted us.  more...

Christine works with an organization that helps people who live on the street. One day she phoned Rescue and asked if we would visit a woman sick with AIDS who was presently at Preah Khet Melea hospital.

When we made a special trip to see her we found she was indeed in the palliative care ward however she was improved enough that she could be discharged soon. The problem was that there was nowhere for her and her little boy Makara to go except the street. Place of Rescue orphanage and AIDS Centre was happy to tell them that they were most welcome to come to live in one of our small houses built especially for people like them.  more...

This is the story of the mortar found in our compound when we first started construction.

After the Vietnam War, the Cambodian countryside was littered with unexploded landmines and mortars. Over the years, thousands of Cambodian people have lost limbs or have been killed by these unseen, underground dangers.

This kind of mortar was fired into the city of Phnom Penh during the Vietnam War. Just such a mortar exploded very close to the Ens family in 1975.  more...

What could be better for a kid than a new bike!
Thanks to the generosity of some folks back home, our children receive something that is more than a toy -- a normal childhood.

In our recreation center, the children have learned traditional Cambodian dance.