11 years later, Saru & Yos & Borin

This article is the last and final article in this blog since all my children in Cambodia are using now a days facebook and messenger.

A brief update just returned from Cambodia today, we are happy to look back at 11 years of contact with our children in Cambodia.On the 10 years old picture from the left Yos, Saru and Borin. They lived together in a small room in Wat Koh pagoda. Today they spred all over Cambodia, Saru lives in the south, Sihankoukville, Yos still lives in Phnom Penh and Borin has moved to Siem Reap in the north.They are all married and have a child each. All three has bought land, has housing and has good jobs.Yos is employed as a television drama producer and is married to Nika who is television commercial producer. They move during this month in their new built home.Saru became a lawyer, married a businesswoman, has built a house and invested in several projects. Borin was graduated as doctor, pediatrician, married a pediatrician and they both work in a very well-run and well-known private hospital in Cambodia. They have bought land and are planning to build a house.In addition, Sony has completed his BA in Marketing and works as a real estate agent.Key has completed BA in IT and has had jobs ever since.Ratha and sister Chanty have finished high school and Ratha is working at a hotel near the pagoda.Sot, who is father of three kids, is still running his workshop repairing motorcycles in his village.Sopal is doing practice in a motorcycle workshop for the next 3 months.Kosal is monk.Cheng still struggles with the following of tough childhood with violence and lives on the street. It has been a great trip to follow the kids for the last 11 years, many wonderful experiences, great holidays at cozy hotels in both Sihanoukville and Siem Reap. There have been up and downs, they have experienced violence, poverty, homelessness, hunger, sickness and so on, but Cambodia is a country of survivors, they move forward, the future look brighter and we have jointly created many good memories together that we can keep in our mind for many years to come.

Sophal - new home in Siem Reap

I decided that it is time for Sophal to leave the temple in Phnom Penh and for the first time in his life to have a home. I rented a room for 45 USD for Sophal and his older brother, Sokly.

His brother grew up in a NGO, finished high school and just started in university, he is working as hotel receptionist.
Sokly, promised to support Sophal and therefore I decided that it is best for Sophal to live with his brother instead of staying as homeless in the temple.

Sophal moved now to Siem Reap, the city of Angkor Wat, 7 hours drive from Phnom Penh. Borin, who is also living in Siem Reap found a room for the two brothers just near by his apartment.

Sophal with Borins baby

    

Sophal and his Brother, first day in the room.

New school uniform, belt and shoes 25 USD

Chanty - Last year in high school

Chanty went shopping, new school uniform, for the new and last year in high school. She is doing quite well at school, still living in the temple which is extremely rare in Cambodia, a temple is a "girl free zone", but Chanty have been there since she was a little girl and they accept her destiny because of her sickness.

Yos - ten years later

2006 Yos to the left, with Saru and Borin at the temple Wat Koh

We met Yos at our first trip to Cambodia in 2016. At that time he was a poor monk. We supported him for some years so he could finish high school and start university. At that time he was quite "alone in the world", became monk as a child in order to survive when his Grandma died.

He left the monkhood when we started to support him, but stil lived in the temple until he got married. He met Nika at university, at the same time he had a job as a sound technician in a TV/radio station, she got a job at the samle place, as a TV newscaster.

TEN YEARS LATER: Yos added 20 kg. to his weight :-), he is married, have a little cute and healthy boy. The last news from Yos is that they now bought a new (50 M2) house which is under construction. They will enter the new home within 7 months and need to pay 416 USD x 204 months! Fantastic story for us to follow.

Yos in 2016 with his baby boy

Yos and Nika, 2016

The new house outside area

Tilføj billedtekst

Tilføj billedtekst

Tilføj billedtekst

Kosal left the monkhood

After few months as a monk, Kosal is back
to normal civil life....

Shopping clothes

Chanty finished grade 11 and Sophal finished grade 8. Afterwards I gave them some money to buy new clothes and go out for a dinner at Lucky Burger with Choun Chetra.

The kids are getting big!

Sophal in 2010

Chanty (back) with a friend in 2007

New school uniforms

Chanty and Sophal just ended midterms exams and Chetra went with them to buy new school uniforms and school bags:

Each school uniform is 21 USD, the bag of Sophal 13 USD and the bag of Chanty 22 USD.