Be back soon

Ann is currently away at the Samaritan's Purse National Conference. She will be back soon with stories from Vietnam.

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Until then here is a taste of what's to come.























Please feel free to leave an encouraging comment for Ann to read on her return!

Turn on the tap (TOTT)

A Samaritan’s Purse project for safe accessible water in the developing world

Not only can you explore the TOTT website to see how you can collect your FREE resources to promote TOTT but you can also donate $2 to TOTT by simply taking a photo of your tap – how easy is that. Why not take a photo of each tap in your house and ask your friends and family to do the same. Simply visit www.turnonthetap.org.au

In Cambodia the State Managers had the privilege of building a Biosand Water Filter (BSF). While I am sure it took much longer than if the family who had ordered the filter had built it themselves, it gave us the opportunity not only to see how relatively simple and quick it is to make but we also watched the installation process and saw the final results – clear, safe water– and a very happy family looking forward to a much brighter, healthier future.

The beauty and the pain

Cambodia, like all developing countries, is one of contrasts. Below are some of them.

Fun, innocence and mischief.

Two HIV/AIDS orphans, Rubbish and a Grandmother who survived the Pol Pot regime and now looks after her granddaughters whose parents died of HIV/AIDS.

Beautiful people living in a painful environment.

Coming Next: Turn on the Tap

What contents of the shoe box do the children really love?

ALL OF THEM of course. For children who have NEVER received a gift before every item is precious from the biggest to the smallest and here is photographic proof.
Sunglasses are ‘cool’

Beanies are a fashion statement – despite the 35 degree heat

Soft toys are loveable
Skipping ropes and yo yos are a mystery
Anything for school and books are precious
Coming Next - The beauty and pain of Cambodia

Now the initial excitement is over and the shoeboxes are opened and contents explored there is the joy and expectation that the box will be shared with the family, extended family and, in some cases, the whole village.


Most of the children who receive the shoe box gifts live in the poorest of conditions, in one room often tied together with rope, plastic tarps for roof and walls, dirt floors, perhaps a communal table that serves as a bed for the whole family, no clean water, open sewers, no privacy and often under threat of eviction if the government requires the land.


To have simple gifts to share brightens their often drab lives, and gives them and their families a real sense that someone cares.

Coming Next - What shoebox contents do the children really love?

The Joy of a Box

The photos show some of the reactions that the children show when they receive their boxes. Because it is the first gift for many they are sometimes unsure that the whole box is for them and it can take a few minutes for the real excitement to sink in.

Our national partners love the children to hold the boxes over their heads so they can see a sea of shoe boxes and the children are encouraged to hold up the most precious item in their box. It is often hard to decide but the soft toy is a firm favourite, closely followed by the items for school.


Coming Next: Homeward bound

Cambodia Distribution

All the Operation Christmas Child distributions on our trip to Cambodia this year were in the province of Kampong Chnang. Once again it was a delight to be able to see firsthand that a shoe box does make such a huge difference.

Waiting for boxes

The children were lined up waiting for our arrival, quietly excited, bearing in mind most of these children have never received a gift before let alone a whole shoe box full. There were speeches, games and then the countdown and … lids off … and SO MUCH NOISE and excitement. Shrieks of joy as the children looked through their boxes to see what you had packed. When the children were dismissed it was fascinating to watch them huddle together in little groups and examine each other’s boxes and dig right to the bottom to find what treasures were hidden. As we left the distribution one of the most memorable moments is always to see the children sitting on the side of the road investigating what is in their box, riding (often with a sibling and two boxes) precariously along a rutted track to their home to show their family their precious gifts and those who have already made it home (they can ride so fast) with the whole family sitting in a circle around the one box looking at these amazing gifts.

Coming Next – The joy of a box

Introduction to Cambodia

{L} The Killing Fields in Cambodia
{R} Photos of some of the victims of Pol Pot's regime

For those of you who do not know, the Kingdom of Cambodia remains a victim of war spanning many years, it has been a protectorate of France, occupied by Japan, at war with the North Vietnamese, survived three years when approximately 2million Cambodians were killed under the Pol Pot regime in what became known as The Killing Fields. Cambodia was then invaded by Vietnam, plagued by guerilla warfare and finally, in 1990 an uneasy peace began. However in 1997 there was a coup against the Prime Minister. Charges of genocide have been brought against many of Cambodia’s leaders and trials to bring them to justice are only just beginning.

Against this background there are many victims in Cambodia today. Those who are obvious are the amputees who were victims of landmines laid by their own people but also those who are not as obvious are the children who have grown up without extended family or have fractured families who remain victims of war and poverty. It is to these children and families Samaritan’s Purse Australia has a heart to minister and by something as simple as a shoe box given through Operation Christmas Child some of this sadness, hurt and hopelessness can be eased.

Coming next – Operation Christmas Child in Cambodia