The children of Stung Mean Chey

863 views • 01/03/2006 • 30:04

In last month’s Net for God film, “Lights in the Night”, we highlighted the importance of relaying positive information in the media with « Reporters of Hope » (Reporteurs d’espoir), and the importance of bringing solutions to the problems that surround us. This month’s film provides an example of positive information.

After a life full of adventure which includes two journeys around the world with their four children, Christian and Marie-France des Pallières, a French couple who reached the age of retirement, went to Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh, and founded an association called « For a child’s smile » (Pour un sourire d’enfant). It was the Lord’s calling! Christian put himself at the Lord’s disposition and five minutes later a telephone call sent him to Phnom Penh with a charitable organisation.

When they discovered the young rag pickers working and feeding themselves in the horrendous rubbish dump of Phnom Penh, Christian and Marie-France were shocked and set out to help every child, every family, to regain their human dignity. This is a terrible struggle in Cambodia, a country plagued by 25 years of war. The values of Cambodian society have been wiped out by the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge camps, where 1.7 million Cambodians met their death.

In the face of this dreadful chaos, Christian and Marie-France decided to set up a programme to enable every child to eat and receive an education. On bicycles they began to distribute food every day to children on the dump. Today over 4,000 children have to eat and follow various schooling programmes, in particular in the support centre that they had built!

Their witness is a cry and at the same time a wonderful song to life, to hope and to joy! It shows us how a small act, if it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, can lead us very far. Perhaps for us in the Net for God network it can be an invitation to be aware of the opportunities of starting small initiatives which can take us very far if they are inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Ce film est réalisé par la Communauté du Chemin Neuf via le réseau de international prière « Net for God ».

Pour nous contacter : netforgod@chemin-neuf.org
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