Darnee is a beautiful little girl who came to us with her two younger brothers in May 2007. Darnee and her brothers came from a province several hours away from Sovanapoom in a remote rural area.  They have a mother and a father but they are extremely poor.  The local leaders in their community saw that these children were in danger because their parents are alcoholic and abusive towards each other and the children, so they contacted us to see if the children could come to live at Sovanapoom. 

 When children have parents and a home we prefer if they can stay with them but in this case the authorities were seriously concerned for the children’s safety so we agreed to have them come to stay with us.

Darnee and her brothers were undernourished and were showing signs of neglect when they first arrived.  Their family situation had been in such poverty that the people who brought them to us had to stop and buy clothes for her brothers along the way, they had nothing.

When they first arrived Darnee was very quiet and her brothers were terrified of everyone in the home.  Where they had been living was very rural and their life experiences were extremely limited. Coming to our home was a huge experience for them and very different.  Darnee’s six year old brother ran away the first day he was with us, but we found him nearby in the village. 

Once they settled in it didn’t take long for all three children to understand that Sovanapoom is a good place to be.  After a couple of weeks they were smiling and laughing and playing with the rest of the family and fitting in well.  Darnee is learning beautifully and is  picking up English well.  She is a keen student and although when she began in our school even the basics of the Khmer language needed reinforcing with her, she impresses us with her willingness to learn. 

We are confident that Darnee will grow into a beautiful young lady, she has a real heart for others.  We hope to establish a Community Centre the province she came from and one day Darnee may even choose return to help the people there. 

 *Name changed to protect identity.