"You must be the change..."

Be a SPARK!

We’ve kicked off our recruitment drive for volunteers! Our volunteers are special, they are akin to a spark which lights up a flame which in turn lights up the children’s lives. So we think the name SPARK for each of our volunteers is very apt!

To be a SPARK, you’ll need to have these qualities:

Kind heart
Sincerity
Love for Children
Commitment
Patience

If you think you have what it takes to spread love, hope and joy to Cambodian children, we need you! To sign up as a SPARK, please email to limchih@yahoo.com.

The Awful Truth

The following statistics are evidence that Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children are real and a very serious problem! We hope it’s just a bad dream, but the awful truth is it is a nightmare that won’t go away (i.e. if we just sit around and do nothing)…

• There are 1,200 street-living children in Phnom Penh, and between 500 and 1,500 children are living with their families on the streets in provincial towns.
• 27,950 children between the ages of seven and 17 are in child domestic labour in Phnom Penh alone. Almost 3/4 of the child domestic laborers do not receive any pay. Almost 26,000 cases of injuries were recorded (some cases several injuries were suffered by the same child), and 17,602 children reported ill-health.
• A local NGO has reported a monthly intake of approximately 60 street children into its shelter for vocational and literacy training. The NGO reported observing 80 to 100 new children on the streets every month.
• Around 50% of Cambodia’s 12 million population are children under 16 year-old and about 55,000 of them are working as prostitutes!
• 45% of children – nearly 2.5 million – suffer of malnutrition and lack of medical care. 35% of all street children registered in 2002 displayed stunted growth. Poor mental health is an issue for street children who show low self-esteem and exhibit self-destructive behavior.
• 66% of children do not have access to clean water.
• In the year 2001 there were 50,000 orphans, children of AIDS patients’ parents. The UNICEF estimates that if the growing rhythm of AIDS continues the same, by the year 2010 the country will have around 142,000 orphans.

"At first I refused to have sex with men. Then I was beaten so badly I had to hide my face for a month, until it healed. Then I was told again I would have to sleep with the customers. I knew if I refused I would be beaten again. I had no choice but to agree."
Quote from a Cambodian girl's trafficking ordeal

The truth hurts, doesn’t it? If you are disturbed by the facts and figures, why not step up and do something? The first thing you can do is to help spread the word around. The more people are aware of the children’s plight, the more chances they have of a better and brighter future.

Amazing Story: Gaining New Perspectives from Rubbish Dump

DBS Bank current "Living, Breathing Asia" advertising campaign is really cool! The ads feature true stories of exceptional staff who make a difference to the lives of less fortunate in developing countries like Cambodia and Vietnam. One story which struck a chord with me is about two colleagues from DBS Hong Kong who went to Stung Meanchey, the largest trash dump in Cambodia, to bring smiles and hope to children scavengers. You can read their amazing story at http://www.livingbreathingasia.com/en/web/ext_intro.aspx?sid=8. These gentlemen, Richard Wong and Lui Tsz Fai, definitely deserve mention for their care and compassion!

Our Mission Statement Unveiled!

LittleMatchKids.org Mission Statement

A picture tells a thousand stories. Hence, our mission is to shed light on Cambodian children’s plight through photography. And by lending our support to accredited NGOs, giving our time and care to the children, We Light Up Their Lives! ™

Why Do I Care?

We all have our own lives to live. We work to pay the bills, to provide food on the table for our family and to save for our retirement. Given my hectic schedule as a copywriter and family commitments, why do I still care so much for Cambodian children? So you say they are not my flesh and blood. True. But we are all God’s children, aren’t we?

Here are the reasons why I have to care:

Why do I care?

Why do I care?
If I don’t, the children will face abuse at home, run away and end up lost as street kids – how can they find their way if there is no one to show them?

Why do I care?
If I don’t, how will the children get a good education and learn life skills so that they can get decent employment when they grow up?

Why do I care?
If I don’t, millions of children will continue to live in slums with poor sanitation, giving rise to diseases. And who will provide them with proper healthcare?

Why do I care?
If I don’t, orphaned and street children will be sold or kidnapped as slaves and prostitutes, their lives shattered forever.

Why do I care?
If I don’t, the joy I see in the children’s eyes today will turn to sorrow and desperation tomorrow.

Why do I care?
If I don’t and you won’t, then who will?

A Lesson The Children Taught Me

I love taking photographs of children. But they can be a challenge to photograph as they can't stand or sit still for too long. And if they're in a bad mood, good luck! You'll have a hard time to coerce a smile from them... But most of the children that I've met in Cambodia are always forthcoming with their smiles. Some would even gamely strike a pose! In my book, these kids are natural born models - their eyes would sparkle like gems and their smiles easily worth a million dollars!

"They look so happy! Are you sure they are having a hard life?" you might ask. Well, this is one of life's greatest ironies. In a poor country like Cambodia where most children have never seen or played a Gameboy, strangely enough they seem contented playing with whatever they have or do not have. Where I come from, the children are the exact opposite. Give them a remote car and they'll want a Playstation. And when they get the Playstation, they will soon tire of it and want a new toy. "My classmate Tom got an iPod for his birthday! I also want one!" Oh dear, even our children are keeping up with the Little Joneses!

Why is it that even though we have more, but we are less happy than the people who have so much less?

Let's learn from the Cambodian children. If they can be happy with what little they have, why can't we (with all our material possessions) be happy too? I remember my first trip to Cambodia in July 2006, I drove past a village on my way to Kbal Spean. I saw many children happily playing along the dirt roads and splashing about in murky ponds. I suddenly felt so humbled.

These children taught me to count my blessings and be grateful for what I have. It was them who changed my life - I have gained a new perspective and purpose... I shall forever be grateful to them for teaching me this valuable lesson.

Sex Tourists Not Welcome!

There are several hotels in Cambodia that are ChildSafe www.childsafe-international.org and do not welcome sex tourists. One such hotel which I had the pleasure to stay at for two nights is The Pavilion in Phnom Penh www.pavilion-cambodia.com. The hotel is housed in a mid-20s heritage building rumoured to belong to Queen Kossamak, King Sihanouk's mother. Close to The Royal Palace, National Museum and fashionable St 240, The Pavilion is surprisingly affordable for its great location and amenities.

And thanks to hotels like The Pavilion for their ChildSafe initiatives, we can help stop the vile and disgusting acts of sex tourists who prey on the young and innocent.

Ghosts

No visit to Phnom Penh is complete without a visit to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. And for the uninitiated, a word of caution: Tuol Sleng is certainly no Disneyland. The museum (Former Khmer Rouge S-21 Prison) is made up of four nondescript school buildings. Each building was the actual site of unimaginable atrocities. The original tools/apparatus used by the Khmer Rouge regime to torture the prisoners are on display. So are the interrogation rooms and cells that housed these poor souls – their restless spirits still linger the desolate grounds… you could just feel their presence!

I planned to spend an hour at the museum, but ended up more than two hours there. And mind you, I am not a fan of gory movies or ghost stories. I am actually very faint hearted. The torture rooms and cells reeked of death, so I didn’t spend too much time in there. But at the gallery where thousands and thousands of mug shots of actual prisoners were on display, I couldn’t help but look at each and every one of them. While many looked afraid (and resigned to their fate), there were also many who smiled for the camera – obviously they were too innocent to know what was in store for them… and there were many children! My heart sank. How could they do such a thing? By taking away the children’s right to live as children! Their childhood robbed in broad daylight and their lives drowned in the mass graves at Choeung Ek.

For a tourist attraction, Tuol Sleng is unusually dead (pun unintended) silent. Visitors, even the noisy tourist-bus types, looked at the displays silently, almost all with a heavy heart and a perturbed look. Indeed, it’s hard to be unaffected by the sheer horror of the events that took place there. It’s that horrific!

As I left the museum, a middle-aged amputee approached me at the gate and asked for money. While I empathized with his predicament, I feel that one should not exploit the situation to gain something. And one should not exploit the many innocent children who need a roof over their heads, good education, healthcare and proper nutrition by promising them money in exchange for sex or slavery.

The ghosts of Tuol Sleng still haunt many in Cambodia today. And the legacy of Khmer Rouge continues to live on. While we can never erase the past, we can build a better and brighter future for Cambodian children… Do you care enough to help make this possible?

The Obvious & the Oblivious

How can one be so oblivious to something so obvious? Think about it.

Khmer Rouge Revisited?

This picture was taken while I was on my way to The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. I was happily taking pictures of roadside stalls when I saw this disturbing scene. The little girl was being caned by her mother. She was wailing loudly! Her screams were so piercing that it was unbearable for me as it was for her... On impulse (or what I call a photographer's force of habit), I pointed my camera and captured the moment. I wanted to delete it, but somehow I didn't...

The drama and the one following it - her elder sister was dragged by her hair by her grandmother and pinned against the wall and slapped many times across the face - reminded me of the dark days of the Khmer Rouge, when innocent people were terrorised by Pol Pot and his army of like-minded sickos.

I've read and seen domestic violence between husband and wife, but this was the first time I've seen domestic violence involving children and their parents. The little girl and her elder sister did not deserve to be beaten in public or even in the privacy of their own home. I hope this incident has not scarred the girls' lives and future.

A Moral Dilemma

I am an avid photographer, a Steve McCurry wannabe. I admire the award-winning photojournalist’s work. His photographs are beautiful (even if they were shot in squalid locations) and each tells a story, many heartbreaking. Steve is my inspiration and I aspire to capture photographs as astonishing as his. And I had a “National Geographic” photo opportunity in Phnom Penh recently…

I was in a taxi on the way to the airport. The weather outside was great. The dark clouds had made way for blue skies signaling that the monsoon season was over. I wished I could spend another week here I thought to myself as the taxi came to a halt at a traffic light. A boy in ragged clothes walked up to my taxi and stood right in front of where I was sitting by the window. His hands clasped in a prayer pose. I could hear his pleas loud and clear through the window: “Please mister, give me money… please mister, give me money… please mister…” Like a tape recorder that played the same song over and over again.

I wished I could give him money (I really wanted to), but I did not want to encourage him to beg for more and for the rest of his life, so I stood my ground and tried not to look at him. But how not to look at the boy who had a face of an angel, illuminated delicately by the sunlight? His puppy dog eyes spoke volumes of desperation. And suddenly I was reminded of a similar image taken by Steve of an Indian woman carrying a baby peering sadly into a taxi. I wanted to whip out my camera and capture that powerful and poignant moment of the boy with the pretty face begging for money. But a little voice told me: “It would be wrong to exploit the situation!” “But I’m only taking his picture,” I reasoned with myself. This debate of whether I should or I shouldn’t went on for the longest time… And it didn’t help that a woman on a moto was looking at us the whole time. So did my driver! I felt like I was facing a jury.

In the end, the boy sensing I was not going to part with my money, left and walked to other cars to try his luck… but wait, I never even got the chance to open my camera lens cap! And so I missed a great photo opportunity one that could bring me fame and accolades like my hero Steve. Check out his stunning photographs at www.stevemccurry.com.

To this day, the image of the boy still haunts me. And yes, I am still filled with regret for not capturing that moment. Did I do the right thing? It’s just a picture, but why did I struggle with myself? I don’t know about you, but I’ve always believed that nobody should see a child begging…

I will be back in Phnom Penh in June 2008. Maybe I will have another photo opportunity of a child coming up to my taxi and beg? While the avid photographer in me says “you’d better not miss your chance again, dude!”, another part of me hopes never to witness anymore of such scenes. I pray that by some miracle, the boy has stopped begging and is now getting a good education in school…

Pol Pot's Eternal Soldiers

Can you ignore this?

This brilliant print ad seen in travel magazines, is the brainchild of BBDO Singapore. Well done, guys!

Ignorance is Bliss?

My friend Boon Kiam sent this email to me today:

"I've always felt it was important to do my part for the less fortunate. That's why I am sponsoring three kids now in Cambodia, Lesotho (Africa) and Philippines. You know, I think it has to do with how well-travelled I am. The more you travel, the more you see and the more fortunate you feel when you see all this poverty. It would be wrong to just live in our ivory tower and pretend that everyone else in the world is as lucky as us."

I totally agree. It seems that many people (where I come from) choose to ignore the problems in this world... we already have enough problems of our own so why burden ourselves more with other people's problems? As they say ignorance is bliss... or is it?

Anyway, Boon Kiam has also come up with a great idea to bring joy to these children. I'm keeping things under wraps for now. Don't want to spoil the surprise!

Taking Baby Steps...

This is day two of LittleMatchKids.org and I am taking baby steps to get it going...

Right now I am sending pictures and information to friends to raise awareness of the children's plight. Many are still in the dark of the poverty in Cambodia. Ask them about Cambodia and they will most likely say: "Oh, Angkor Wat is very nice!" Cambodia is more than just ancient temples. Cambodia is about its tragic past which still haunts its people as there are still six million landmines left uncleared...

I've sent emails to a few people and sadly only two friends are enthusiastic about my goodwill mission. Yes, I am discouraged. But I am not giving up so easily. I have faith that God will guide me and open doors not just for me, but more so for the kids...

The Flames of Compassion Ignited on 28 October 2007!

We Light Up Their Lives!™

I was recently in Cambodia 12 - 21 October 2007 and had a wonderful time. I met many nice people and saw many things we don't normally see in my country, Singapore. It broke my heart to see so many dirty-faced children begging in the streets. And many of them approached me. To give them money would only encourage them to beg more... so what do I do?

On 28 Oct 07, I decided to set up an NGO to help these children and registered the domain littlematchkids.org... The name Little Match Kids is inspired from the fairy-tale, The Little Match Girl. It is one of my favourite fairy-tales which always brings a tear to my eye...

The Cambodian children remind me of the Little Match Girl - full of innocence, but poor and hungry... Like the Little Match Girl, their lives could be shattered by child trafficking, diseases, malnutrition etc... So I think it's an apt name for the NGO.

LittleMatchKids.org is non-profit and helps raise awareness of poverty/healthcare/child trafficking in Cambodia through photography. Its other objectives include:

Fight Poverty
Enhance the Quality of Life
Create Opportunities
Protect Their Future
Make Dreams Come True

The NGO is still in its infancy and needs more work to get it together. It is my hope to set up a school to teach Photography, Creative Writing, Art & Design to these children. Education is key in helping these kids off the streets.

If you can help or know of people who might like to help (need a web designer URGENTLY/volunteers/sponsors), would be great!