Financially Unstable Elderly in Takeo Cambodia

The first time I visited Cambodia my cousin picked us up in a 3-wheel tuk-tuk and took us to my grandfather's home where we slept on cold hard floors, covered by mosquito nets. The next morning, beggars lined the streets along the way to the market and I was shocked to see that many of them were elderly. Even at the age of 9, I realized that despite his basic accommodations, my grandfather was well off compared to many elders in Cambodia. Prior to the Khmer Rouge period of 1975 - 1979, Cambodia was as developed as its neighbors, Thailand and Vietnam, but the communists killed almost all the educated people, setting the country’s development back by decades. After the war, many of the surviving young people left the countryside to seek opportunities in the cities, working in factories earning a few dollars a day, leaving the rural villages full of elders doing their best to care for each other. My early experiences have stayed with me and In late June, my mother and I are traveling back to Cambodia where I will live for two weeks in a rural village outside of Takeo, the closest town. At the end of the week, I will provide a meal for the roughly 50 elders in the village. To provide short-term financial stability I will also give them each a care package with enough money to buy a months worth of food, a bottle of Tylenol, a kroma and a sarong. The kroma is a traditional Cambodian garment that can be used as a scarf, a towel, a blanket and much more. A sarong is a wrap used like a skirt for both men and women. Medicine is hard to come by in the village, so even Tylenol is a rare commodity. It is important to me that all donations go directly to the village, so I have been working at a coffee shop during the school year and am paying over $1,400 for my own flight to Cambodia. I am excited to build on a family tradition - my older brother and sister donated to an orphanage in my mother's homeland 5 years ago. I really appreciate any support that you can provide - please know that it will go a long way in Cambodia. I look forward to sharing photos and videos of my experience with you when I return!