It might be a Yorkton church, but they're helping out kids on the other side of the world. A group from the Prairie Harvest Christian Life Center will be travelling to Cambodia this March to visit the orphanage the church sponsors in the country. Renae Miller will be one of the people going to meet and help out the kids there.
Twenty-two people are visiting the orphanage, including seven teenagers. For the majority of those travelling this will be their first trip into Cambodia, which Miller says is something people have been anticipating this trip for a long time.
"I get so emotional, but these are our kids. We take care of them 100 per cent. Our orphanage is ours, we've looked after it for years, just to see the kids, their faces, play with them and help them," Miller says.
The plan for the trip is to continue to improve the orphanage, Miller says. Previous trips have seen new beds for the children, as well as installing solar power to replace an older battery system. They have also given bikes to all the children to allow them to get around the town easier. This trip has plans to do painting and building a playground that the community can use. The orphanage itself is in a remote area, and Miller says that the church is helping because it's something that they saw a need to do.
"It's going to be very remote. Our orphanage is bordering Vietnam, and when we took it over it was one of the poorest orphanages this organization had. That's kind of what caught our eye, they needed our help the most.
"Because there are so many orphans there it's such a major issue. They get left out on the streets, and kids in these countries are basically worthless. Nobody wants them, nobody wants to look after them, they are just more of a burden. This way, we can take them, we can educate them, we can take care of their communities, once they get old enough we put them into a skill so that when they're 18 and out of school they can go into a city and get a job and not have to be a burden on society or anything like that."
Miller believes that this experience will be life-changing for all of the people going on the trip, and will be a reminder of why they need to get involved. She knows that it has already has made a difference in the lives of the children there already, based on stories from her brother, who goes regularly.
"He says it just blows their minds that someone from the other side of the world would take the time out to look after them, they just can't believe we would do that," Miller says.
The price for the trip has been paid for out of their own pockets, Miller says, and all of the money they raise through fundraisers will be directed exclusively to the kids. They also plan on visiting other orphanages to do what they can to help out.
There will be an event at the Prairie Harvest Christian Life Center on February 24 which will feature a lunch and a dessert auction. The group is also planning on doing other things to raise money for the trip, such as delivering phone books. The group leaves on March 22.
