"All PHOTOS FROM BETSY BAEHR / SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER". A typical slum village in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
A little boy I met at a river slum village in Phnom Penh.
This beautiful little girl lives in a slum village built on stilts over two feet of floating garbage.By BETSY BAEHR
Special to the DesMoinesRegister.com
"The other side of the world" is an impossible phrase to comprehend until you're actually on the other side of the world. Within 15 minutes of my arrival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the culture shock hit hard. Within a few short minutes, that simple phrase had a whole new meaning.
Eighteen months ago, as a student at Oral Roberts University, I attended a seminar on the growing problem of child trafficking and prostitution in southeast Asia. I realized that I was rather naive to the topic. I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around this worlds-away issue, and I was immediately intrigued and interested to learn more.
AdvertisementIn 2004, Citipointe Church in Brisbane, Australia, started a child rescue home in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. They house 15 girls, ages 3-16. Once I learned of the shocking statistics of child prostitution in Cambodia, and the hope and life Citipointe was bringing, I was both heartbroken and captivated to learn more and to see this country for myself.
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