Project Art for Hope

In the course of working here in Phnom Penh, I’ve come to know many of the local travesties that continue to pervade this tormented nation. Cambodia has seen many evils and while one expects the veil to lift, it doesn’t always work out as we would hope in our timeline. Peace reigns here amidst the blatant corruption, however, each citizen lives in the shroud of oppression that corruption breeds. Just yesterday, my friend Mekong was taking his moto to get my friend Heather flying in from Angkor Wat and he was stopped by the police for no apparent reason. The police were just having a day of provocation. They demanded he produce his registration but Mekong didn’t have it with him. At this point, they should have just written him a legitimate ticket, but decided to taunt him instead. The policeman who stopped him insisted that Mekong pay him $5 US in order to let him go. Five dollars is more than a two day’s wages here in Phnom Penh and goes a long way in this economy. Mekong told me about this later in the day. I was furious. I wanted to go back and tell off that corrupt, selfish “law abiding” policeman. Unashamedly taking hard earned money from a kid who earns an average of 80 dollars a month is absolutely infuriating to me. I told Mekong is was probably a good thing I wasn’t with him because I probably would have had to call one of you guys to come rescue me out of some shady Cambodian prison.

I’m told these incidents happen all the time, yet when I see or hear of them, I’m angered nonetheless. I can’t seem to accept it as reality. My dad would call my need for justice the thorn in my side. I suppose so, but I believe, a blind eye would require more of me. So much of that is an understanding of the reality of evil in the world. I still hold the expectation that good will always triumph that justice will always prevail. For now, I’m still surprised by what I see.

I think this leads me to the greatest evil I’ve seen so far. The total exploitation of children isn’t new, but sadly, it has been growing steadily in the last few decades. In previous entries, I’ve mentioned of working here in Phnom Penh with an organization that is triumphing for the cause in the rescue of young girls from the trafficking industry. In the past few visits, I’ve developed a little non-profit called “Project Art for Hope.” This has been something that has completely found me and I’ve just tried to follow its lead. I was working with some of the young girls last year, teaching them jewelry skills, and watercolor techniques and various creative outlets. I noticed walking around the room, looking at the art, the imagination just coming alive! I thought to myself, “wow, these girls have seen evils I’ve never seen and hope to never see, yet they still draw butterflies and flowers.” I was amazed by the sheer innocence that the brush put to paper. I slowly saw a story begin to unfold. Not only is art so therapeutic in a reclamation of one’s self and beauty, it is a face to the many faceless girls and a tiny voice to the powerlessness they all feel. I felt as if every piece of art was a memoir of each of these young innocents. They have a name, a story, a passion and a dream. They have rich hearts and much to give the world. I knew I had to somehow be a conduit for those many voices. That is how “Project Art for Hope” was born.

I am still in the beginning stages, learning the logistics and how best to provide an avenue for this art to be seen. My intention is to do installations in galleries in the United States and Europe and use the presentation as a means to tell the bigger story that many people still prefer to wish didn’t exist. There are wonderful organizations who are tirelessly working on continuing to spread the word. IJM (www.ijm.org). World Hope International. www.worldhope.net. I hope that the art from this venture can begin to raise not only funds, but heighten awareness as much as humanly possible. The rest is up to “supernatural intervention,” as the director here in Phnom Penh so truthfully stated.

I have grown in my understanding of what it means to make a difference. My contribution is a small wave, but nonetheless a wave. I believe that one little step is still a step forward. If my small voice touches a heart, we have four feet now walking forward. Where are we called to be, but to walk forward in the faith that God will bring change on this earth, . . . today.