I was in Phnom Penh in 2007 and stayed double the time JR was there, yet I hardly saw anything except the sights along the main road and an orphanage hall where I conducted a workshop on writing for children.
But I agree with JR, “Cambodia is beautiful!”
I saw the nation in the heart of its people who, despite help from the UN and other countries, are still reeling from years of pillage and plunder by a cruel regime.
When I say people, I mean 14 budding Christian writers who attended the workshop, with the help of two translators. There was still no children's book written by a Khmer for Khmer children.
Media Associates International (MAI), an organization of which I am a member, made it possible for me to be there. In partnership with a local publishing house, MAI “helps satisfy local children’s hunger for stories that nourish their hearts and fan their imaginations.”
I shared with the attendees all I know about weaving magic in stories. Saddened by their country's tragic history, I was surprised by their enthusiasm. Only the themes of their drafts revealed their fears.
From that workshop, an engaging story entitled Miknia's Doll was published a few months later—the first-ever book for children written in Khmer!
Although the 14 new Christian writers still had to understand happiness, in eight days they learned about giving hope to children born in turbulent times.
Aside from Cambodia, many more hard countries are parched from a dearth of children's books written in their heart language.
MAI has been helping, but the organization subsists on grace—on funding from organizations and aid from individuals who share its vision.
May I ask you to help? How?
MAI hopes to win a grant from “Giving of Life,” an organization ready to give funding to ministries that can garner the highest votes. Please click and vote for MAI.
Your vote will help MAI equip writers to make little ones know—through excellent literature—that children are wonderfully made, and to them the Kingdom of God belongs.
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