time there as giving to a friend,
rather than just a cause.”
For teenagers especially,
the lessons learnt fuel profound
conversations at home. An
opportunity to meet other teenagers,
for whom university is not even a
viable option, can be a humbling
experience. They come away with a
very real understanding of the world
they live in and their place in it.
Deep connections
In June 2009, twins Rebekah and
Sarah Nutland, who were 14 at the
time, made their first visit to Cambodia
with a church youth group. The
purpose of the trip was to volunteer
for a few days at an orphan home that
functioned as a self-sustaining family
unit of approximately 30 children of
mixed ages. On their first night in
Phnom Penh, Rebekah and Sarah
called home upset and overwhelmed
after an emotional afternoon at
the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
However, by the time their trip was
over, the girls had built deep bonds
with the children at the home, most
of whom were teenagers close to their
own age. After they returned to Hong
Kong, they begged their parents to
accompany them back to Cambodia.
Reluctant at first, it took mum Sheryl
a full year to make the commitment.
Sheryl says she finally gave in when her
daughters said, “We would swap all
the holidays we have had in the nicest
hotels for that little room with no air-
conditioning, just so we can go back.”
Since that first trip, the Nutlands
have flown as a family to Cambodia
seven times. They have been to eight
different homes run by the same
orphan-care organisation, but always
return to the first orphan home the girls
visited in 2009. Rebekah and Sarah’s
enthusiasm to help their Cambodian
friends is palpable, as they readily reel
off statistics about how 40 per cent of
the country’s population is under 14.
But more impressive is the transition
they have made, from volunteering to
leading initiatives. On a recent trip, the
girls noticed that the children could
spend more time studying if they had
an alternative to kerosene lamps. Back
in Hong Kong, they raised money
through the church and at their school
to buy and install solar panels for the
orphan home. Sheryl says, “The girls
will graciously admit that they have
They have a
clearer picture
of the privileges
they enjoy, are
more grounded,
and have a better
understanding
of needs versus
wants.
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