Covid has been a huge challenge for everyone at Little Hearts but it hasn’t stopped the kids’ spirit of compassion and care for the community. In Phnom Penh, we’ve witnessed enormous suffering. For example, cyclo and tuk-tuk drivers have been locked down with no home, no income and literally forced into starvation.
Community spaces including the local pagoda have been set up as emergency vaccination facilities and are beyond the capacity for the monks to maintain. When the kids were vaccinated, they noticed medical waste had been burned and left in areas where local children play, creating a public health risk for children.
The kids wondered why no one was there to help people suffering during hardships created by Covid. So they turned to each other and decided what was needed was simply more kindness. Together they could make a difference by inviting others to join them in a ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ campaign.
One Saturday, we went back to our local pagoda with our staff and all of Little Hearts 35 kids. We started cleaning up the grounds using equipment from Little Hearts. We removed over five trailer loads of rubbish and also cut the grass in the Pagoda’s overgrown lawns. We removed rocks and broken glass from areas that local kids play in, and even planted the gardens with flowers we’d grown.
Reducing the Suffering
The kids didn’t want to stop there. They’d been thinking about how many people in Phnom Pehn had been struggling with their livelihoods impacted by Covid. By Sunday, they had organised support from some sponsors to buy 20 blankets and scarves for the local cyclo drivers. These are mostly very poor, elderly men, who have to sleep on their cyclo. The cyclo drivers hadn’t had any customers in the last few months as there were no tourists, and the rainy season was coming.
The Little Hearts kids spent Sunday morning cooking healthy food bundles wrapped in lotus leaves. By the afternoon, they were able to deliver food, masks and blankets to over sixty of the city’s most needy people and families. They spent all afternoon and into the night, visiting some of the poorest, hardest-hit areas of Phnom Penh.
What they achieved together in one weekend was incredible for a small group of kids. However, on their own, they knew it wasn’t enough with so many people needing help. So, they decided that if they could make a video showing the community what a group of kids could achieve, they’d be able to share it and invite more and more people to join. This in turn would make a bigger impact, hopefully spreading random acts of kindness across the city.
Join Us in Making a Difference
The kids are already planning their next Random Acts of Kindness projects. Please take some time to watch and share their video. Whether you’re in Phnom Penh or abroad, you can contact us to find out how to support their projects. Every little bit helps and as the kids have taught us this month, what the world needs now, more than ever, is people who are able to share and spread some kindness to those in need.
To support the kids campaign with a small monthly donation please go to our Donations page and note ‘RAK’ in the comments for your donation.