October 1998 Deth Dara is a relatively new staff. He's been with us as a development person
in Siem Reap for the last year and a half. Dara is a serious man, he is full of
integrity and passionate in his work. His community is called Kok Chork, a community
of 5000 families who have come from all areas in Siem Reap province. They come
because they were and are displaced by war and land mines. They are the unsung
victims in a society where so very many are the victims. They are destitute, no
money, no food, no clothes, no hope. Dara was dismayed when I chose him to work in this community. "They are so
poor" he said. I said, "It is your job to help them out of their poverty."
In the past year and a half, Dara has transformed the lives of more than 250 families
and each month he adds another 15 families. He is untiring in his efforts. Every
month I come and every month he shows me more. I met the woman with three children
who had nothing and lost all hope. She told me how Dara forced her to get off
the ground and begin a business. He has done that with many and they have built
a bustling market. They have bought land and have built simple homes. They have
given birth to healthy children and their children go to school.
In my visit last June, he waited until the end of our busy day and asked me
to see a family with him. My heart was torn with what I saw. There was a family
of 9 children, the youngest was nothing but skin and bones. She was beyond the
strength to even whimper. The other children were gathered in a huddle, too
numb to respond. The father was working the land around his house, he had planted
rice but the rains hadn't come. The mother was totally spent, her body bent
in desperation.
I asked Dara what he had done to help this family. He had given a loan for the father to buy a cart and bicycle so that each day he could work on the fishing docks carrying loads. The father proudly held up that day's earnings for me to see. 2 kilos of rice was all he earned but it was enough to feed the family one small meal that day. He hadn't been able to feed them for many months. In his hand he clutched the 1000 riels he needed to pay back the loan each day and 500 riels was for his savings. He broke my heart.
I could not speak and walked away. Dara knew it would touch my soul. We stood under a nearby tree and I asked him if he knew what was wrong with the child. He would not answer me.
'' She is starving, you see, and she will die. We cannot let this be." He nodded his head and we stood in misery. "We must buy food and do it now." I took all the money I had in my pockets. It was enough to buy 3 months of rice. Dara never flinched but searched his pockets and he had enough to buy fish and eggs for one week. Ani, Apo and Sarouen all searched their pockets and we had enough to buy oil and medicine. We brought the food to the family. The mother's face shone with relief, the children gasped at the riches before them. "We must feed the little one, " said I. She ate a banana and asked for more. I was fearful it was too much but she was so very hungry.
We went back to the office and I asked Dara why he needed to help these people. And he told me his story. In 1975 when Pol Pot came to Phnom Penh they shot his mother in front of him. He cried for days. They took his father away and left him with two young sisters to care for. They slowly starved to death despite all he could do. "Oh, Janne, how very terrible it was to watch them die like that. For many years after, I pretended not to remember but I carried a big ball within my chest . Sometimes I thought that ball would choke me to death. And then you asked me to work with these people. Each day I see my sisters and my family over and over again in these families. Each night I dream of what happened. Many times each day, my head feels very light with what I see and I want to faint."
I am stunned by his words and said gently to him, "But you don't have to do this." Dara's eyes welled with tears and he said to me, "But I must. You see, I could not help my sisters but I can help these people. I can stand with them and work with them and plead with them; and we can have hope together. The ball in my chest is getting smaller each time I work with another family. That little girl today is my sister. Do you remember Janne, when we had the war last July and we were all so very frightened that you would leave. Do you remember what you said to us that day? You said God had called you here to help the poor, to comfort all who mourn, to bring gladness and to bestow on them a crown of beauty. (Isaiah 61 the first 3 verses). Do you remember how I cried that day? It is the same answer for me, God has called me to help these people. One day they will suffer no more and the ball in my chest will be gone."
The little girl died three days later. We mourned for her. Her family is doing better. Her brothers and sisters are active in their play and work. The rains came and the rice is growing. The father continues to carry his loads. They have finished their loan and got a new one. They saved enough to pay for school fees for three of the children. They walk with hope. One by one, Dara's nightmare is turning to dreams of joy.