History does not remember walls kindly.
Throughout the ages, walls have been used to imprison, enclose, and divide people.
Throughout the ages, walls have been used to imprison, enclose, and divide people.
We wall in our enemies - and the worst of our own people - and tell them they cannot leave. Or we might build walls to keep those we deem unworthy – like war refugees, desperately poor people, or those with different ideologies – away from us. I'm not talking about the simple walls of a home, of course, but those grand edifices built by men with even grander ambitions.
The Berlin Wall stood for three decades, entrapping its people in Communist East Germany.
The West Bank Wall separates Israel and Palestine, one of the most violently contentious places on earth.
The gray walls of Russia’s Kremlin rose to keep their common people, and the influences of foreign nations, out.
South Korea and North Korea have no only a wall but a whole zone separating them.
Just last year, a chain-link and barbed wired wall was erected along a border in Hungary to keep refugees out.
And now, there is heated debate about building a wall between the U.S. and Mexican border.
So high we can’t climb over them,
Cemented, bricked, or even forged from metal,
Immovable, remorseless, and often topped with barbed wire and men with guns,
Walls can represent the icy savagery of our human condition.
The Berlin Wall stood for three decades, entrapping its people in Communist East Germany.
The West Bank Wall separates Israel and Palestine, one of the most violently contentious places on earth.
The gray walls of Russia’s Kremlin rose to keep their common people, and the influences of foreign nations, out.
South Korea and North Korea have no only a wall but a whole zone separating them.
Just last year, a chain-link and barbed wired wall was erected along a border in Hungary to keep refugees out.
And now, there is heated debate about building a wall between the U.S. and Mexican border.
So high we can’t climb over them,
Cemented, bricked, or even forged from metal,
Immovable, remorseless, and often topped with barbed wire and men with guns,
Walls can represent the icy savagery of our human condition.
But sometimes, walls can be good.
Some walls can actually FREE us. They can protect those inside, not imprison them. They can unite, not divide. Being inside of these walls means you’re safe, with a chance to grow and realize your happiness alongside your family, friends, and the ones you love - your tribe.
Come to think of it, I guess they call that ‘home.’
Those are the kind of walls that have been built in a dusty plot of land for the Children’s Improvement Organization, a small orphanage just outside Siem Reap in Cambodia.
Eleven years later, and Sitha and Sreymom now have 39 wonderful children under their care at the Children’s Improvement Organization (CIO) and they’ve never stopped taking in kids who need food, shelter, education, medical care, parents, protection and especially love.
But things are difficult and money is always tight for them, to say the least. Sitha and Sreymom have had to relocate the whole orphanage several times in the last few years when landlords raised rent on the land they lease. Once again, their current landlord wants them out by September of 2016, and CIO and the children will be out on the street with nowhere to go and no place to stay if that happens.
Some walls can actually FREE us. They can protect those inside, not imprison them. They can unite, not divide. Being inside of these walls means you’re safe, with a chance to grow and realize your happiness alongside your family, friends, and the ones you love - your tribe.
Come to think of it, I guess they call that ‘home.’
Those are the kind of walls that have been built in a dusty plot of land for the Children’s Improvement Organization, a small orphanage just outside Siem Reap in Cambodia.
Eleven years later, and Sitha and Sreymom now have 39 wonderful children under their care at the Children’s Improvement Organization (CIO) and they’ve never stopped taking in kids who need food, shelter, education, medical care, parents, protection and especially love.
But things are difficult and money is always tight for them, to say the least. Sitha and Sreymom have had to relocate the whole orphanage several times in the last few years when landlords raised rent on the land they lease. Once again, their current landlord wants them out by September of 2016, and CIO and the children will be out on the street with nowhere to go and no place to stay if that happens.
To make sure that never happens, CIO and its wonderful patrons and sponsors from all over the world came together to raise enough to buy them a plot of land. It’s not much yet – just threadbare dirt - but it will always be theirs. One day soon it will be a comfortable and safe place for these children – and many more in the future – to call home. CIO started with the walls, managing to stretch their budget enough to build the perimeter of the compound that will soon protect and nurture the kids, like the arms of a parent hugging them close.
But now, we need to build what is inside those walls. After incurring huge costs to buy the land and start construction on the walls, a well for water, and part of the dining hall, CIO has run out of money. Making the most of every penny, they need to raise $63,900 USD to finish construction so the kids can move in to their new home.
We’d love your help. Any donation, big or small, would be immensely appreciated.
There are no administrative costs or salaries with this project - 100% of every dollar donated will go directly to the construction costs. The clock is ticking on their current lease, but we’re confident we can make this happen for them with just a little bit of your help.
The children have been watching the construction with piqued interest, playing carefully in its shadow, wondering what these new walls will mean to them and their lives. They can’t yet imagine living inside; it’s all still too good to be true, so instead they think: who will help us make these walls a home?
I guess the only question that remains is: which side of this wall will YOU be on?
***
-Norm :-)
For more information about CIO or to make a donation, go to ChildrensImprovement.org or connect with them on Facebook.
But now, we need to build what is inside those walls. After incurring huge costs to buy the land and start construction on the walls, a well for water, and part of the dining hall, CIO has run out of money. Making the most of every penny, they need to raise $63,900 USD to finish construction so the kids can move in to their new home.
We’d love your help. Any donation, big or small, would be immensely appreciated.
There are no administrative costs or salaries with this project - 100% of every dollar donated will go directly to the construction costs. The clock is ticking on their current lease, but we’re confident we can make this happen for them with just a little bit of your help.
The children have been watching the construction with piqued interest, playing carefully in its shadow, wondering what these new walls will mean to them and their lives. They can’t yet imagine living inside; it’s all still too good to be true, so instead they think: who will help us make these walls a home?
I guess the only question that remains is: which side of this wall will YOU be on?
***
-Norm :-)
For more information about CIO or to make a donation, go to ChildrensImprovement.org or connect with them on Facebook.
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