After hearing that his obituary had been published in a New York newspaper, Mark Twain commented, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated!” The same could be said of a report in a local English speaking newspaper that 70 FCOP Church Homes were being closed. The cause of the entire melee was a mis-translated quote picked up by a non-Cambodian speaking journalist after a speech that was given at the presentation of a UN funded study on orphan care in Cambodia.

Last month we ran the story of these government officials coming to our center to congratulate us for the high standard of care at our national Training Center. We do not run orphanages. We run churches, always have, always will! And healthy churches care for the homeless. That’s why we requested that only one home per province be officially designated by the government as an “Orphan Home.”

All our remaining Church Homes are simply that, Church Homes. The only thing that has changed is the terminology, but when the announcement was made that we were changing this designation, somehow it got picked up that we were “Closing.” Nothing has operationally been changed, no kids are being moved, and no homes have closed. In fact, the government brought us six new orphans last week.

In response to the English newspaper article the Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, and the US Embassy inquired, almost immediately, about the truthfulness of the article. Both were assured by the Director of MOSCOV (Ministry of Social Concerns) that none of the FCOP homes are being closed. This information was conveyed by the US Ambassador to the State Department in Washington DC.

A press conference that explained the truth was held a few days later. It was shown on all major TV networks in Cambodia, which reported favorably on FCOP. This is how the Cambodian media told the story, not a propaganda piece done by us!