Chhuk

The Chhuk home is a happy home in northwestern Cambodia. It is located in the Chhuk Village of Otdar Mean Chey Province.

The town is named after "Chhuk" the Cambodian word for lotus plants. Lotus plants are naturally plentiful in the land. Otdar Mean Chey borders Thailand in the North. Most of the people of Chhuk are very poor. They are rice farmers. Until recently, most were also soldiers.

There has been a lot of fighting in the area surrounding the Chhuk Home. The men were soldiers for a rebel group in the North. There is a large number of landmines that still remain in the area. Fortunately, there are now organizations stationed in Chhuk to clear the land of mines. Landmines have orphaned many children in Chhuk. Many children have also lost their parents in battle. With HIV spreading sorapidly in the region around the home (An estimated thirty percent of the adults in the province are HIV positive), many children have become AIDS orphans.

The Chhuk Orphan home is not located very far from the local school that the children attend each day. When they are not studying, A typical day begins as the children awake. Before eating breakfast, the orphans participate in devotions. The school age children either attend classes in the morning or in the late afternoon. After lunch, most of the orphans take naps, play, study, and take classes in the home. Later, they eat dinner, take care of the homes' garden and plants, and attend an English class in the home. The orphans finish each day gathering for church devotions, before setting up their mosquito nets and going to sleep.

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