A husband-and-wife team do their best to do good for the impoverished sufferers of Cambodia
- From: Chim <ChimS1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:05:52 -0800 (PST)
Cycle of hope
A husband-and-wife team do their best to do good for the impoverished
sufferers of Cambodia
By Pat Gee
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 27, 2008
(Single Page View) | Return to Paginated View
A retired Hawaii Kai couple is still recycling bottles to raise
thousands of dollars to help impoverished villages in Cambodia, but
now they hardly need to scavenge for throwaways because others are
doing it for them.
When Florence Doi and Takeshi Terada first visited a "black and smelly
village" outside of Phnom Penh in 2004 with members of the University
Avenue Baptist Church, they were appalled at the sight of "garbage
children" picking through rubbish they would sell to survive. They
were called "scavenger villages," Doi said. "You would cry," she
added.
When they returned home, Doi turned to Terada and said, "Let's be
scavengers for them. Let's go out into the beaches and parks, and go
into the rubbish cans."
And now the helpers have helpers. Church groups and individuals
learned of their mission and are collecting bottles on their behalf.
"I couldn't have done this without all this help," she said. "This has
been my happiest year. I want to thank everybody; all the
contributions have multiplied. ... The churches offer their help. I
don't call them; they call me."
Takahashi Koji of Makiki Christian Church has been collecting bottles
for three years -- "that's how much he feels for us," she said. A few
days ago a gift arrived in the mail from his church, which consists of
a small Japanese congregation, she said.
"I was stunned; my feet and my heart danced when I received a check
for $2,635," Doi added.
Other regular donors include Holy Nativity Church (Episcopal) in Aina
Haina; the First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu in Kaneohe; and the
Kaimuki Christian Church.
This will be the first Christmas in four years that Doi and Terada
will not be making the trip to Cambodia with an outreach program of
the multicultural University Avenue Baptist Church, which sponsors
several overseas outreach missions.
It's not that the couple is any less devoted. Doi said they decided to
forgo their trip due to the uncertainty of safety conditions, and want
to spend the holidays with their Hawaii family for a change.
She reluctantly admits that they are getting older --Terada is 84 and
Doi, 78 -- and "we're tired." It's no wonder, with all the sorting and
rinsing their recyclables, taking them to the recycling center and
holding a weekly garage sale.
They both used to collect bottles at Sandy Beach almost every day, but
now Terada goes down by himself twice a week. Since May they've
noticed fewer bottles and such, perhaps because more people are
recycling, too.
The couple is trying to shrink their Saturday garage sales because it
is such heavy work to pick up donations, like furniture, and unload
them at home. But because they have a truck and many do not, they feel
obligated to pick up items that are guaranteed moneymakers, she said.
"How are we going to stop?" asks Terada, who recently set up a tent in
his yard to house the furniture. "You can't say, 'Oh, don't bring
anything.'"
The couple started wiring money to banks in southern Cambodia this
year and have already sent about $20,000 to what they consider "the
poorest of the poor," she said.
Their pet project is to help build a new church for Pastor Tes Kim of
the Tuol Sala Church Sreang in Kandal province. They already have sent
more than $7,500 this year to purchase a spot of property that Doi
picked last year. They plan to send about $10,000 more for building
materials.
Then there is a new orphanage of the Heritage of Jesus Christ Church,
under Pastor Chum Sarith in Toulklong village in Kampong Speu, that
needs help. And the renovation of the New Family in Christ Church in
Kampong Cham province, under Pastor Un Vannak, who has two blind
children, Doi added.
"I'm so excited. The dreams get more beautiful. ... I pray to God a
lot every day. I believe in the power of the Lord," she said. "We've
come this far and we can do more."
For garage sale location and arrangements for donations, call
396-0850.
A retired Hawaii Kai couple is still recycling bottles to raise
thousands of dollars to help impoverished villages in Cambodia, but
now they hardly need to scavenge for throwaways because others are
doing it for them.
When Florence Doi and Takeshi Terada first visited a "black and smelly
village" outside of Phnom Penh in 2004 with members of the University
Avenue Baptist Church, they were appalled at the sight of "garbage
children" picking through rubbish they would sell to survive. They
were called "scavenger villages," Doi said. "You would cry," she
added.
When they returned home, Doi turned to Terada and said, "Let's be
scavengers for them. Let's go out into the beaches and parks, and go
into the rubbish cans."
And now the helpers have helpers. Church groups and individuals
learned of their mission and are collecting bottles on their behalf.
"I couldn't have done this without all this help," she said. "This has
been my happiest year. I want to thank everybody; all the
contributions have multiplied. ... The churches offer their help. I
don't call them; they call me."
Takahashi Koji of Makiki Christian Church has been collecting bottles
for three years -- "that's how much he feels for us," she said. A few
days ago a gift arrived in the mail from his church, which consists of
a small Japanese congregation, she said.
"I was stunned; my feet and my heart danced when I received a check
for $2,635," Doi added.
Other regular donors include Holy Nativity Church (Episcopal) in Aina
Haina; the First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu in Kaneohe; and the
Kaimuki Christian Church.
This will be the first Christmas in four years that Doi and Terada
will not be making the trip to Cambodia with an outreach program of
the multicultural University Avenue Baptist Church, which sponsors
several overseas outreach missions.
It's not that the couple is any less devoted. Doi said they decided to
forgo their trip due to the uncertainty of safety conditions, and want
to spend the holidays with their Hawaii family for a change.
She reluctantly admits that they are getting older --Terada is 84 and
Doi, 78 -- and "we're tired." It's no wonder, with all the sorting and
rinsing their recyclables, taking them to the recycling center and
holding a weekly garage sale.
They both used to collect bottles at Sandy Beach almost every day, but
now Terada goes down by himself twice a week. Since May they've
noticed fewer bottles and such, perhaps because more people are
recycling, too.
The couple is trying to shrink their Saturday garage sales because it
is such heavy work to pick up donations, like furniture, and unload
them at home. But because they have a truck and many do not, they feel
obligated to pick up items that are guaranteed moneymakers, she said.
"How are we going to stop?" asks Terada, who recently set up a tent in
his yard to house the furniture. "You can't say, 'Oh, don't bring
anything.'"
The couple started wiring money to banks in southern Cambodia this
year and have already sent about $20,000 to what they consider "the
poorest of the poor," she said.
Their pet project is to help build a new church for Pastor Tes Kim of
the Tuol Sala Church Sreang in Kandal province. They already have sent
more than $7,500 this year to purchase a spot of property that Doi
picked last year. They plan to send about $10,000 more for building
materials.
Then there is a new orphanage of the Heritage of Jesus Christ Church,
under Pastor Chum Sarith in Toulklong village in Kampong Speu, that
needs help. And the renovation of the New Family in Christ Church in
Kampong Cham province, under Pastor Un Vannak, who has two blind
children, Doi added.
"I'm so excited. The dreams get more beautiful. ... I pray to God a
lot every day. I believe in the power of the Lord," she said. "We've
come this far and we can do more."
For garage sale location and arrangements for donations, call
396-0850.
.
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