Lauren and Marissa Sandler. (Photo: Simon Alekna)August 12, 2007
Caroline Marcus
The Sun-Herald
THE streets of Cambodia could not be more removed from the privileged Sydney childhood of sisters Lauren and Marissa Sandler.
But the siblings were so touched by the plight of the country's orphaned children during a holiday last year, they have spent the past six months travelling to the impoverished country to film a documentary.
The film, which has a reality-TV format with a philanthropic twist, follows a group of orphans vying for the chance to fly to Adelaide for a two-week fund-raising trip from August 23.
An Australian, Geraldine Cox, runs the Sunrise Children's Village in Phnom Penh without any government funding.
The 60 orphans receive daily song and dance lessons, as well as school classes.
The film will document the competition for one of 25 spots on the Australian trip to perform at 17 fund-raisers. For those who make the cut, it will be the first time they've seen running water and carpet.
Marissa, 29, said many of the children were victims of people trafficking and child prostitution.
"In this whole Pop Idol process, you do get to see their life stories," Marissa said. "The kids really wear the scars of their experience."
One of the most moving stories is that of four-year-old Tiem, a dwarf whose father had trafficked him to the Thai border as a baby so he could beg. Police picked up the pair and put the father in prison, passing Tiem on to a human rights organisation that eventually took him to the orphanage
"At first he would still do tricks when he wanted food," Marissa said. "He would hop on one leg and then the other leg."
The dance and music lessons were introduced to treat post-traumatic stress suffered by children after soldiers stormed the home during a 1997 military coup and pointed guns to their heads.
Lauren, 25, said she hoped the one-hour documentary would raise awareness about the "victims of a forgotten country".
Another fund-raising event is being planned for Sydney in September.
But the siblings were so touched by the plight of the country's orphaned children during a holiday last year, they have spent the past six months travelling to the impoverished country to film a documentary.
The film, which has a reality-TV format with a philanthropic twist, follows a group of orphans vying for the chance to fly to Adelaide for a two-week fund-raising trip from August 23.
An Australian, Geraldine Cox, runs the Sunrise Children's Village in Phnom Penh without any government funding.
The 60 orphans receive daily song and dance lessons, as well as school classes.
The film will document the competition for one of 25 spots on the Australian trip to perform at 17 fund-raisers. For those who make the cut, it will be the first time they've seen running water and carpet.
Marissa, 29, said many of the children were victims of people trafficking and child prostitution.
"In this whole Pop Idol process, you do get to see their life stories," Marissa said. "The kids really wear the scars of their experience."
One of the most moving stories is that of four-year-old Tiem, a dwarf whose father had trafficked him to the Thai border as a baby so he could beg. Police picked up the pair and put the father in prison, passing Tiem on to a human rights organisation that eventually took him to the orphanage
"At first he would still do tricks when he wanted food," Marissa said. "He would hop on one leg and then the other leg."
The dance and music lessons were introduced to treat post-traumatic stress suffered by children after soldiers stormed the home during a 1997 military coup and pointed guns to their heads.
Lauren, 25, said she hoped the one-hour documentary would raise awareness about the "victims of a forgotten country".
Another fund-raising event is being planned for Sydney in September.
2 comments:
May God Buddha Help these good people,for being have pure heart to Cambodian orphant.912
Sathu,
May our Buddha grants best wishes to these two girls.
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