By KARA LOPP
klopp@charlotteobserver.com
Charlotte Observer (North Carolina, USA)
MINT HILL --When Mory Om returned to her native Cambodia in 2001 after a 10-year absence, she didn't like what she saw.
"There were children walking around the streets naked with nothing to eat," she said. "When I was walking down the street, I was wondering `What was I to do?' "
Now after two more trips to Cambodia -- this time with Christian missionary groups -- she's figured out how she can help.
Om, called "Sophy" by her American friends, will leave her Mint Hill home next month to open an orphanage in Cambodia.
The store where she works, Home-Styles Gallery, which houses 50 vendors selling ladies accessories and housewares, is helping the effort by collecting money and children's over-the-counter medicines.
She's partnering with Warm Blankets Orphan Care International, a nonprofit Christian mission, to build the orphanage. But she still needs money for furniture, classroom supplies, food and more.
Cambodia is an Asian country bordered by Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. It was a happy place to grow up, said Om, 49.
But civil war in the 1970s ravaged the country -- and her family. One of 11 siblings, Om became separated from all but one brother, one sister and her mother. The four moved to the Charlotte area in 1991. She doesn't know what became of her other siblings.
Her younger siblings were sent to work in other parts of Cambodia, she said. Her father died in 1972.
During the war, Om was forced to farm and given meager food rations. Sometimes one scoop of rice was given for 20 people, she said.
After the war, she moved to the United States in 1981.
'Give them a good life'
Many of Om's co-workers at HomeStyles didn't know the passion she had for Cambodian orphans until recently, said vendor Susie Shoemaker, who sells makeup at the store.A former clinical nurse specialist, Om has had an alterations booth at HomeStyles for two years.
Om was nervous but she recently spoke to the store's 49 other vendors about her dream, explaining why she was leaving. When she did, the usually chatty, flamboyant women were stiff and silent, and many were crying, Shoemaker said.
"She has a heart, oh my goodness," Shoemaker said of Om, placing her hand over her heart. "If you hear her tell you about it, then you know what you're backing."
Shoemaker said she admires Om for leaving the frills of the U.S. behind.
"She's been here for so long and she's lived the good life," she said.
Describing herself as an independent woman, Om said she doesn't care about material comforts -- just her country's children. She will leave behind her boyfriend, brother and sister when she goes to Cambodia. Her mother died in 1999. She doesn't have any children.
"It's to save the children's hope and future," she said.
She already has the land where she can build her orphanage.
On her third trip to Cambodia in 2004, she bought one partially wooded acre, in the Kaoh Kong Province southwest of Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. The land is across from an established orphanage that teaches sports skills, she said. She paid $2,300, she said.
The established orphanage is run by Buddhists and its staff didn't want Om's help because she is a Christian, she said.
There's a small house on the property, complete with an outhouse. Her cousin is looking after the property now.
Om wants her center to focus on teaching children English. If Cambodians know English, they can make a good living as translators for missionaries or tourists, she said. Now many orphans live in landfills, where Om said she once saw a fight over one can of soda.
"If you give them English it's just like you give them a good life," she said.
Om admits her own English isn't perfect. She gets words confused --such as kitchen and chicken -- but she has the training, and passion, to help. She has been taking classes at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College toward an education degree.
But Cambodia is suffering now. The price of rice and basic supplies is at least double what it was since Om's trip to Cambodia last year, she said.
If she were anyone else, she wouldn't go to Cambodia now, Om said.
"If you were me you might cancel. I should've cancelled, it's a bad situation. But what I would like to say is trust in the Lord and obey his will.
"It's been my goal and my dream," she said.
Want to help?
HomeStyles Gallery, 11237 Lawyers Road, is collecting children's over-the-counter medicines and money for Mory "Sophy" Om to open an orphanage in Cambodia. To donate, stop by the store, open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Donations also can be mailed to: Cambodian Mission Church c/o St. John's United Methodist Church, 4305 Monroe Road, Charlotte, NC 28205
On the Web
Visit Om's blog at:
www.theorphanageproject2007.blogspot.com
"There were children walking around the streets naked with nothing to eat," she said. "When I was walking down the street, I was wondering `What was I to do?' "
Now after two more trips to Cambodia -- this time with Christian missionary groups -- she's figured out how she can help.
Om, called "Sophy" by her American friends, will leave her Mint Hill home next month to open an orphanage in Cambodia.
The store where she works, Home-Styles Gallery, which houses 50 vendors selling ladies accessories and housewares, is helping the effort by collecting money and children's over-the-counter medicines.
She's partnering with Warm Blankets Orphan Care International, a nonprofit Christian mission, to build the orphanage. But she still needs money for furniture, classroom supplies, food and more.
Cambodia is an Asian country bordered by Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. It was a happy place to grow up, said Om, 49.
But civil war in the 1970s ravaged the country -- and her family. One of 11 siblings, Om became separated from all but one brother, one sister and her mother. The four moved to the Charlotte area in 1991. She doesn't know what became of her other siblings.
Her younger siblings were sent to work in other parts of Cambodia, she said. Her father died in 1972.
During the war, Om was forced to farm and given meager food rations. Sometimes one scoop of rice was given for 20 people, she said.
After the war, she moved to the United States in 1981.
'Give them a good life'
Many of Om's co-workers at HomeStyles didn't know the passion she had for Cambodian orphans until recently, said vendor Susie Shoemaker, who sells makeup at the store.A former clinical nurse specialist, Om has had an alterations booth at HomeStyles for two years.
Om was nervous but she recently spoke to the store's 49 other vendors about her dream, explaining why she was leaving. When she did, the usually chatty, flamboyant women were stiff and silent, and many were crying, Shoemaker said.
"She has a heart, oh my goodness," Shoemaker said of Om, placing her hand over her heart. "If you hear her tell you about it, then you know what you're backing."
Shoemaker said she admires Om for leaving the frills of the U.S. behind.
"She's been here for so long and she's lived the good life," she said.
Describing herself as an independent woman, Om said she doesn't care about material comforts -- just her country's children. She will leave behind her boyfriend, brother and sister when she goes to Cambodia. Her mother died in 1999. She doesn't have any children.
"It's to save the children's hope and future," she said.
She already has the land where she can build her orphanage.
On her third trip to Cambodia in 2004, she bought one partially wooded acre, in the Kaoh Kong Province southwest of Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. The land is across from an established orphanage that teaches sports skills, she said. She paid $2,300, she said.
The established orphanage is run by Buddhists and its staff didn't want Om's help because she is a Christian, she said.
There's a small house on the property, complete with an outhouse. Her cousin is looking after the property now.
Om wants her center to focus on teaching children English. If Cambodians know English, they can make a good living as translators for missionaries or tourists, she said. Now many orphans live in landfills, where Om said she once saw a fight over one can of soda.
"If you give them English it's just like you give them a good life," she said.
Om admits her own English isn't perfect. She gets words confused --such as kitchen and chicken -- but she has the training, and passion, to help. She has been taking classes at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College toward an education degree.
But Cambodia is suffering now. The price of rice and basic supplies is at least double what it was since Om's trip to Cambodia last year, she said.
If she were anyone else, she wouldn't go to Cambodia now, Om said.
"If you were me you might cancel. I should've cancelled, it's a bad situation. But what I would like to say is trust in the Lord and obey his will.
"It's been my goal and my dream," she said.
Want to help?
HomeStyles Gallery, 11237 Lawyers Road, is collecting children's over-the-counter medicines and money for Mory "Sophy" Om to open an orphanage in Cambodia. To donate, stop by the store, open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Donations also can be mailed to: Cambodian Mission Church c/o St. John's United Methodist Church, 4305 Monroe Road, Charlotte, NC 28205
On the Web
Visit Om's blog at:
www.theorphanageproject2007.blogspot.com
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