*NEW* Drop-In Center
Due to the oversaturation of causes and campaigns made available through things like social media and crowdfunding platforms, people have become much more picky about the type of projects they invest in. They, understandably, prefer projects that help as many people as possible for as little money as possible. Projects that provide the most “bang for their buck.” This has caused large groups of people to be overlooked, deemed hopeless, or simply not worth the financial investment. The “glue boys” are just some of these overlooked people.
“Glue boys” get their name from the bags of white paste they can often be seen huffing on street corners and in alleyways around Battambang. When asked why they huff glue it is common for them to respond with a simple, “It helps me not feel so hungry.” To make matters worse, a lot of these kids and young men find it extremely difficult to trust people outside their community. Many have already caused themselves permanent brain damage due to the fumes they have inhaled and are going to require more long-term care than simply a one time meal. Sadly, this has had a discouraging effect on anyone wishing to start a project helping the glue boys as it is difficult to convince people to give to a project that helps people who have little or no possibility of reintegrating into society.
We at Crossing Cambodia have seen this need for a long time now and hope with God’s grace that He will provide a way to meet this need. We hope to start by renting a house and providing a daily meal, a place to take a shower, clean clothing, and eventually a place to sleep away from a lot of dangers that come with sleeping on the street. In this way we hope to build trust between ourselves and the community while working towards more long term care solutions.
The secular world measures people’s value based on what they can contribute to society. We as Christians place value on people not based on what they can contribute back, but because they are created in the image of God and because our Christ identified Himself with the poor, the broken, and “the worthless.” Christ said, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Matthew 25:35-36 ESV). In this way, we can know that we don’t help people because they can eventually give back to society, but because we see Christ in them and in their poverty. When we serve them, we serve our Savior who has already given up everything for us. So even when the rest of the world sees a lost cause in these glue boys, we should look upon them and see Christ Himself.
Please pray with us as we seek God's guidance and support for this project of compassion!
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