When I grow up I want to be...

My Aunt Lulie, known to most as Sister Luise Ahrens, is 70 years old, but from her no-nonsense walk, her perceptive conversation and her easy laugh, I would peg her to be in her 20's. She has never seemed to age like normal people. She doesn't get older; she gets wiser and more loving. As a kid, I bragged to my friends, "My aunt's a nun who body surfs and rides a motorcycle!" Still true. I have always loved my aunt with the unshakable adoration reserved for childhood heroes. In college I asked Lulie about Christ. Did she really think he was God? She said, "Whether you believe he's God or just an ordinary man, you can't find a better role model for how to live your life." But I found an excellent role model and she lives and walks and laughs at my jokes. Aunt Luise embodies much of who I want to be - someone who lets go of possessions and builds her life around helping others.

Last week, my boyfriend, Harry, and I visited Luise in Cambodia. Talking with her about her work and seeing her in action, I found my respect for her increase tenfold. Altruism is indeed admirable, but what's more, she combines this with a level of skill, confidence and energy that many aspire to and few attain. Enough of my awe; let me tell you about the programs. Luise scheduled us for a two-day tour of various Maryknoll programs in Phnom Penh:

Royal University of Phnom Penh - My aunt's primary work

Little Folks - Education and support for children affected by HIV

Seedlings of Hope - Rehabilitation of AIDS patients

Little Sprouts - Care for HIV positive children

Boeung Tumpun Community Development Program for Phnom Penh's most disadvantaged children

We also had a wonderful time visiting the Peace Orphanage and sharing dinner with the sisters. Lastly, if you want to donate to any of these programs after reading about them, please send a check to or donate online to Maryknoll. In the subject line of the check, or in the box provided online indicate that you'd like the money to go to the Ahrens Cambodia program.

Little Folks

In my volunteer work as a counselor I've seen firsthand how trauma in the family often affect the children very deeply. The family is often too caught up in its struggles to consider that the youngest members might be hurting. An ordeal such as AIDS in the family doesn't only affect a child's emotional well-being; the traumatic effects ripple out to the child's social life and educational development. This is why kids whose lives are affected by AIDS needs extra attention. This is why Little Folks exists.

In the windy roads of the new poor section of town, Little Folks hosts a big yard and several classrooms. The kids show up voluntarily at the center, where they can attend classes on basic school skills, art and social studies.

School in Phnom Penh is irregular, so that if you see a child in the market you never know for sure if he's playing hookie, or he just doesn't have school that morning. When the kids do go to school there is still a good deal lacking in their education. The teachers generally require payment, so the kids who don't have money don't get taught either. It's not the teachers' fault. The government does not pay them a living wage. Even teachers with multiple jobs can't afford to live without the extra money from the students. Furthermore, as the educational level in Cambodia suffered a huge blow in Khmer Rouge times, it's difficult to find teachers with the skills needed to handle a classroom and to pass on knowledge that helps prepare a child for college.

So, while an extra-curricular educational program might seem like a nice idea in the US, in Cambodia it is a life-saver. And it is especially important for children with AIDS in the family, because they are the ones most at risk to lose out in the shaky educational system.

Sister Mary led us to different sections of the yard, showing us different classes divided by age. What we saw looked like a normal classroom, except all the kids were outside. When I asked if this was like a classroom in a normal Phnom Penh school, Mary laughed. She gave me an explanation of a classroom scene that resembled my 3rd grade class during free time, the day before summer vacation, after being fed ice cream. Little Folks was where the real learning was happening.