A few of the girls in the Daughters Program had been complaining just a bit about their eyes. So on Saturday morning we loaded up the van and headed to the eye doctor just for a check. As it turned out a few of the girls do need to be wearing glasses so even though it took most of the morning it was probably a good thing that we got them in. On the way home I suggested that we stop by KFC for lunch and you would have thought they had won the lottery. I had no idea that Cambodian teenagers liked the Colonel's chicken quite that much. Over lunch I sat across from Channary. Channary, who goes by "Nary", is one of the oldest of the girls in the program and I would say also one of the smartest. She speaks enough English that we can negotiate with some help a pretty good conversation so I asked her how things were going. Specifically I asked her if she thought she could make an entire dress yet from start to finish. In her answer she hesitated just a bit about herself but she pointed to Mala, another one of the Daughters, and said quite emphatically that she could do it. So I turned my attention to Mala and with Theary's help asked her if she thought that she could do it. And to my surprise, without hesitation, she said "Yes". I followed up with another question regarding how long it would take. Her answer was three day without the beadwork and ten days with it. (Interesting to note that the beadwork on these ballgown prom dresses is taking 7 days of work!) So I asked Mala if she wanted to be tested. She smiled - and as you can see in the picture below - she has a beautiful smile. The testing, I said, would begin on Monday. We would go together to the market after church on Sunday and buy everything needed for one prom dress. Then she would have ten days to make it totally by herself. My plan was to document the process. Then I told her that IF the dress was of a quality that could be legitimately sold at the dress shop (Sophia's Bridal Tux and Prom Store) that she would be paid for the work. Needless to say - the smile just kept getting bigger. Apparently so much so that it spilled over onto the adjoining table because Sreyroth, another one of our Daughters, said that she could also make a dress from start to finish and that she wanted to be tested too. Now - I would like to say at this point that I am about to go crazy. These girls really only began this program about six months ago and already some of them have this level of confidence. This is really very good! So through a translator I explain the "rules" to both girls and explain that if they don't pass the final inspection that they won't get paid but that if they are ready the "testing" will begin on Monday.
Fast forward a few hours. On the way home we all stop by to visit Mr. Hay at this store. Navon, our Daughters Project trainer, was there visiting her friend and mentor and when all the Daughters arrived it was quite the homecoming scene. I was anxious to tell Navon about the test so I asked Theary to call her over. Theary looked at me and said that rather than telling her what we were planning that we should ask her to identify which of the Daughters were ready to make a complete dress by themselves. This was a great idea because it would confirm without her knowing what the girls had indicated. Navan responded by saying that Mala was excelling in her sewing ability and that she could do it. She then mentioned Sreyroth and said that it would not be to much of a problem for her either. But then she added that Sokchea was also a student that could succeed in the task. So - just a little suprised - I called Sokchea over and asked her if she thought she could also make the dress. Now Sokchea lives just a bit on the shy side of life but with the encouragement of her teacher and ALL of the other girls she finally admitted that she could also do it. I asked her is she would also like to be tested and she said yes. This is awesome!
So to make a long story short (I know "too late") yesterday after church we went to the market with Navan, Mala, Sreyroth, and Sokchea. Material for three ballgown style prom dresses has been purchased. Over the next ten days I will be posting frequent blogs about their progress so stay tuned.
Until ALL have heard,
Chris
Fast forward a few hours. On the way home we all stop by to visit Mr. Hay at this store. Navon, our Daughters Project trainer, was there visiting her friend and mentor and when all the Daughters arrived it was quite the homecoming scene. I was anxious to tell Navon about the test so I asked Theary to call her over. Theary looked at me and said that rather than telling her what we were planning that we should ask her to identify which of the Daughters were ready to make a complete dress by themselves. This was a great idea because it would confirm without her knowing what the girls had indicated. Navan responded by saying that Mala was excelling in her sewing ability and that she could do it. She then mentioned Sreyroth and said that it would not be to much of a problem for her either. But then she added that Sokchea was also a student that could succeed in the task. So - just a little suprised - I called Sokchea over and asked her if she thought she could also make the dress. Now Sokchea lives just a bit on the shy side of life but with the encouragement of her teacher and ALL of the other girls she finally admitted that she could also do it. I asked her is she would also like to be tested and she said yes. This is awesome!
So to make a long story short (I know "too late") yesterday after church we went to the market with Navan, Mala, Sreyroth, and Sokchea. Material for three ballgown style prom dresses has been purchased. Over the next ten days I will be posting frequent blogs about their progress so stay tuned.
From Left to Right - Sokchea, Sreyroth, and Mala
Chris
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