Former Central Resident Making a Difference in Cambodia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Over 5 years ago, former Central resident Brett Medlin went on a 2 month mission trip to Cambodia.  When he returned, as his father David put it, "He came back and said, 'I'm going back to live there.'" As good as his word, Brett did just that, and thus began an adventure that even he could never have envisioned. 

    3 years ago, Brett and his wife Sithan became aware of a heartbreaking situation in Phnom Penh.  Large corporations, tied to high ranking governmental officials, were forcibly and violently evicting families from their homes in Borei Keila slum and relocating them 30 miles out in completely undeveloped areas with no schools, medical care, or jobs.  The corporations would then bulldoze the families' homes, with all of their possessions inside.  "Most of these families operated small store fronts out of their homes," shared Brett, "In relocating, they not only lost all they had, they lost their means of livelihood."  Now living in shacks with no electricity or running water, on 12×36 foot plots which made farming an impossibility.  In another village, these families were annually forced to leave their homes due to massive flooding, and Rock Foundation built them homes on stilts to they wouldn't be forced out due to flooding each raining season.  In a third village, RFC serves, the only opportunity the women had to make money was to buy large rocks from suppliers and spend 7 days a week, all day long, pounding the rock with a hammer to create gravel.  These grueling conditions would bring them $1 a day.  Moved by this terrible situation, Brett and Sithan started a small organization called "Rock Foundation Cambodia", seeking to provide one village with decent housing and a means to support themselves.  Over the years, Rock Foundation grew to encompass aid to 5 different relocation villages.  They have built 84 flood proof homes with solar panels to provide light and septic systems to provide sanitation.  They are in the process of building a school house and a community center, which would also serve as a church. 

    Rock Foundation Cambodia has 10 staff persons, including a pastor, teacher, construction manager, and a transportation provider.  They hire men from the villages to build the new homes so they can have an income.   "Most of the men in the villages are construction workers or fishermen.  There are no opportunities for income where they now live.  We are trying to train them with skills that will make the village self-supporting," stated Brett. "We also have a 12 acre mango farm north of Phnom Penh that provides jobs and brings money to the organization so that we aren't fully dependent on donations.  We built the water tower for irrigation and planted 800 trees."   The people in the Borei Keila relocation village are receiving training on how to run a fish farm.  They build chicken coops on top of the ponds to provide food and income, a good use of the limited space.  30 dispossessed families did not even receive land for a new home.  Rock Foundation has recently purchased land and is in the planning stages to build homes for these families, the poorest of the poor. (we already finished 5 homes on the land we purchased for these 30 families and raised funding for the other 25 thanks to Church Without Borders. We will begin building the remaining 25 homes this week)

     Cambodia is 95 percent Buddhist, but most of its citizens are open to the teachings of the Bible.  Brett partners with a teacher and a pastor to provide everything a village would need.  Included in this is medical care.  Rock Foundation provides medication, and, when needed, transportation to the hospital. They also provide mosquito netting and water filtration systems to reduce the potential for disease.  Brett tells the story of a young man, whose wife was expecting their first child, who fell 60 feet from a palm tree and broke his back while trying to harvest leaves to thatch his roof. The first hospital they brought him to refused to treat him because he couldn't pay, so he lay for 4 days on a wooden bed.  Brett and Sithan heard of his situation and hired an ambulance to take him to another hospital where Brett pled his case.  The hospital agreed to perform the surgery, though they believed he would never even sit upright again.  Brett sent out prayer requests to all he knew.  Less than a year later, the young man is learning to walk with braces on his legs.  Miracles, large and small,  have become somewhat of a daily occurrence in Brett and Sithan's lives. 

    Rock Foundation Cambodia has received its non profit status approval from the IRS, and has a Board of Directors with over 100 years of combined ministry experience, and a Board of Advisors which seeks to raise awareness of the organization and provide support with prayer and financial aid.  Just recently, Brett was contacted by the United Nations, who had been monitoring his activity in the relocation villages.  They were so impressed by his efforts they pledged to fund septic systems for 110 families.  This past week in New Jersey, the Church Without Borders helped raise the money to build 25 more houses.  Ecclesia Church in Houston is buying a well drilling rig to help provide clean water. Brett and Sithan did not start out with the intention of becoming an internationally recognized organization.  They saw a need, and worked to fix it.  "I'm just an ordinary person who was willing to go," said Brett.  Having just completed training in Water Well Drilling and Water Pump Repair in Houston, he and Sithan are spending the rest of their "vacation" in the States talking to churches everywhere.  On the day they were interviewed, they had already spoken to 2 different congregations, and had one more opportunity that evening.  "When you have a passion for what you're doing, God gives you the energy and the grace for the task," shared Brett. 

    “…I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; naked, and you clothed me; a stranger, and you took me in.”

    For more information on Rock Foundation Cambodia, go to www.RockFoundationCambodia.webs.com or visit their FaceBook site at www.facebook.com/RockFoundationCambodia. A video can be found at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRp8VXCtLIk