Celebrating Cambodia at Christmastime

In the year and a half since I visited Cambodia, friends, family, colleagues and strangers from around the world have come together to help the ELMA students.

I frequently receive e-mails from strangers who stumbled across this blog, were compelled to help, and ask me how they can contribute.

Every time this happens, I am stunned for about a day while I reflect on the magnitude of people's humanity, compassion and generosity.

While recovering from some small surgeries this past month, I've been under doctor's orders not to lift anything heavy.

This has put a damper on my usual ability to heft around 30-40 pound boxes of books, strap them to luggage wheels, maneuver them onto buses, and wheel them the home stretch to the post office.

Knowing about this temporary setback, my amazing friend, Fran Navarro, offered to pick me up from home and carry the box to the post office.

I have to admit that, usually, I am one of the most independent people around. But the physical limitations of recovery have been humbling and I've had to reflect on the necessity of accepting help while I try to help the ELMA students.

In spite of her overbooked and overstressed schedule as a working mother, Frannie carved out time several weeks ago to come get me and the box.

She and her four-year-old daughter, Bella, visited with me in my apartment as we prepared for the errand.

Bella loves reading, going to the library, and perusing bookstores. She's always amazed at the piles of children's books in my apartment. This visit, she asked me why so many books are here.

I explained that in some other countries, like Cambodia, the libraries don't have as many books as our libraries here in the United States.

Pointing to the box in front of us, I told her that I had filled the box with books from the piles behind her, and that her mommy was kind enough to drive the box to the post office so that we could ship it to Cambodia and help build their libraries.

Bella listened carefully and later reflected to Frannie:

"Some people don't celebrate Christmas, you know? They celebrate Cambodia. I celebrate Cambodia."

Heartfelt thanks to the Philanthropy Mafia that Lauren Patti assembled during my birthday celebration. The first shipment you paid for went out today in the sea of Christmas packages departing the San Francisco US Post Office station.

This shipment included donations from Fran Navarro, The Lyon family: Millie, Larry, Megan, Mason and Logan; Martine Jardel, Jennifer Orlando, Yosh Haggerty, Marcia Lau, Katherine Wong, Louise Roberts, Cathy Lau, Anna Honda, David Klein, and Leah Lau.

Boundless gratitude to these nightingales, Grace Lau, Fran Navarro, Lauren Patti, Anna Shurter, Sheridan Pauker, Windy Borman, Izabela Akerman and Dora Fang, who nursed me back to health with their love and friendship. Those two gifts make anything possible.