Despite freezing temperatures and icy roads, a good crowd attended the lively and entertaining concert put on by children living in Place of Rescue AIDS Centre and Orphanage in Cambodia.
The concert, held at the Rimbey Church of the Nazarene on Jan. 31, featured children aged eight to 10 who performed a concert which included traditional Cambodian dances. They also entertained to music by Alberta singer Paul Brandt.
“It was really interesting,” said Dirma Roseboom, one of the organizers of the event.
Roseboom and her husband Michael billeted some of the young entertainers and their chaperones at their dairy farm near Rimbey.
“They got to see the farm and bottle feed calves,” she said.
Roseboom, a mother of five, said it was heartwarming to see the children enjoy themselves and display a natural curiosity about what was going on around them.
“It’s amazing that they still trust adults,” she said. “They were interested in everything and happy to give you a hug.”
Place of Rescue was founded in 2003 by retired Canadian missionary Marie Ens. It began as 15 houses for families affected by AIDS. A decade later, the complex has three campuses, is home to 426 children, 23 destitute grandmothers and 27 families affected by AIDS.
They also have three university dorms housing 40 young adults.
The children coming to Canada from Place of Rescue include two from the AIDS Centre where they live with their HIV positive mothers, one who has been abandoned and seven who are orphans.
Even though their backgrounds are tragic, all the children from Place of Rescue have seen their lives change dramatically for the better.
Place of Rescue has been invited to perform their program of traditional dances at Missions Fest 2014 in Vancouver and Winnipeg.
They will be touring and sharing their stories.
For more information and a complete tour schedule visit www.rescuedancetour.com
Place of Rescue Foundation and its board were established in Canada in 2008 to raise funds for the work of Rescue Cambodia.
To donate visit www.placeofrescue.com or contact executive director, Blaine Sylvester at Place of Rescue Foundation in Calgary at 403-973-5470.