Central Christian Academy, Pittsburgh organization team up to help Cambodian children
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Andia Brock, a second-grade student at Central Christian Academy, holds a photo of Phana from Pailin Children’s Home in Cambodia during the Arise and Shine event in Houston.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Giavanna Ragazzini, a kindergarten student at Central Christian Academy, and Tina Tomes with SEAPC wait to meet the student Ragazzini has been praying for.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Students at Central Christian Academy wave as they meet children from Pailin Children’s Home in Cambodia during the Arise and Shine event in Houston on March 22.
Students from Central Christian Academy in Houston were delighted when they recently met, via video conference, school-aged children in Cambodia for whom they raised money for school supplies.
Central Christian, operated by Central Assembly of God, teamed up with South East Asia Prayer Center (SEAPC), a Christian organization based in Oakmont, to help students in the poverty-stricken country.
In November, all 135 students in kindergarten through eighth grade at Central Christian were matched with a Cambodian child living in SEAPC’s New Hope for Orphans children’s homes, and received a photo and information about their buddy, CCA principal Kate Fisher said.
“(SEAPC) brought our kids these cards with pictures of the kids in Cambodia, and our kids made an instant connection,” Fisher said. “The majority of our teachers put a magnet on the back of the picture and put them on the desks or a cabinet, and during prayer time the students would get the picture and pray for them. Even though they never met their child, they connected with them.”
Fisher said music teacher Rochelle Agnew, who volunteers with SEAPC and has traveled to Cambodia on several occasions, initially suggested inviting SEAPC founder Matt Geppert to speak at the school.
The children and faculty decided to partner with the organization after Geppert talked with the students about SEAPC’s efforts to help those in poor countries by providing education, health care and economic opportunities.
At its annual November walkathon, CCA raised money for SEAPC and students continued to pray daily for their buddies.
Fisher said the highlight of the partnership took place March 22, when students from CCA talked with their counterparts more than 8,700 miles away via video chat.
“It was the sweetest thing. They found out they have so much in common,” Fisher said. “When they got the chance to ask questions, they talked about having siblings, their favorite foods, what they do at recess. It was a cool moment.”
Tina Tomes, director of SEAPC Raising Kids, said the partnership benefited all of the children.
“It was an opportunity for them to see how different their lives are but how much the same they are,” Tomes said. “For kids over there, in Cambodia, how encouraging it is to see people their age, who live so far away, caring for them.”