Elizabeth Guinn’s (’79) Social Work Story

By Elizabeth Guinn (’79)

I have worked with a non-profit social service center in a village in Cambodia since it first opened and as US director for three years.

On my first visit there in 2007, I saw the need for a sponsorship program as a way to fund-raise. When talking with the orphaned children who lived there I asked: What are your dreams for the future?

I was told by the oldest boy that no one had any dreams, they only thought of when they would eat next. I vowed that hunger would no longer be foremost in their minds. The next year, when visiting I asked again about dreams and was told that the kids had begun to dream.

One girl who was obviously very smart shared she hoped to learn to sew so she could get a job in a factory. That was nine years ago. Today that same girl is in the fifth year of med school and will become a pediatrician. Her dream now is to return to the village and become their first doctor. I am sure her dream will come true as well as the dreams of the other children. Now, the younger ones have dreams that they are sure can come true.