Hope

Post 9/11 there was a great deal of emotion with many people in a state of shock, not only in New York City but worldwide. As people came to grips with this tragic event and the shocking death toll there was a feeling of unity and hope which emerged especially for those New Yorkers who lived and worked in the area of the World Trade Centre.

Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. It is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or "feel[ing] that something desired may happen". Other definitions are "to cherish a desire with anticipation"; "to desire with expectation of obtainment"; or "to expect with confidence". In the English language the word can be used as either a noun or a verb, although hope as a concept has a similar meaning in either use.

Shower Time

This group of boys are taking their shower at the Sunrise orphanage in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Using an old water pump they collect water in their buckets then swoosh the water over them for a refreshing wash. The Sunrise Children's Villages are two orphanages, one in Phnom Penh and the other one in Siem Reap. The orphanages were started by Geraldine Cox, an Australian who visited Cambodia many years ago and along with some friends started efforts to help out some of the unfortunate orphans she had seen in Cambodia. These initial efforts have now grown into two wonderful orphanages with a third now under construction due to Geraldine's fund raising efforts.

 I had the opportunity to visit the one in Siem Reap over the course of 10 days putting together a story about the orphans in Cambodia.

A video of my story can be seen here: