An Unexpected Gift – RAP

The Ratanak Achievement Program (RAP) is a home where girls who have suffered much abuse and have successfully completed the long process of rehabilitation can come to be further cared for and taught life skills. In this environment they are introduced to the challenges of reintegrating back into a society that is neither gentle nor encouraging. It is difficult to move forward with confidence and a healthy self-esteem after all they’ve been through.

When we set this program up, we planned for everything…well, almost everything. One of the things we had not expected was a baby! If anything has become clear through our experiences with RAP, it has been the need for flexibility. This became even more of a reality when one of our young women became pregnant. In the interests of protecting her privacy we can’t get into the circumstances of her pregnancy, safe to say it represents just one more hurdle for her to overcome as she re-enters society. However, with her permission, we can share a little about the most recent addition to the RAP community home.

At first the staff were not sure how to manage the prospect of a baby in the home. This is an environment designed for the nurturing of girls and young women with tragic pasts. Everything within the program focuses on their wellbeing and equipping them for independent life. What impact would a baby have on the whole program? How could we maintain our focus on the girls with the additional responsibility of caring for an infant? Irrespective of our concerns, our commitment to the mother-to-be was absolutely unshakeable. The baby was coming and we would need to prepare. In mid October, we had the privilege of welcoming little baby Ratanak Daniel into our “RAP Family,” weighing in at 6 pounds, 1 ounce. The names given to this little boy are significant. Ratanak, in addition to being the name of our organization, means “Precious Gem” in Khmer, and Daniel was a great man of integrity. It seems so appropriate that God gave these names to his mother. Indeed, he is a precious gem of God created for a purpose and our hope is that he will live in God’s ways and truth wholeheartedly in spite of societal pressures, just like Daniel. While the RAP home was not designed for infants, God obviously had other plans.

We are learning much about God’s grace and redemptive power through Daniel’s birth and the remarkable courage of his mother, who is going against cultural norms by having a baby. In this culture, young, pregnant, unwed mothers so often have to deal with shame and the stigma associated with having a baby outside of marriage. Srey Neth’s (not her real name) incredible poise and maturity during this time continues to amaze the staff despite her young age. During her pregnancy, she ate all the right food to ensure that her baby was getting the appropriate nutrients. She talked about her future with her son and shared about what she would like to do. In this process she exhibited the traits of maturity, care, planning and diligence that are exactly what we want the girls in RAP to see and apply to their own lives. One week after giving birth she said to some of our young women and staff, “I would like Daniel to go church this morning. I would like him to know God.” She asked if she could join as well and, of course, we were delighted to have her go despite the fact she was feeling a bit weak and sore from the delivery.

This brings to mind another brave young girl over two thousand years ago who gave birth to a child under far from ideal circumstances. In so many ways we have domesticated the Christmas story to make it comfortable, palatable and even cute. But we should never lose sight of the fact that this was extremely difficult – physically, socially and culturally. Yet God had a plan that completely eclipsed the physical realities of poverty and shame.

As for the other girls at RAP, we have witnessed the love of God manifested in a whole new way as they and the staff seek to care for this little baby as well as his mother. Two of our young women, along with one of our home advisors, were with Srey Neth as the delivery was imminent. They stayed overnight at the hospital praying for her and the baby. The doctor was so impressed that he said to them, “Your God is good,” because Srey Neth’s delivery was so smooth and short (only 6 hours). These two helpers took turns assisting Sery Neth in the hospital when she needed to go to the bathroom, and enjoyed feeding and changing diapers under the watchful eye of our home advisors.

Both our staff and young women at the RAP home have demonstrated that “divine interruptions” are usually a summons to servanthood – not convenience, ease, wealth or power. The Lord has interrupted our lives with this beautiful little bundle. We see the servant hearts of our young women as they volunteer to wash the baby’s clothes and those of Srey Neth. We see them willingly volunteering to clean diapers and take him for little walks around the RAP home so his mother can rest. Indeed, through this divine interruption, we see tenderness, nurturing, sacrifice, thoughtfulness and most of all, love coming from our young women. In their own life experiences they have not received such love and care, yet their actions show again that the Lord has built into each one of us the capacity to love and care despite whatever trauma or brokenness we may have experienced. In the end, as God would plan it, the arrival of this child has proved to be a huge blessing to the mother and to all those in the RAP program.

The birth of Jesus ushered in a whole new dimension of love, of peace and of joy on an eternal scale. His birth too was a divine interruption – an interruption that changed the course of history. His birth made a way for us all to receive salvation and eternal life. This year we have our own illustration of Christmas as we see a little baby interrupt our lives and bring hope, joy, unity and love to those who so desperately need it.

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Read exciting stories and updates about our recently completed dam and a new cake shop!

Restoring Joy

This Christmas, contribute to hope and freedom for young women like Srey Neth, who is building self-confidence and learning life skills as she journeys towards restoration. Give a gift that has a lasting impact on lives, and donate in honor of someone special in your life. For all donations over $30 gifted before Tuesday, December 10, Ratanak International will send a personalized Christmas card and one small ornament to the person you are giving in honour of. These ornaments are fair trade and hand-made in Cambodia by a partner organization that provides job skills training for sex trafficking survivors.

For more details or to donate click here.
Thank you so much for your support!