Cycle of hope

By Pat Gee

A retired Hawaii Kai couple is still recycling bottles to raise thousands of dollars to help impoverished villages in Cambodia, but now they hardly need to scavenge for throwaways because others are doing it for them.

When Florence Doi and Takeshi Terada first visited a "black and smelly village" outside Phnom Penh in 2004 with members of the University Avenue Baptist Church, they were appalled at the sight of "garbage children" picking through rubbish they would sell to survive. They were called "scavenger villages," Doi said.

"You would cry," she added.

When they returned home, Doi turned to Terada and said, "Let's be scavengers for them. Let's go out into the beaches and parks, and go into the rubbish cans."

And now the helpers have helpers. Church groups and individuals learned of their mission and are collecting bottles on their behalf.

"I couldn't have done this without all this help," she said last month. "This has been my happiest year. I want to thank everybody; all the contributions have multiplied. ... The churches offer their help. I don't call them; they call me."

Takahashi Koji of Makiki Christian Church has been collecting bottles for three years. "That's how much he feels for us," Doi said. A few days ago, a gift arrived in the mail from his church, which consists of a small Japanese congregation, she said.

"I was stunned; my feet and my heart danced when I received a check for $2,635," Doi said.

Other regular donors include Holy Nativity Church (Episcopal) in Aina Haina, First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu in Kaneohe and Kaimuki Christian Church.

This recent Christmas was the first in four years that Doi and Terada did not make the trip to Cambodia with an outreach program of the multicultural University Avenue Baptist Church, which sponsors several overseas outreach missions.

It's not that the couple is any less devoted. Doi said they decided to forgo their trip due to the uncertainty of safety conditions, and wanted to spend the holidays with their Hawaii family for a change.

She reluctantly admits that they are getting older -- Terada is 84 and Doi is 78 -- and "we're tired." It's no wonder, with all the sorting and rinsing their recyclables, taking them to the recycling center and holding a weekly garage sale.

They both used to collect bottles at Sandy Beach almost every day, but now Terada goes by himself twice a week. Since May they've noticed fewer bottles and such, perhaps because more people are recycling, too.

The couple is trying to downsize their Saturday garage sales because it's such heavy work to pick up donations, like furniture, and unload them at home. But because they have a truck and many don't, they feel obligated to pick up items that are guaranteed moneymakers, she said.

"How are we going to stop?" asked Terada, who recently set up a tent in his yard to house the furniture. "You can't say, 'Oh, don't bring anything.'"

The couple started wiring money to banks in southern Cambodia last year and have already sent about $20,000 to what they consider "the poorest of the poor," she said.

Their pet project is to help build a new church for Tes Kim, pastor of Tuol Sala Church Sreang in Kandal province. They have already sent more than $7,500 to purchase property that Doi picked. They plan to send about $10,000 more for building materials.

Then there is a new orphanage of Heritage of Jesus Christ Church under pastor Chum Sarith in Toulklong village in Kampong Speu that needs help. And the renovation of the New Family In Christ Church in Kampong Cham province, under pastor Un Vannak, who has two blind children, Doi said.

"I'm so excited," she said. "The dreams get more beautiful. ... I pray to God a lot every day. I believe in the power of the Lord. We've come this far and we can do more."

For garage sale location and arrangements for donations, call 396-0850.