Cambodian children surround Dr. Nancy Hendrie, founder of The Sharing Foundation, during a visit to the country. (Courtesy photo)Concord — As a pediatrician at Emerson Hospital, Dr. Nancy Hendrie opened her office to kids from Concord and the surrounding communities. As founder and president of The Sharing Foundation for the past 13 years, Hendrie has “opened up a whole new life” for the children of illiterate farmers and fishermen in Cambodia.
Our motto of the foundation is “Helping to Care for Cambodia’s Children,” and originally we meant this in kind of a medical sense, because there are so many medical needs and the medical care in Cambodia is abysmal, but it’s become very much involved with education. We’ve been there 13 years; we have five schools and children in school from pre-school to college. The reality is that in a developing country education is the clue, because if you can get educated, get a skill and surpass your parents you have a chance for a bright future, to support your family and yourself, but also to better the conditions in the country. … We had our first eight college graduates in the summer, and every one of them got jobs in a country that has a 22 percent unemployment rate, and they fire up the oncoming high school kids and even grade school kids. We just started this little computer program for second-, third- and fourth-graders and boy, they just took to it like ducks to water. They’re thrilled. Education in Cambodia is the biggest thrill a child can have.
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