TOM NETHERLAND / SPECIAL TO HERALD COURIER - Ryana DeArmond holds a new piece while tables full of new and old decorative art await sale to benefit her two-year mission to Cambodia.
SUBMITTED PHOTO - An example of a Cambodian home.
Chef’s mission is to teach culinary skills to at-risk Cambodian girls
BY TOM NETHERLAND
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD COURIER
Published: October 23, 2011
PINEY FLATS, Tenn. --Ryana DeArmond spoke quietly, nearly a whisper.
Yet the 24-year-old intends to make a huge difference.
Come Nov. 27, DeArmond will leave America for a two-year mission to Cambodia. In conjunction with The Center for Global Impact, DeArmond, a trained chef, will teach at-risk Cambodian girls how to cook through a culinary school. She will also work to spread Christianity to Cambodia, a country hit hard by the sex trafficking trade.
"We hope to make an impact," DeArmond said. "A huge impact."
But she needs money: $30,000. Several fundraisers thus far have inched her to about half that total. So, on Nov. 3 her interior designing cousin Rebecca Millhorn will open her home for a sale of decorating items from pottery to paintings to help aid DeArmond’s missionary efforts.
"I can’t even imagine going to Cambodia," Millhorn said on rainy Wednesday afternoon from the comforts of her living room. "That’s why I’m so in awe of her. Ryana wants to help people."
Ryana Cooks
DeArmond grew up wanting to work as a missionary.
"From the time I was in middle school, I always said I’d love to be a missionary," she said. "To get to the root of it, it’s a calling from God. I have a compassion for people."
Cooking provided a way she could help others.
"I’ve cooked since I was a kid," DeArmond said.
Upon graduation from high school, she turned to culinary school, Sullivan University in Louisville, Ky. She specialized in French cuisine.
"I love Asian flavors, too," she said. "I can do about anything."
DeArmond owns a catering business, Cooking For Life.
"I cater all over the Tri-Cities," she said. "I do anything from in-home chefs to weddings. It’s a vast variety of events that I can do."
Cambodia
Nearly 15 million people call Cambodia home. Though far from being the world’s poorest country, per capita income amounts to a few hundred dollars per month.
"Seventy percent of Cambodians earn $1.25 or less per day," DeArmond said. "They’re so poor."
Many homes in Cambodia amount to little more than tiny shacks.
"They are basically made out of flats and then wrapped with rice bags," DeArmond said. "They may be about 10 feet by six feet. My bedroom is bigger than their houses."
And yet the Cambodian people, DeArmond said, remain mostly optimistic. They love life.
"They still have a positive outlook on life," she said.
Therein lies part of the reason why she wants to help. Add Christianity to the mix
"I’ve been so richly blessed and I should give back," DeArmond said. "I think God called us to help the poor in spirit and in need. It’s more than going to church and sitting in a pew."
The vast majority of Cambodians practice Buddhism. Introduced to Christianity in the 1500s, it’s yet to take firm root in the faraway Asian country.
"I think people are looking for hope and something else," DeArmond said. "Only about nine percent of the population is Christian."
So for two years she will live in the Cambodian province of Batdambang. Though much of the world has been touched to some extent by the Western world, scant evidence thereof exists in this Eastern Cambodian locale.
"No McDonald’s or Starbucks," DeArmond said. "No cable television. There aren’t any candy bars. If I want KFC there’s one in Phnom Penh ... four hours away."
However, she did notice two very American items upon her week-long visit to Cambodia in July.
"There was Pepsi and Coke," she said, laughing.
Still, the crux of DeArmond’s decision to relocate to Cambodia for two years as a missionary conjures nary a murmur of laughter. It’s serious. For one, education for many Cambodians is simply nonexistent.
Oh, but there’s a far more sinister danger that awaits most Cambodian girls, DeArmond said.
"Sex trafficking over there is huge," she said. "The statistics say that 60 percent of kids have been trafficked at least once."
DeArmond’s cousin shook her head.
"That’s pitiful," Millhorn said.
Vile, disgusting and despicable, too.
"Why am I going to Cambodia for two years? To help girls who’ve been a part of sex trafficking," DeArmond said. "It’s more than most of us can imagine."
Cambodian Culinary School
Enter The Center for Global Impact. Based in Indianapolis, the Christian run organization maintains a culinary and seamstress schools in Cambodia. Folks such as DeArmond staff them as teachers, who then impart their particular skills to girls in dire need.
"I’ll teach them a trade that can empower them to lead better lives," she said. "I’ll be training nine girls and I hope that will grow to 24. It’s so very depressed there. People are looking for hope. They’re looking for something. The culinary school is kind of the door in."
Thus entered through the doors of the culinary school, the girls will learn basics in cooking from how to properly use knives to how to make a variety of soups.
And then.
"I hope to spread the word of God," DeArmond said. "You meet their physical needs and then you begin to help them to meet their spiritual needs, too. I hope to make an impact. It’s about taking every opportunity you have and going with it. I have an opportunity, so I’m going."
Costs to Cambodia
But first DeArmond needs money. She needs $30,000 to fully fund her mission.
"It’s a grand for three plane tickets, one to get over there and one to come back plus a roundtrip to visit back here one time," she said. "Then it breaks down to $1,000 per month."
She will have a cell phone and a computer, though neither television nor car.
"I’ll probably buy a moped to get around on," DeArmond said. "I’ll also have to pay for a translator."
She currently lives in a three-bedroom house in Bluff City.
"Over there, the housing I’ll be in will be a little smaller than an efficiency apartment," DeArmond said. "One bedroom, one bathroom. The shower is just a showerhead above the toilet. There’s a tiny sink. But it’s a lot bigger than what most people have in Cambodia."
Folks can follow DeArmond via Cookin4Life’s Facebook page. She will provide updates via blog and photos.
Fundraiser
A number of fundraisers and donations have thus far filled DeArmond’s coffers a whisker beyond halfway to her $30,000 goal. She departs for Cambodia on Nov. 27. That’s approaching fast.
Enter Rebecca Millhorn, DeArmond’s cousin.
"It’s remarkable that someone her age would want to do what she’s about to do," Millhorn said. "I am so proud of her."
Millhorn works as an interior designer. One look inside her impeccably adorned home bears witness to her keen eye for detail in designing and decorating.
Peek inside her basement. Therein spread upon many a table and wall exists an array of accessories that Millhorn implements in her work.
"Everything in my workshop will be tagged for sale," Millhorn said. "Ryana gets all the profits I’ll make." So come to Millhorn’s home and head for the basement on Nov. 3 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Patrons will discover tables full of new and antique items. Lovers of pottery, take note. She’s tagged for sale some coveted pieces of pottery from such makers as Clinchfield, McCoy, Cash Family, Erwin and Majolica.
There are paintings for sale, too, original and otherwise. Millhorn even has a couple of vintage typewriters on hand, including a pre-1950s Remington Noiseless typewriter for $50. Prices run from $10 to a wee above $200.
Folks can buy a piece of Cambodia, too.
In addition to its culinary school, The Center for Global Impact also operates a seamstress facility, byTavi. Cambodian girls are taught how and paid to make such items as scarves and handbags.
"I have about 100 scarves and 30 or 40 bags," DeArmond said.
They’ll all be for sale at the fundraiser.
"You can buy a scarf for $10 and bags from $20 to $35," she said. "The quilted bags go for $35, which come with four little bags inside. They’re extremely well made."
There’s more than what’s seen that’s for sale, too.
"Since I do design work, if you’ll perhaps bring a pillow sham or a color swatch to the event, I’ll design a room for them," Millhorn said. "All they have to do is to buy some accessories."
Now, Millhorn typically charges $75 per hour for such services. So call it one heck of a home-designing deal.
"We absolutely hope all of this will drive people in," she said. "We want to help Ryana."
Bound for Batdambang, Cambodia
DeArmond intends to spread a world of right into a world of wrong.
Adventure isn’t the word for what awaits her.
"I’ll miss the fall and Tennessee’s mountains," she said. "The people. I’m going to miss the people. I will miss worship with a body of believers."
View soft-spoken DeArmond’s intentions through a prism of Christianity. Into action she’s set to apply such Biblical dictums as do unto others as you would have others do unto you and the Proverb "whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor."
But she’s quick to add that anyone can help the needy.
"Everyone can make a difference," DeArmond said. "In your neighborhood, in your county or in your city or even halfway around the world. Everyone has the ability to help someone in need."
Tom Netherland is a freelance writer. He may be reached at features@bristolnews.com.
Fundraiser Info
» When: Nov. 3, 4 p.m.-8 p.m.
» Where: 200 Allison Ct., Piney Flats, Tenn.
» Info: (423) 538-1161
Of note: Follow the signs that say "Ryana’s Mission"
Handbags, scarves: www.bytavi.com
To Donate
» Make all checks payable to CGI (Center for Global Impact). Make sure to put Ryana/Culinary Training on the memo line of your check. Then send it to: Center for Global Impact, 2650 Fairview Place, Suite W Greenwood, ID 46142 or Ryana DeArmond, 251 Elm Lane, Bluff City, TN 37618
» Links: www.facebook.com (search Cookin4Life) www.centerforglobalimpact.org, www.bytavi.com
Yet the 24-year-old intends to make a huge difference.
Come Nov. 27, DeArmond will leave America for a two-year mission to Cambodia. In conjunction with The Center for Global Impact, DeArmond, a trained chef, will teach at-risk Cambodian girls how to cook through a culinary school. She will also work to spread Christianity to Cambodia, a country hit hard by the sex trafficking trade.
"We hope to make an impact," DeArmond said. "A huge impact."
But she needs money: $30,000. Several fundraisers thus far have inched her to about half that total. So, on Nov. 3 her interior designing cousin Rebecca Millhorn will open her home for a sale of decorating items from pottery to paintings to help aid DeArmond’s missionary efforts.
"I can’t even imagine going to Cambodia," Millhorn said on rainy Wednesday afternoon from the comforts of her living room. "That’s why I’m so in awe of her. Ryana wants to help people."
Ryana Cooks
DeArmond grew up wanting to work as a missionary.
"From the time I was in middle school, I always said I’d love to be a missionary," she said. "To get to the root of it, it’s a calling from God. I have a compassion for people."
Cooking provided a way she could help others.
"I’ve cooked since I was a kid," DeArmond said.
Upon graduation from high school, she turned to culinary school, Sullivan University in Louisville, Ky. She specialized in French cuisine.
"I love Asian flavors, too," she said. "I can do about anything."
DeArmond owns a catering business, Cooking For Life.
"I cater all over the Tri-Cities," she said. "I do anything from in-home chefs to weddings. It’s a vast variety of events that I can do."
Cambodia
Nearly 15 million people call Cambodia home. Though far from being the world’s poorest country, per capita income amounts to a few hundred dollars per month.
"Seventy percent of Cambodians earn $1.25 or less per day," DeArmond said. "They’re so poor."
Many homes in Cambodia amount to little more than tiny shacks.
"They are basically made out of flats and then wrapped with rice bags," DeArmond said. "They may be about 10 feet by six feet. My bedroom is bigger than their houses."
And yet the Cambodian people, DeArmond said, remain mostly optimistic. They love life.
"They still have a positive outlook on life," she said.
Therein lies part of the reason why she wants to help. Add Christianity to the mix
"I’ve been so richly blessed and I should give back," DeArmond said. "I think God called us to help the poor in spirit and in need. It’s more than going to church and sitting in a pew."
The vast majority of Cambodians practice Buddhism. Introduced to Christianity in the 1500s, it’s yet to take firm root in the faraway Asian country.
"I think people are looking for hope and something else," DeArmond said. "Only about nine percent of the population is Christian."
So for two years she will live in the Cambodian province of Batdambang. Though much of the world has been touched to some extent by the Western world, scant evidence thereof exists in this Eastern Cambodian locale.
"No McDonald’s or Starbucks," DeArmond said. "No cable television. There aren’t any candy bars. If I want KFC there’s one in Phnom Penh ... four hours away."
However, she did notice two very American items upon her week-long visit to Cambodia in July.
"There was Pepsi and Coke," she said, laughing.
Still, the crux of DeArmond’s decision to relocate to Cambodia for two years as a missionary conjures nary a murmur of laughter. It’s serious. For one, education for many Cambodians is simply nonexistent.
Oh, but there’s a far more sinister danger that awaits most Cambodian girls, DeArmond said.
"Sex trafficking over there is huge," she said. "The statistics say that 60 percent of kids have been trafficked at least once."
DeArmond’s cousin shook her head.
"That’s pitiful," Millhorn said.
Vile, disgusting and despicable, too.
"Why am I going to Cambodia for two years? To help girls who’ve been a part of sex trafficking," DeArmond said. "It’s more than most of us can imagine."
Cambodian Culinary School
Enter The Center for Global Impact. Based in Indianapolis, the Christian run organization maintains a culinary and seamstress schools in Cambodia. Folks such as DeArmond staff them as teachers, who then impart their particular skills to girls in dire need.
"I’ll teach them a trade that can empower them to lead better lives," she said. "I’ll be training nine girls and I hope that will grow to 24. It’s so very depressed there. People are looking for hope. They’re looking for something. The culinary school is kind of the door in."
Thus entered through the doors of the culinary school, the girls will learn basics in cooking from how to properly use knives to how to make a variety of soups.
And then.
"I hope to spread the word of God," DeArmond said. "You meet their physical needs and then you begin to help them to meet their spiritual needs, too. I hope to make an impact. It’s about taking every opportunity you have and going with it. I have an opportunity, so I’m going."
Costs to Cambodia
But first DeArmond needs money. She needs $30,000 to fully fund her mission.
"It’s a grand for three plane tickets, one to get over there and one to come back plus a roundtrip to visit back here one time," she said. "Then it breaks down to $1,000 per month."
She will have a cell phone and a computer, though neither television nor car.
"I’ll probably buy a moped to get around on," DeArmond said. "I’ll also have to pay for a translator."
She currently lives in a three-bedroom house in Bluff City.
"Over there, the housing I’ll be in will be a little smaller than an efficiency apartment," DeArmond said. "One bedroom, one bathroom. The shower is just a showerhead above the toilet. There’s a tiny sink. But it’s a lot bigger than what most people have in Cambodia."
Folks can follow DeArmond via Cookin4Life’s Facebook page. She will provide updates via blog and photos.
Fundraiser
A number of fundraisers and donations have thus far filled DeArmond’s coffers a whisker beyond halfway to her $30,000 goal. She departs for Cambodia on Nov. 27. That’s approaching fast.
Enter Rebecca Millhorn, DeArmond’s cousin.
"It’s remarkable that someone her age would want to do what she’s about to do," Millhorn said. "I am so proud of her."
Millhorn works as an interior designer. One look inside her impeccably adorned home bears witness to her keen eye for detail in designing and decorating.
Peek inside her basement. Therein spread upon many a table and wall exists an array of accessories that Millhorn implements in her work.
"Everything in my workshop will be tagged for sale," Millhorn said. "Ryana gets all the profits I’ll make." So come to Millhorn’s home and head for the basement on Nov. 3 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Patrons will discover tables full of new and antique items. Lovers of pottery, take note. She’s tagged for sale some coveted pieces of pottery from such makers as Clinchfield, McCoy, Cash Family, Erwin and Majolica.
There are paintings for sale, too, original and otherwise. Millhorn even has a couple of vintage typewriters on hand, including a pre-1950s Remington Noiseless typewriter for $50. Prices run from $10 to a wee above $200.
Folks can buy a piece of Cambodia, too.
In addition to its culinary school, The Center for Global Impact also operates a seamstress facility, byTavi. Cambodian girls are taught how and paid to make such items as scarves and handbags.
"I have about 100 scarves and 30 or 40 bags," DeArmond said.
They’ll all be for sale at the fundraiser.
"You can buy a scarf for $10 and bags from $20 to $35," she said. "The quilted bags go for $35, which come with four little bags inside. They’re extremely well made."
There’s more than what’s seen that’s for sale, too.
"Since I do design work, if you’ll perhaps bring a pillow sham or a color swatch to the event, I’ll design a room for them," Millhorn said. "All they have to do is to buy some accessories."
Now, Millhorn typically charges $75 per hour for such services. So call it one heck of a home-designing deal.
"We absolutely hope all of this will drive people in," she said. "We want to help Ryana."
Bound for Batdambang, Cambodia
DeArmond intends to spread a world of right into a world of wrong.
Adventure isn’t the word for what awaits her.
"I’ll miss the fall and Tennessee’s mountains," she said. "The people. I’m going to miss the people. I will miss worship with a body of believers."
View soft-spoken DeArmond’s intentions through a prism of Christianity. Into action she’s set to apply such Biblical dictums as do unto others as you would have others do unto you and the Proverb "whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor."
But she’s quick to add that anyone can help the needy.
"Everyone can make a difference," DeArmond said. "In your neighborhood, in your county or in your city or even halfway around the world. Everyone has the ability to help someone in need."
Tom Netherland is a freelance writer. He may be reached at features@bristolnews.com.
Fundraiser Info
» When: Nov. 3, 4 p.m.-8 p.m.
» Where: 200 Allison Ct., Piney Flats, Tenn.
» Info: (423) 538-1161
Of note: Follow the signs that say "Ryana’s Mission"
Handbags, scarves: www.bytavi.com
To Donate
» Make all checks payable to CGI (Center for Global Impact). Make sure to put Ryana/Culinary Training on the memo line of your check. Then send it to: Center for Global Impact, 2650 Fairview Place, Suite W Greenwood, ID 46142 or Ryana DeArmond, 251 Elm Lane, Bluff City, TN 37618
» Links: www.facebook.com (search Cookin4Life) www.centerforglobalimpact.org, www.bytavi.com
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