A 13-member team from the Tsawwassen Alliance Church will be heading to Cambodia to help at an orphanage and AIDS centre this summer.

The group will help run an English camp at Place of Rescue, a "safe haven" for families living with AIDS, orphans and young unmarried pregnant women on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, the country's capital.

The church group is a cross-generational, notes team member Rhoda Brooks.

"Our youngest team member going is in Grade 10 and our oldest team member going is in his 80s," she said. "That is kind of neat in itself."

The group has been preparing for the trip for months, including fundraising and learning to work together.

"We're reading through several books as a team. A couple of them on the history of what the nation has gone through, especially the Killing Fields situation," she said.

Large numbers of people were killed and buried in sites around the country during the regime of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.

Besides helping at Place of Rescue, which was founded by Canadian missionary Marie Ens, the group from Tsawwassen will visit other organizations that are helping free people from the sex trade among other causes.

"Parts of the funds we raise will be donated to organizations to help with the work they're doing," said team leader Paul Papworth.

The group will also head to Siem Reap, a city in northwestern Cambodia, for a few days.

The team leaves on July 25 and returns Aug. 8.

They have a fundraiser on Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m., at 1505-53A St., Tsawwassen. Ladies consignment accessories will be for sale at the fundraiser, which is called My Sister's Closet.

Tickets are $15 and include light refreshments and a $10 shopping coupon. To buy tickets contact the church at 604-943-6148. Some tickets will also be available at the door.

For more on Place of Rescue visit www.placeofrescue.com.

dwillis@delta-optimist.com