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As part of our travels in Cambodia we were keen to give something back and immerse ourselves in the local culture. Our first taste of Cambodian life was in the capital city of Phnom Penh as we disembarked from our flight late in the day. We drove past the factories as they were churning out thousands of workers after a long hot day into trucks like cattle. In fact it was worse than cattle. All the workers were stood up, maybe 50 or so of them literally squashed into the back of a rickety 40 year old truck. We were engulfed by hundreds of such trucks and thousands of mopeds and scooters taking the workers home. Headlights are optional, as is seemingly which side of the road you want to drive on and stop signs are nothing more than a suggestion!! So we spent most of our journey with our eyes closed as our driver overtook on blind bends and swerved in and out of traffic whilst we sat in the back without seatbelts! Of those who live and work in the capital city of Phnom Penh around 90% of the women predominantly work in clothing factories, working 12-14 hour days, 6 days a week with not more than 30 minutes break a day. For their hard work, making clothes for U.S and European companies to sell for large profit's, their salary is a meagre $160 US Dollars (£110) a month. It's such a sad sight to see and a harsh side to Cambodian life.
For those that live in the countryside, life can be equally as hard, the 12-14 hour days are spent manually working the land for basic food crops such as rice, corn and sugar cane. Electricity if any is supplied from old chugging generators and water is obtained by pumping it by hand from a well. Most of the wells have been dug by way of donations or by charitable organisations. The houses are basic in construction, made from Bamboo and wood surrounded by lush palm or banana trees or dry harvested paddy fields of rice stalks. Many of the families are extremely poor. With no support from the government they are on their own. They work the fields and sell their produce at the road side hoping that passing trade will stop and buy something. This is where our story starts..... we are staying in Siem Reap and have volunteered our time at a local orphanage to help disadvantaged children. The manager Bunthoeun, explained that due to lack of government support there are very few social workers in the countryside. He only knows of one who like himself is dedicated to helping children orphaned by drought, disease, land mines or those who are poverty stricken.
The Cambodian Children's House of Peace is known to the locals as 'Santepheap' which in Khmer, the official language of Cambodia, means 'Peace'. In conjunction with the social worker and subject to how much funding they receive from individuals and businesses they take children from dire situations in the countryside to the orphanage in SIem Reap. At the orphanage they provide the child with everything... clothes, food, shelter and an education. They firmly believe that education equals greater opportunities for future employment and that's the main focus for all of the children. The children in their care are aged between 7 and 18. It was quickly evident the remarkable effect the orphanage is having on the children and their future. Their day starts at 05:30 with the cleaning of the orphanage and preparing breakfast. The school day starts at 07:00 until 11:00, lunch is at 11:30 and then the lessons begin again at 12:30 until 16:00. Tea is at 17:30 and then further study in their rooms/dorms from 18:30 till 22:00 every day except Sunday, which is their day off. They do this without complaint and without question and they are some of the most exceptional children we have ever met. Along with hard work are equal measures of smiling faces and fun along the way.
We conducted two English sessions per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The kids were a delight to teach and they were always eager to learn. Their individual characters quickly became apparent as the learning was engaging and fun. We turned the tables on them one day and asked the younger children to teach us basic Khmer which was very entertaining for the whole class as we struggled to pronounce their words correctly! (See video clip)
In between lessons we decided to re-vamp their run down and uninspiring library. Using our own finances with the support of kind donors we were able to buy paint, educational posters, new tables and chairs, fans, school bags and books. The painting and decorating was a team effort and the children happily made decorations to brighten up the room, spending hours of their own time doing so. We all got stuck in to bring a new lease of life to the library. Thanks to everyone's hard work it has now transformed the library into a bright and welcoming place where the children can read and learn and feel inspired about their future.
The food during our stay was incredible. Every morning the volunteer cook would go to the local market for fresh vegetables, herbs and meat and knock up some of the most simple yet best tasting dishes we have had so far. At times we couldn't tell you what we were eating but mostly it tasted great! There's no waste and they readily put the whole chicken in, including the head, feet and everything for extra flavour. It was a bit of a challenge at times and the large pieces of clotted chicken blood were a bit too much to handle! Towards the end of our stay we decided to hold a 'party' in celebration of the new library. We funded the meal for the kids and staff so they splashed out on, wait for it.... chicken fried rice (homemade of course) which is classed as a special meal along with coke which was slightly random! We also treated them to some ice cream which is a rarity and it was devoured in minutes, just as well as the temperature has been about 35c every day.
All too soon it was time to say goodbye, we are all going to miss the children, both Oliver and Ethan were sad to leave their new found friends but we take away so many memories to cherish for a lifetime..... playing barefoot football in the dusty garden, eating simple food and rice off tin plates as we exchanged stories of each other's countries, the fun and laughter from the children as they delighted in the magic tricks we taught them, the singing from the kitchen as they washed up after mealtimes and the kindness and openness they showed to us each and every day. We feel completely humbled by our experience and are so fortunate to have been able to share in the lives of what feels like one giant family. We have learnt so much and will return for sure as there is much to be done to assist these amazing people and to help create a brighter future.
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