Before I
begin with Part 2, there were a couple of things I missed in Part 1 that I
really want to include.
Firstly,
while in Phnom Penh we had the privilege of having a meal in a Cambodia home. A
young man named Vireak who works for World Vision has known Lois (our team
leader) since her first trip to Cambodia back in 2006 and they have become very
close (so much so that Lois and her husband consider him their adopted
Cambodian son). Anyway he had just moved into a new house and wanted it to be
blessed, so invited Lois and the team to come for a meal and bless their home.
That was a pleasure and privilege to be a part of this unique opportunity.
Second – a
story for my co-workers in pharmacy. I was a little annoyed to discover my
packet of Promethazine only had a few tablets left in it, so tried to purchase
some in Singapore on the way through, but no – they only sell the liquid
version. However, first pharmacy I went into in Cambodia – no problem, packet
of 20 Phenergan (Yes even the same brand!) for the bargain price of $1.20.
So on with
Part 2. Since our arrival in Preah Vihear last Tuesday, to our goodbyes yesterday
here in Siem Reap, what an amazing and blessed 9 days we have had with the
girls of the hostel. 6 days with the full 38 girls, then the last 3 days with
15 Year 11 students on an excursion to Siem Reap.
A team of
Cambodians came up from the capital to conduct two days of workshops/studies
with the girls. The team came from Trans World Radio (for the Lutheran reading
this, we think it is similar to Lutheran Media). So while we were not directly
involved in the spiritual input of the program, we were there as “support
crew”. One major task was to do the catering so that all the girls could be
actively involved and not have to worry about food! There were also a whole
bunch of extra girls present, as Lois was interviewing applicant for next years
intake (50 applicants for 12 places). So we ended up cooking for about 100
people! This included an early morning trip to the market to purchase all the
supplies – that in itself is an experience. Weaving through the crowds, and
dodging motorbikes, watching the mud and puddles.. and other things you don’t
want to step in, and deciding which stall had the freshest looking goods… and
the least amount of flies! Thanks to a couple of excellent cooks on our team we
presented a very tasty meal. Unfortunately however the girls did not rate our
rice cooking skills very highly and on the second day offered to do it for
us!!!
As an
offshoot of the topics being discussed in the workshops, the subject of women’s
health came up. With 3 nurses and a pharmacist on the team, a mini health
education session evolved, which proved to be very valuable to the girls.
Time was
also spent doing some craft activities with them and just talking, as well as a
bit of singing. A guitar had been donated from Aus and one of the girls is learning
to play so a bit of a jam-session happened. She had a music book there with
quite a variety of songs & hymns in it. I had quite a selection of music on
my laptop, so was able to copy of some files for her to listen to and learn
some new songs.
We attended
the local church service Sunday along with quite a number of the girls and it
was great to see some of them actively involved. They also have a young
Christian come every Sunday morning to the hostel to spend time with them for
teaching and discussion.
One of the
girls is happy that a small group of Christians meets in her home village, but
was sad that there was not enough bibles for everyone to have one… thanks to
donations, there will soon be more available. Given that 85% of the Cambodian
people are Buddhists, it is exciting to see Christianity alive and growing
here.
A number of
the girls were excited to join us on a trip to their villages, visit their
homes and meet their families. Again a very special privilege for us to see the
true Cambodian lifestyle. The families were so welcoming, so thankful for the
opportunity their girls have been given and happy to talk and answer our
questions. The girls are chosen to be at the hostel because their families are
poor. In many cases the father has died, leaving the family dependent on older
children to provide financial support, commonly from a simple rice farm and
raising chickens and pigs. There are often 8 or 9 children in the families and
at a number of homes a grandparent also lived there.
The homes are
SO simple and basic. No plumbing, no
electricity. Very little furniture – we sat on the floor. Yet at every home we
were served something to eat – delicious fresh fruit or local sweet cakes etc.
Two girls
who had finished secondary school, have now also completed teacher training and
will return to their villages to teach. Several other students are nearing
completion of nursing studies or other university courses so it is wonderful to
see the longer term results of this project.
During our
time at Preah Vihear we also met with a few US missionaries living and working
here long term. It was great to learn about their work and see the networking
of different groups supporting each other. They also appreciate the visits of
teams like ours, which encourages them in their work. One woman is involved
with a medical clinic in a rural area, which we were able to visit. It may be a
far cry from our medical services, but at least they have something and its
free for them.
I simply
must make mention of our adventure in even getting to some of these remote
places. Let’s just say that road maintenance is in these rural areas is not a
high priority, and the deep ruts and potholes would be bad enough when dry, but
add a few tropical downpours and you have mud as well. At a couple of places
the lead driver stopped and got out to test the depth of the potholes with a
stick, before deciding to proceed! The Camry’s proved to be amazingly resilient
again, taking us where only 4WD should go. On two separate occasions one of the
5 cars got bogged, and one “road” took us through a fairly fast flowing creek!
The team
also managed to do some maintenance on the hostel. David and another man spent
a couple of days painting. There were also repairs to plumbing and a lot of
cleaning. Again we had to go to the local shops/market and find the supplies –
paint, brushes, rollers, tools etc. Challenging with the language barrier, but
often one of the students (the best English speakers) went along to help
translate. I should mention that our mode of transport around town was by
bicycle!
A couple of
old laptops had been donated for use for the girls for their studies (to
practice computer skills such as Word and Excel which they are learning), but we
had to spend a bit of time teaching them to do’s and don’ts of the internet –
in particular Facebook, just in case they get adventurous!!
On Monday we
travelled to Siem Reap with the 15 Year 11 girls. This is quite a sizeable city
with a large focus on tourism, being near to Angkor Wat and the temple complex. As they come from poor families in small
villages, for many there were a lot of first time sights and experiences –
things we take for granted like hot water running out of a tap, a shower, a
flushing toilet, a swimming pool, a supermarket. It was a challenge trying to
explain everything to them in the hotel room! We enjoyed the chance to get to
know this bunch better and spend more one on one time with them as we
chaperoned them over the 3 days on outings to the ancient temples, the museum,
markets and restaurants. Most were so keen to practice their English and learn
new words, and of course teach us some Cambodian words and have a good laugh at
our poor accents.
So all round
it has been a wonderful time here with the girls. They headed home yesterday
afternoon, and if during our time with them they have been just a little bit
encouraged in their journey of life and faith then our job has been done. They
all have hopes and dreams for the future, and there is every likelihood that
many will fulfill their goals thanks to the opportunity they have been given –
made possible by the generosity and love of the Australians who support the
project.
With the
girls leaving us, we have moved into tourist mode, taking tour last night,
which took us through a floating village and watching the sunset(a bit of a
non-event!) as we ate and drank aboard a vessel on Lake Tonle Sap. Funniest
experience of the trip – they had champagne listed on the drinks menu, so asked
for a glass…. I got a tumbler about 1/3 full of something the colour of
tea. It tasted very sweet and I
suspected it to be apple cider… asked to see the bottle and it was
non-alcoholic grape juice!! The solution offered…. Add Vodka!!!!
A number of
times a small vessel came alongside our boat, with small children in them
holding water snakes! The idea is that you pay to take their photo, or to hold
their snake for a photo of yourself! At this point the lake was a bit choppy,
and how those little kids didn’t end up in the water is beyond me!!
This morning
we went to a Landmine museum. Those things have been responsible for huge
numbers of deaths and injuries over the years (not just in Cambodia) and there
is still millions of them out there! Locating and deactivating them is a long
work in progress.
Later today
David & I head off to Vietnam for some holiday time, so I will sign off
from Cambodia.
Jenny.
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