Volunteering at the Green Gecko, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Hello everybody,

We are just about to finish our second week of volunteering at the Green Gecko. It can be tiring and overwhelming but all in all, it is going great and I already feel sad when I think that it will all be over in a week. Time flies and we are getting attached very fast.
The Green Gecko was founded in 2005 by Tania and Rem. Tania was traveling in Cambodia and met Rem who is now her husband. Together, they decided to set up a center for street kids in order to provide them with food, shelter, education and a place where they can actually BE kids. And they are doing a terrific job! They currently have 59 kids in the program, which is the maximum they can have with their current funding. The Green Gecko functions on donations only and run with an approximate budget of 10000 US dollars a month.
The kids of the Green Gecko are between 4 and 15 years old and have diverse backgrounds. Many of them actually have parents, others are orphans or with no parents around. Many kids came to the Green Gecko with horror stories such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, drug use, family violence, alcoholism. One kid was found in a garbage can, another one was sold by her mother as a servant/slave, one was set up by her mother to be a prostitute, one was beat up to death every time he did not bring enough money home from begging. I’ll stop here, because what these kids have been through is just plain revolting and it only emphasizes the amazing work and dedication of Tania and Rem (as well as the Khmer staff and the volunteers). They are keeping the kids safe, busy and they are great role models for them. It is not an exaggeration to say they are saving these kids lives.
Now, regardless of their backgrounds and painful past, the Green Gecko kids are simply kids: They are fun, loud, curious, full of energy and easily lovable. And since they are kids, they can also be whinnying, annoying, sneaky and rough with each other. So that is the point: They are kids and we have been trying to treat them as such. Our goal was to provide them with fairness, discipline, structure, warmth and attention. To say we have been successful in all these areas would be a lie, but I believe that so far, we have been doing a fairly good job, and still improving!!!

Here is the daily schedule:
9am: Activity with the small kids. Big kids go to school
10am: English classes with the small kids
11am: Assembly
11:30 am: lunch for the kids (eat rice!)
12noon: housework (laundry, cleaning, dishes, etc)
12:30pm: nap. Lunch for the staff (eat rice!)
1pm: English class for the big kids
2pm: activity with the big kids
3pm: free time until 9am next day. Some kids go back home, others stay at the Green Gecko. The volunteers go home, usually very tired.

The classes are taught by professional teachers, volunteering their services to the center. Tara and I would just assist them, providing extra help, discipline, etc. We are in charge of activities which are always educational. They vary from Geographical awareness, library time, arts and crafts, performing arts, math skills, etc. It is a lot of fun, but also very demanding, especially since the attention spam of the kids is very short. VERY short! So we have to be on our toes at all time, make sure everybody is involved, make sure nothing becomes hectic (it sure does sometimes!). But the reward is huge. Kids do want to learn, kids do want to be stimulated and challenged, kids do want to speak more English. Kids love to draw, build, sing and play with numbers. And any achievement in helping them feels great!!! Selfishly, this volunteering experience is also a true pleasure and watching the kids become better is just wonderful.
Slowly, the Green Gecko is working towards being self sufficient with only Cambodian staff. They are now only using 4 volunteers per day instead of 6. I realize how lucky we were to get this assignment, since they prefer longer commitments. Many volunteers stay over a month, sometimes half a year, or in the case of Jon, a teacher from Las Vegas, a whole year. Today was Jon’s last day at the Green Gecko and we had a party for him. It was incredible to see all the kids cry and ask the same question continuously: “Jon, when do you come back?”
Next week it will be our turn to leave, we’ll be heading for Bangkok by bus, probably Saturday or Sunday. It will be hard to leave all the kids and this wonderful organization. And like Jon, we also hope to back one day, see how all the kids are faring. Meanwhile, we will have great memories.
If you have any money you would like to donate to the Green Gecko, you can do so on their web site. No obligation to give anything of course, but it is truly a great cause, and after been working with them, I know for a fact that ALL the money is used for the welfare of these 59 kids and does not end up in anybody’s pocket on the way. Anything would help, and you would help these 59 kids to stay of the streets and to get an education. Here is how to give, pass it around!

http://www.greengeckoproject.org/

http://www.greengeckoproject.org/flex/how_to_make_a_donation_to_the_green_gecko_project/126/1


I hope everybody is doing well and enjoying the holidays. We will be in Bangkok for Christmas, in Hua Hin for the New Year. And it feels that very soon, we’ll be back in San Francisco…

Christophe

---

---