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Our Build Site
On the right you can see the piles of dirt we would eventually move to create the foundation Our team of 16 people is building 3 small homes in a village about 40 KM outside of Phnom Penh. The village was created when the government evicted people from the slums in downtown and gave them each a small plot of land in the suburbs. However most were unable to build decent homes.
We have 2 skilled workers per house and 1 translator. So what would we be doing. Moving dirt, rock, and sand... and a lot of it. On the average day the temp would be 85 degrees in the morning and 100 by the afternoon. Did i mention it was humid? So you can imagine how hot and tiring it was to do serious physical labor each day. Many members of our team took a day or afternoon off to stay healthy, but we still have made great progress. The dirt is used to build up the foundation of the house and then concrete is used to cover the floor. The walls are brick that we helped lay a bit... but were mostly put up by the skilled workers. The roof will be a simple tin roof supported by wooden beams. The houses are by no
Another House
Here is another build site a bit further along in progress means fancy, but they will be solid, rain tight, and relatively clean to most houses.
The village we are in is a bit of a shock to someone not used to seeing this level of poverty. Kids we have gotten to know often wear the same clothes many days and some homes are just makeshift shacks. There is standing water and trash everywhere in the village that the cows, chickens, dogs, goats, and pigs roam about during the day. We aren't really sure who's cows or chickens they are because they really do roam the street. Despite the conditions, the kids who come see us are really happy for the mot party. Most know a few words of english, a couple know enough for a simple conversation. A few members of our team lead sing alongs with them and they love cameras. The love to look at their own pictures or video on the LCD screen. They also love to learn and even teach.
We spent one of our days off touring the genocide museum and the killing fields. From 1975-1979 an estimated 2.5 million people were killed by the Khmer Rouge. The entire urban population of Phnom
Cow in the Street
Typical scene from our village Penh was forced into work camps because the Khmer Rouge felt a rural and simple society was where Cambodia should be. The people killed included the educated doctors, teachers, and other professionals.
Everyone who was alive at this time was touched by this tragedy. The head of Habistat Cambodia spent age 12-15 in a work camp. He worked from 5 am to noon, and then 1pm to 10pm for 3 years. After the Khmer Rouge fell, he walked to the Thai border and then spent 12 years in a refugee camp. He managed to reunite with his parents after a year in the camp. After all of this he managed to get his MBA from Easter Penn. flying to the US 4 times for the program and now leads Cambodias habitat program.
It is hard to describe our Habitat experience in words but hopefully I've given you and idea of at least part of what we have done and seen.
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