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Published: September 4th 2013
Do you ever have so many good things to share with everyone that you don’t know where to start? Well that’s my current “dilemma”....
Yesterday was great.......I loved being back at school and spent the afternoon teaching one of the new 5 year old’s, her ABCs (and D)......teaching her to write the letters, say them and recognise them in words etc......slow process, but I really enjoy it. I love seeing the happiness in their eyes when they get praised for doing good work....They can be so shy to start with, but who wouldn’t be when a foreigner who can recognise Khmer but hardly speak it, comes in and starts trying to teach you how to do things...in English and sign-language. The Khmer kids have a tendency to write from the bottom of the letter, upwards, whereas westerners are taught to do it top to bottom...it’s a hard habit to change.. After the lesson she was all smiles, confidence and fun – I just LOVE it.
Between the morning and afternoon classes (couple of hours), I headed over to the Projects Abroad apartments to catching up with the staff. Nothing beats the feeling that you get when you walk in
unannounced and everyone squeals with delight, and runs up with big, warm hugs!! Even one of the neighbours saw me and gave a squeal of delight... I felt awful being the bearer of the sad news about Luc; but on the flipside, they were all so happy to hear Sara’s news of her wedding and baby... I found out that Danei (our cook extraordinaire) got married a while ago, but she’s waiting until I have lunch with her on Monday to tell me who it is that she married.....happy secrets !! As part of the happy memory stroll, I headed to Greeting cafe for lunch and one of their delicious coffee shakes (a great combo of crushed ice, black coffee and way too much condensed milk)...
Last night – dinner with the ever-smiling, intelligent, fun, wonderful Sophan.... Gosh I miss that laugh Sophan. Sophan grew up in a small village, with not a lot of money, but through determination and hard work, really hard work, he got a communications degree, a good job, and an amazing attitude. BUT, he also built a school under his parents’ house for the kids in his village, and out of his salary, pays
two teachers. He has built an impressive contacts list, and through it, fundraised a decent sum of money and has been building a stand-alone school (almost finished). He is a wonderful man, and I’m proud to have him as a friend. When I came up last time a number of friends (Bernadette/Maureen and Emmanuel) gave me a sum of money, which was happily donated to Sophan’s school, and we’re proud to be part of it.
.....and now, to today....
I headed off to school this morning with the knowledge that there was a police presence in the area – “presence” was a minor understatement. The roads and lanes leading to my school, and the slum in general, were all barricaded and heavily protected by dozens of police. I thought that perhaps there were more protests by the home owners in the slum (which was happening a lot when I was here in 2011, following the government “buy-back” of the houses and eviction of owners, as they wanted the lake and land for more govt buildings)...and I’ve just heard on the news that I was pretty close to the mark. People were protesting about a land-rights activist that was
jailed last year, for three years, and the events leading up to her arrest.... It’s an awful situation where the people were given only $1000 for the houses that were valued at $8000...this means that people have had to move 10 – 15kms out of town, into new slums and are suffering greatly.
It’s been quite a day for unrest in PP. The election that took place in July was well and truly rigged and due to world intervention, another election will take place this Saturday. Political Party Number 7 (Sam Rainsey = good guy) had approximately one million votes dismissed by Party 4 (ruling party), which meant Party 7 lost... Only the rich (read “mostly likely corrupt”) vote for P4 (Hung Sen), so my prayer is that P7 are successfully elected and turn this country around and bring forth positive change for ALL people... Oh, P7 have a number of peaceful protests (more a sit-in and meditation) planned this week, and managed one this afternoon near Wat Phnom despite heavy police presence organised by Party 4.
When I arrived at the school on Monday, I was really saddened to see the big tree that gave the kids
shelter from the blazing sun, was gone. It had been knocked down in a bad storm recently – the courtyard was now exposed and almost not able to be used by the kids....so me being me, decided I had to fix things, and this being Cambodia, most things are possible......for a price, but usually a price that is more reasonable than in Oz.
So today after morning classes, I had a meeting with the Salvation Centre Cambodia office staff and I raised the topic of possibly buying a tree or two for the school. A call was made to the owner of the property, and naturally as we were adding value and he didn’t have to pay a riel, he agreed to let me put in some trees. One thing led to another, and I found myself on a road trip this afternoon to Samrong Meanchey (about 13kms out of PP, but some average roads, lots of traffic, so it took about 45mins, and it feels like the countryside)...with a few SCC staff. You can check out SCC on facebook if you’re interested.
First we went to their school and project out there....it has 110 students and is
right in the middle of the poorest slum I’ve ever been to. The families live in tin shacks that are smaller than my single garage, and they are surrounded by a swamp that is teaming with mosquitoes....and ducks :o). They’ve set up a school uniform making business within the school that employs the kid’s mothers – the uniforms are used for the kids at all of “our” schools, and the additional ones are sold to bring in revenue – brilliant idea. The best part of this visit, was that as per usual, I took up a supply of no-longer-required spectacles from friends and my local optometrist, and we gave them to the sewing ladies to try......they all needed glasses and they all walked away able to see the work they were doing – A-M-A-Z-I-N-G !!! Something so simple, and these lovely ladies can now see which is going to make their work so much easier.
On the way home, we stopped in at a couple of plant nurseries, and thanks to the great negotiation skills of Tola, we bought two medium-sized mango trees (about 3 metres) for my school, and the guy will deliver them tomorrow, plant & fertilise
them, all for a price that I can do on my current depleted budget (thanks to last year’s medical bills etc)...... I’m stoked. The kids will have shade, and fruit to eat – bonus !!
Now, as if this is not enough good news stories for you........ When I was talking to Tola earlier about the two students I sponsor, she mentioned that Sreypich was now studying music and doing very well at it. The school has a music teacher that volunteers his time, and has donated some musical equipment also. The problem is that when he started, only about 4 or 6 students were interested in learning music, and now there are 20. The teacher has been thinking of cancelling the classes because he can’t afford more equipment and neither can SCC, and there’s not enough for all of the students........ So at lunch time I posted a comment on Facebook asking if any friends had spare cash and wanted to support the music program, to message me. I am blown away by the response. I love that I have such kind people in my life – thank you from the bottom of my heart... We can now
buy another keyboard and a few guitars which will ensure the continuity of the music program – yea.
So, that was my day....I never cease to be amazed at just how fortunate I am to be here – I’m not rich, but with what I have and with the support of my friends, we are making a contribution to the positive growth of this great country. Cambodia went through hell thanks to Pol Pot, yet the majority of people are honest, kind, and hard-working.... they ask for nothing, give so much love, laugh easily, and I for one, am grateful that these people have welcomed me with open arms and continue to teach me about who I am and what I’m capable of.
Ahhhh, and if that’s not enough good stuff for today, I had pomello for dinner...(large, sweet grapefruit style fruit – I love them)...
Ok, you’re thinking it can’t have all been smooth sailing and there must have been something that was icky about the day.........well, many of you know that since my bicycle accident here two years ago, and the subsequent neck injury, that I’ve not been able to exercise like I used to,
and have put on way too much weight....... Well, Tola’s first 3 sentences to me today when she saw me for the first time in almost two years were:
“Hello”
“How are you”
“You’ve got so fat” !!!!!
And on that note......I’m off...xx
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sylvi
non-member comment
me too
Hi Robyn, so sorry for my insensitivity. I obviously didn't read your first entry thoroughly. Not being on FB I didn't see your call for donations, but let me know how I can contribute too. Keep having fun xo