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Published: February 1st 2009
One of the things I was interested in doing on this trip was volunteering some time at an orphanage or childrens' project. I discovered when I got here that this is not quite as straightforward as it might seem....at least not when you have only a few days or a week to spare.
Finding children's projects isn't difficult - there are so many non-government organisations (NGOs) working in Cambodia, many of them with disadvantaged children. I was told that in Battambang alone there are hundreds of orphanages, some run by NGOs, some run by private individuals. There appears to be a serious problem here in north west Cambodia with children who are trafficked (to Thailand etc) and then often arrested and sent back, plus many children who have lost one or both parents due to HIV or some other disease, and still more whose families are simply unable to support them due to extreme poverty, so they live on the street.
I have now visited three projects/orphanages in Siem Reap and two orphanages in Battambang. All very interesting, and great to learn about the excellent work some very dedicated people are doing - but not quite what I was
expecting. Most have a minimum period for volunteers, strict visitor policies to minimise disruption to the children, seem highly organised and most have been relatively wealthy projects run by NGO's. I'm sure ongoing funding is not easy to maintain; just that they seem to have plenty of donors funds and not be in the same poverty stricken state as most average rural Cambodians. At least to me, these kids seem to be the lucky ones - I definitely didn't have a feeling of sadness visiting them, or shock at their living conditions; comparitively speaking, they were very well-off, receiving health treatment, going to school etc.
I'm sure this isn't álways the case for locally run orphanages where westerners aren't involved. However, these are much harder to find out about (at least for a short-term traveller like me) ... and after talking to a few people here, I'd be reluctant to try anyway. There appears to be an ugly side to it all - ''orphanage tourism'' - where places can be run as businesses to attract foreign visitors bringing donations and money, and not for the childrens' benefit at all. It would be extremely hard as a casual visitor to
know whether I was doing more harm than good by visiting these types of places.
That said, I visited two places in Battambang where I had some lovely experiences interacting with the children....Hope for Cambodian Children and Cambodian Childrens Trust. I'd highly recommend the second one (see cambodianchildrenstrust.org for more information) - it's much much smaller, started up by a young Australian girl (who has led an amazing life in the last couple of years in Cambodia), and I had a great time spending a day with Tara and the kids. Tara and I went out to dinner that night, and I really enjoyed her company and hearing more of her fascinating story. If I hadn't already booked my boat ticket out of Battambang for the following day, I would have gone back to spend more time at the orphanage the next day, and maybe the next. The kids were so welcoming, loved having a visitor, doing a bit of English practice etc. And in the evening, Tara (with very minimal help from me!) taught them to sing "you are my sunshine". Even though it took well over an hour to learn two verses, the children were very bright
and picked up the English song surprisingly quickly. And it was so easy to see how much they loved it ... all 18 kids ranging from about 4 to 15 years of age were participating. A truly wonderful and memorable experience to 'take home' with me from Cambodia.
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Grant
non-member comment
Cambodian Childrens Trust
We recently spent some time visiting Tara and the children at CCT. What Tara has acheived is truly inspirational and although her Family of Children have been to Hell and back, they where gorgeous, loving and also trusting. With developing english skills and schooling along with the loving support of Tara and her small team, these children have a real chance to excel in life . CCT was truly a "Home" for these beautiful children.