Goodbye

Before leaving for this trip, I knew how difficult it is to say goodbye to people you love so dearly, but I never imagined it to be like this. The last day at the orphanage was an incredibly emotional and heart wrenching day, but it was also a day of celebration and gratitude.

We celebrated our friendships, love, and trust through a party! The party consisted of many balloons, bubbles, and gifts, thus bringing out the most precious laughs in each child. The kids performed their dances for us and they were also fed an amazing meal.

However, as the day drew to an end, the hugs grew a little tighter and the laughs slowly turned into tears. The trust and relationships built and earned over these past weeks made it so challenging to say goodbye. The tears of gratefulness and love trickled down our cheeks, but there were also tears of worry and disbelief because we may never return.

As our tuk tuk slowly drove away from the orphanage, the kids sprinted after us. They grabbed our hands and ran with us; it was so hard to have to finally let go of their small, delicate hands.

I have been so blessed to take part in this trip. I have learned so much about perception and appreciation. We have accomplished so much, including building the girls’ house, helping at the school, and impacting and enhancing the lives of the orphans. I have also been shown how easy it is to love when you do not judge, but rather trust. My team has been incredible and strong. Ms. Lisa Marie has been so extraordinary and patient; I am extremely grateful for everything she has done. This trip has changed my life and I will be affected by the kids forever.  

 

Moving In!!!

                 Last night was the first night the sixteen girls slept in their room. The very thought of their wide eyes and precious giggles as they climbed into their beds puts a smile to my face and tears to my eyes. After the best sleep in their lives, the girls were extra hyper and extremely happy when we drove up in the tu tuks this morning.

                Today, we painted the house a gorgeous blue and also helped the girls move their cubbies into their room. Each girl either has her own cubby or shares one with her sister. The cubbies consist of clothing, school supplies, and toys. The movement of the cubbies meant a lot to the girls, making the room their own and adding a sense of character to it.

               It was very eye opening to witness the girls moving their cubbies into the room. I thought the girls would chose to throw away old backpacks and old, torn up notebooks. But, they refused to let any of their possessions go. I also thought that they would ask for new cubbies that match their new room, but the idea of replacing their beloved cubbies never crossed their minds. Their whole lives are placed into these cubbies; every object an individual owns has a purpose, has a story, and has a memory. This was an impeccable realization and amazing breaking point for me. I understood that they felt so blessed to have this new, incredible house and took pride in bringing their memories and possessions into it.

                 The simplicity and appreciation that comes with the lifestyles of those living in developing countries is breath taking. Our perception and views vary immensely from those in Cambodia. Our thought process has always been to buy more and replace the old, but their thought process is much different. They value the smaller, more meaningful things that are so priceless and have been showered with their loving and innocent hearts.

                With two more days left with these kids, I find it very important to give it my all. I have earned a sense of trust with the kids and have had the honor to become a sister among them. Their lives are so challenging and have been filled with heartbreak, but they are still so full of life. I love them with my whole heart and continue to grow with love for each individual at the orphanage.

Monday, June 24, 2013

A lot of major goals were met today and we were able to again work at the school. With the frame of the house completely constructed and looking incredible, we were able to begin our work in building window frames. The girls, now understanding the house’s purpose, were ambitious in helping and cleaning up around the house.

Around two hours after our arrival at the orphanage, a tuk tuk,that carried four bunk beds arrived at the orphanage. With the help of many excited individuals, we assembled the beds inside of the house. Each bed will sleep two girls, allowing each bunk bed to hold four girls. Everyone was thrilled when the bunk beds were finished!

As the day continued, Makena Cooper and I were granted the opportunity to work in the afternoon classes at the school. I began in the library where I taught emotions, colors, and alphabet games to around fourteen rambunctious, adorable preschool students. In the second half of the afternoon, I taught an English class to four teenage students and their teacher, it was a very rewarding experience.

Towards the end of the day, however, I had a life changing, perception altering conversation with our outstanding, irreplaceable translator, Sa Ti. She helped me with an interview with a boy by the name of Chantonr, and later told me about her childhood.

Chantonr is a thirteen year old boy whom is the orphanage’s cook’s son. Chantonr, his mother Chian, and sister moved into the orphanage three years ago after leaving the city of Phnom Penh. Chantonr, like the majority of children in Cambodia, didn’t have a pleasant childhood. Chian and her husband, Chantonr’s father, began arguing; resulting in abuse. The father hit Chian and his kids.  The mother then divorced the father, and moved out of the city and into the orphanage.

I later spoke with Sa Ti. She grew up in one of the 24 provinces of Cambodia; she illustrated life there. With extreme poverty and lack of knowledge and education, people in the province are exposed to a very difficult lifestyle. Sa Ti and her sister Meng had to have personal drive for their education. She often had to help construct dirt roads, earning just enough money for a bag of rice. Once finishing grade twelve, Sa Ti moved to the city. There, she attended the university. Her opportunity and wiliness to go into the city, however, is a very rare and special thing. Sa Ti had a very difficult time adjusting to life in the city and often found herself in a state of confusion.

Although easy to write, our conversation was very emotional. We both felt tears racing down our cheeks. My tears were tears of admiration for her incredibly hard work and perseverance, while her tears were out of remembrance of her past and how truly overwhelming her life has been. I was extraordinarily lucky to speak with Sa Ti today; she is honestly one the hardest working people I have ever met. She is such a wonderful mentor and role model.

Today was a great day. The composition and process of the house grows immensely every day and I find a new level of love for the children with every conversation.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

We began our day with an exciting trip to the Russian Market. The market, as always, was extremely packed and full of life. The reason behind this journey was to buy the kids a healthier lunch. Instead of the usual fish spines and small amounts of vegetables, we provided the kids a meal full of vegetables and healthy beef.

Once arriving to the orphanage, we unpacked suitcases full of girls’ clothing and continued with the building of the girls’ house. When receiving their clothes, the girls reacted with an immense amount of gratitude and love. I too felt amazing when giving them their new wardrobes; bringing the gift of giving to an entirely new level.  I am also thrilled to be taking part in the process of building the girls’ house. Today, we finished the cement on the floor and put up the walls.  The girls are beginning to grow very excited, for they are beginning to comprehend what the building really is; for most of the girls, it will be their very first room. The boys love helping, and Mama and Papa continue to watch patiently and often find themselves smiling or in a state of laughter.

As the trip carries on, I am beginning to feel homesick. I miss my parents incredibly and my sisters are always on my mind. However, I’m drawn away from this feeling every time I interact with a child. I have been extremely blessed with the life I have been granted with in Vail. But, when seeing these children’s lives change before my eyes gives me security, proving to me that this is where I supposed to be.

Day at the School!!

Today, I played the role as a teacher at the school in the slums. I worked in both the library and classroom, where I taught English to a variety of different students.

In the morning, I began my teaching in the loft in the library. I guided most of the same students that I taught two days ago and was pleasantly surprised when they remembered the correct pronunciation that was previously taught. However, there was a new student by the name of Tokg Na. This eleven year old girl struggled with English, but was very grateful to be at the school. I closely worked with her for about half an hour and was incredibly impressed with the improvement made. After our class was finished, she quickly left, only to be arriving forty minutes later. When she returned, she brought a piece of paper. Illustrated on this piece of paper was a very detailed drawing of her house. She insisted that, one day, I should come and visit her, teaching her more English. I was speechless. The fact that she trusted me enough to invite me to her home after only after an hour with her caused my eyes to tear up. The drawing was so powerful, so inspiring.  It reminded how truly important our work is here.

         In the afternoon, I worked in the classroom. I, along with Lisamarie, taught English to two different classes. I helped with the pronunciation of words and listened as each individual read sentence that were written on the board. At the end of the first class, all of the students stood up to the left of their desks. And all together, they thanked me for teaching them. It was precious; again, I found myself speechless.

Today I realized that one of the rarest, most beautiful moments in one’s life is when they develop a change in character as they change other individuals’ lives. Thus far, this trip has been unimaginable. Each day, I learn something new and am exposed to something I would never have seen in America. At the orphanage and school, I am often reminded how amazing the children are and that they’re incredibly smart and grateful for their life. I am so excited for the rest of the trip and am extremely blessed for all the moments that I experience.

 

Days 3 and 4

On Monday, June 17^th, we returned to the orphanage where we were either put to work cleaning up trash or adventuring through the slums to the school. I, along with three other volunteers and three chaperones, were granted the opportunity to go to the school. The school, located in the middle of the slums, was no more than two rooms in which consisted of both a library and a classroom.

The walk alone was very powerful. The journey through the slums in order to reach the school was a mesmerizing, eye opening experience, thus illustrating how truly poor these individuals are. As we made our way through the slums, streams of urine and trash sat below are feet. Children naked and filthy ran through these puddles barefoot, witnessing this made my heart sink.

When arriving at the school, Gitte LaWare and I were able to work with the children one on one, teaching them English. Over the course of the morning, we taught four groups of students, each group contained three children. Here, we guided them on their pronunciation and reading skills in English. To do so, we read to them, read with them, and had the students read to us. Each individual was very ambitious to learn English, I was incredibly impressed. The students presented themselves with immense amounts of gratitude, making me all the more grateful to be helping them. They honored their school work and urged us to further teach them. The children were extraordinary students and it was astonishing to again witness a situation where the people had so little, but took a copious amount of pride in the things they do have. Today, their appreciation and pride took place in the classroom where they were given an education that they valued at large. Once returning to the orphanage, we began to clear the land that will later be occupied by the girls’ house. We used machetes and cut the grass.

Tuesday, June 18^th was both a tiring and hopeful day. We began the day by visiting with the kids, because they didn’t have school today. A group of students worked with the kids as another group of us tackled the manual labor. All morning, we worked with the contractor and our two precious tuk tuk drivers. We dug eight holes and made cement. Don’t be fooled, these were very tedious jobs in which produced large amounts of sweat!! Although it was exhausting, it felt great to get it done.

Towards the end of the day, I asked our phenomenal translator to help me interview a few orphans. I interviewed both Phaneth and Sopia. I feel as if it is extremely important to learn about these kids. Their stories are so inspiring, yet heart wrenching, they need to be heard.

Phaneth is a sixteen year old boy whose has five other siblings at the orphanage. His family used to live in the city, but was asked to leave so the government could build a building. As the family moved to the slums, the mother got a disease and the father left the family. As a result, the mother asked the orphanage to care for Phaneth and his siblings, for she couldn’t support them financially or emotionally. He hopes to leave the orphanage in the next few years. His goal is to study in Phnom Penh to become a teacher.

I also received the honor in interviewing Sopia, a twenty nine year old man who is blind. He became blind at the age of four, after an incident with fire crackers at his school. A few years later, he was asked to leave the province, for he couldn’t make a living without a skill. He came to the orphanage pursuing both English and music. Now, seven years after his arrival, he strives in English and music. He believes that he will move back to his province and become a teacher, for now he is skilled.

These past few days were great, allowing us to further work with the kids in the orphanage and at the school. The building of the girls’ house is very thrilling and hope filled. The interviews were very inspiring and I hope talk with more children as the trip progresses. I am amazed to be here and I am looking forward to what comes next.

The First Two Days

Saturday, June 16^th began with a very helpful and greatly appreciated Khmer Language lesson from Meng, our incredible translator. After, we piled into two tuk tuks and were exposed to the busy city of Phom Penh. When arriving the previous night, we witnessed Cambodia as a relatively calm city where only a few people drove down the narrow streets. However, the tuk tuk ride proved that Phom Penh was anything but tranquil. The traffic of many motos and other tuk tuks combined with the many little shops lined up directly on the side of the road showed us the rush of the city that comes with a developing city.

We then came to first of three stops for the day, the S-21 Prison. This historic site was where Pol Pot tortured 12,000 people, leaving only seven survivors. As we walked through each building, pictures, torture weapons, and small cells told the story of the vicious acts committed by Pol Pot during the Khmer Rouge Genocide. Actually standing where innocent individuals were tortured caused my stomach to turn, making me feel sick. To my surprise, one of the seven followers was at S-21prison and encouraged us to take pictures with him and read his book. He himself spoke with the CIA and helped the world comprehend what really happened in the years 1975- 1979.

Our second stop was the Killing Fields. After being tortured in the prison, prisoners were brought to these fields and were buried in mass graves. The women were often killed naked as the children and infants were swung against trees. It was nerve racking to walk through both the prison and the killing fields. Hearing what happened to the many innocent people is both terrifying and aggravating. Learning about the history of Cambodia and the genocide, however, is very important. The “revolution” that took place not too long ago is the reason for the breaks in the family lineages, intense poverty; and can be used as a contributing factors as to why there are so many orphanages here in Cambodia.

The third stop of the day was a much more positive, uplifting visit. This stop was the orphanage. As planned, many of the orphans would be in school and we would have tour of the orphanage. We were incorrect, for we were instead greeted and embraced by all of the orphans. As the tuk tuks approached the orphanage, children poured out of the doors and onto the street, welcoming us with beautiful laughs and precious hugs. The rest of the afternoon, we were able to meet the kids and give them well deserved love.

As an individual, I didn’t expect the orphanage to be so welcoming. The children were so grateful and gave us immediate acceptance and love the second we arrived. It is not what I expected, but instead so much better. Their English is amazing and the boys were excited to teach us more of the Khmer language. Pictures from last year’s groups hung on the wall, and were presented to us by the orphans. When hearing that we were close friends with the volunteers from last year, their faces lit up and they wanted to hear more. I had the opportunity to talk to most of the children today, meeting them and learning their names. They asked us to play games with them and encouraged us to tell them more about ourselves. It was an extremely rewarding, informative first day.

Sunday, June 16^th was a memorable day. Today, we had the opportunity to spend the whole day at the orphanage where we thoroughly met the kids, began cleaning the orphanage, and deloused every single child.

The cleaning consisted of sweeping the floor, scrubbing the bathrooms, and organizing the cubbies that each child occupies. Ben Maslan, a fellow volunteer, and I were assigned to clean the cubbies. Although we found a few disgusting things, it was really incredible to see how little each child had, but how much they valued their few possessions. The children took pride in markers that no longer worked and shoes that weren’t in pairs. This alone illustrated how the simplicity and extreme poverty of a developing country allows the kids to appreciate each and every experience they encounter. This showed me that we must be mindful and utterly grateful for the things we have, while living every day to its fullest.

We also deloused every head and gave most of the girls and a few of the boys miniature manicures. As each child was cleaned, you could see the immediate change in character. The children automatically grew happier as they were deloused and washed. As the day at the orphanage drew to an end, we were able to play with the kids. This included making bracelets, playing exhausting games of tag, and teaching the kids some English in return for some Khmer.

Today and yesterday were both extraordinary, eye opening experiences in which prepared us for the trip and introduced us to the country and orphanage. I am excited to see what comes next and how we can further impact and change the lives of the orphans.