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.