COUNTRY: Cambodia
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Healthcare & Teaching
WRITTEN BY: UniBreak Volunteers
Last weekend was very busy and full of touristy adventures in contrast to our week volunteering. On Saturday, Skye, Jess, Tara and Amy went on an 80km bike ride around the countryside of Siem Reap, which was absolutely stunning. The other volunteers went to see the floating villages of Tonle Sap.
On Sunday we were up at 4:30am to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat, which was absolutely gorgeous despite the cloudy weather. The rest of the day consisted of exploring Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Prohm, and Louise and Caitlin went zip lining! In the afternoon, Jess, Caitlin and Louise ventured out to a waterfall with Siphuong (one of our awesome translators).
The children at Krapeu village school and MHDC children are just incredible; their excitement and willingness to participate is overwhelmingly beautiful. At the village school we have been learning the alphabet, numbers, colours and family - so we made a 'rainbow wall' and put up drawings of their family - which they were incredibly excited about! At MHDC, the girls have been focusing the extremely energetic nature of the children into learning the alphabet, numbers, shapes, colours and clothing. These children don't get to choose the family or country they are born into, yet they make the most of the opportunities they are given. The optimistic, big dreaming mind sets of these children is exactly what Cambodia needs in it's future.
The girls on home visits have done an amazing job getting around to each house and assessing people's needs. Seeing the conditions and circumstances these people live under has been an incredibly humbling experience and change in perspective for the group. One of the houses they visited had a man suffering from extremely severe burns, which needed to be properly cared for at a clinic. However, they cannot afford the expense of treatment, so the family tirelessly cares for him, changing bandages and tending to the burns. It isn't until you see the everyday lives of these people and the battles they fight, that the hard hitting reality of poverty is truly realised. I think it is something that everyone living in a first world country should experience.
At the end of the week the groups rotated into their respective placements, so everyone is continuing to plan and adjust to a change of environment.
This weekend we caught the night bus to Cambodia's capital city Phnom Penh, which was a very bumpy ride where sleeping was never guaranteed. But 8 hours later we were there! We all left Phnom Penh different times, however most of the group visited the Killing Fields and the S-12 Genocide Museum, which was an extremely sobering experience. People found it very hard to fathom the atrocities and horror that is Cambodia's all too recent history. On a lighter note, a few rounds of deserved rooftop cocktails, exploring Phnom Penh and the Russian Markets made it a great weekend!
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