We finally made our way over to the Community Centre, and it was an impressive sight. After all the ramshackle huts and house we'd passed, this certainly looked like one of the better ones. We looked around inside and all of us were commenting on how nice it was. There was electricity and lights and fans all over the place. They had a brand new whiteboard and some sleeping mats that we sat on. That was all for furnishings – the walls were all planks of hardwood so all wiring was exposed, but it felt very solid to walk in, was quite cool and really made us feel the fundraising was worthwhile. The house had been raised 1.2m and concreted underneath after purchase. Out the back two rooms had been added on so up to 10 kids from the remote areas could come to live while they attended the only high school in the province.
We dined on fresh lychees, rambutan and logan fruit as well as some exotic-type cooking.
After meeting and talking briefly with the 4 pastors from around the area we went for lunch over to the same place we dined last night. Not wanting to deal with all manner of bones that I would never have associated with poultry, I steered away from the chicken this time.
At our table was one of the pastors whose stuttering English filled more time in the conversation than any small talk we could have made (a commonly handy part of most conversations here). And still through all that we heard his remarkable story. Originally born in Phnom Penh, he escaped to right on the Vietnamese border when the Khmer Rouge Regime came to power. There he was a driver ("with a gun!" he said) of transport trucks and survived relatively alright. He is now the last of his family still alive, but while out near Vietnam was married and had his first son. After the Khmer Rouge Regime he returned to Phnom Penh where he worked on roads for the Ministry of Telecommunications & Transport, then at a Duty Free shop where is ability to speak 4 or 5 languages made him most employable. After 10 years there he managed to save a whopping US$100,000 while supporting his wife and 4 children.
Where his family were living just so happened to be directly next to a missionary's household. He heard them mention "Jesu" often, and went in to find out more about this "Jesu" business that he had come across before. Soon after, in 2002, he became a converted Christian, packed up his family, left his job and headed out to Preah Vihear (the poorest province) to do what he could to feed and help people there and spread the Gospel. Since then he's lost all of his savings – spent trying to start a small pig farm, and paying for fuel, food and medicines for the villages he visits every week – each on 100kms from his home in different directions (remember the "roads" are glorified dirt tracks – 100kms takes anywhere from 3 to 6 hours to travel).
He is a very friendly man with a pleasant (even across cultures) sense of humour, and an ever-optimistic outlook. He is passionate about what he does and the glow he emits when talking about it is quite fulfilling for those listening.
After lunch we went to visit an orphanage. The children were happy and well organised. This orphanage is Christian-run and has the support of churches in other countries. They sang and danced for us, and then we sang for them, our leader spoke briefly, then we handed them out gifts that team-members had brought along: home-made carry-bags and dolls, toys, books, lollies. The kids were ecstatic and so humble and thankful. It was very much like I imagine a small country school to be, but I had to remind myself that these children don't have a family to go home to , they sleep in a building out the back.
Back into the World Vision ute trays we piled, and on to a brief visit to one of the churches our lunch-mate-pastor looked after. As with other places we've been, people came from miles around to see the novelty. The novelty for us was a pet baby monkey that one of the kids there had! We took a number of photos, but the children there were as astonished as we were that we were astonished at all.
For breakfast that morning we had wandered around the corner to a place that was warned we were coming and had prepared baguettes and eggs for us instead of the local usual rice or noodles. On our way back a heard of cattle were out roaming the street and someone commented that we should bring our cameras tomorrow to take a photo of such an oddity. Pointing to a few locals who were lining the side of the road I commented that if they had them then they would also perhaps be bringing their cameras tomorrow too. Our group of 18 is said to be the largest single contingents of westerners to visit the town (perhaps even province). For reasons along those lines we are only staying 5 days here.
The next stop for the afternoon was the provincial (ie gov't/state run) orphanage. This was hugely different from the one we visited earlier. The children weren't in uniforms or lined up straight. They looked at us with more than a little bewilderment, though it was heartening to see they were still child-like and would smile and play face-pulling games from across the room. The problem here wasn't the poor treatment, but rather abject poverty.
The government administrator in charge of the orphanage started by apologising for not knowing how to deal with so many and this type of visitor. He then explained the nature of orphanages in the area. At the present time there are ~96 children within the province identified as having nowhere else to go (this is after private orphanages like the one we visited earlier are filled). For those children there are 2 or 3 provincial orphanages in the province, this one being the largest with 27 children. Quite aghast, someone later asked what is happening with the 50-60 children without a place to go? They are left sort of "hanging" in the meantime.
The orphanage received US$4.25 monthly for each girl and US$3.75 for each boy. And that's it. Food, accommodation, teaching, health care must all come from that.
We handed out gifts again, including packs of activity sheets and lollies that the local churches put together, and a couple of the ladies made balloon animals. We gave just about everything else we had to these beautiful children.
They took us outside and showed us the small garden where the children learn how to grow different types of crops and food. They had fun demonstrating the use of their water pump.
One of the younger boys read a thank you letter, and we had to be off. Visiting this place prompted a bit of questioning among the group as to whether the community centre was at all the best use of funds. All we could come up with was that the need for the centre was identified by the local community (or at least the Christian part of it?) and more than a few people resolved to raise money for this cause upon returning home.
As an aside, World Vision's policy in this area is (I think) quite forward thinking. Children need an orphanage when the community can't support them, so their idea is to try and build up the communities to a standard where they can handle some children without parent, rather than removing the children from their homes and placing them in an institution that relies entirely on outside funding.
Next stop was an unscheduled stop at the World Vision Demonstration and Exhibition farm. In January last year the government donated 2 hectares to World Vision to start this farm where people can come to learn the best ways to farm in the difficult Cambodian climate.
Rain in Cambodia doesn't fall for the entire dry season. Between the end of September 2004 and the start of June 2005 Tbeng Meanchey received 2mm fall from a freak storm in January, and that wasn't at all helpful.
Here at this farm, they're trialling a new type of rice that matures in 3 months, allowing for a second crop to be planted at the end of the wet to grow through the dry – sugar was given a go last dry, and proved successful if planted early enough.
Something else they're growing is a natural Malaria cure. Recently scientifically proven to cure malaria this plant is extremely rare. World Vision is experimenting with how to grow it here, so each household may be given some so that they might even eradicate this disease that's rife in the province.
On the land is also a small pig farm, and some chickens and ducks. The ducks were brought in to keep the flies down and are actually easier to keep (less disease) than the chickens, even though there is no pond for them.
This work is extremely exciting for those working there – most of whom are casual volunteers from local villages. Anyone is free to come and look at the farm and twice a year formal sessions are run over a few days for farmers to come and learn. The biggest challenge for the World Vision team is breaking the traditional mindset of "we can only grow rice and only in the wet".
After the farm we visited another church where we encountered some familiar songs from back home an some more happy and enthusiastic faces.
Then it was over to the community centre again for "Celebration Dinner and Fellowship". The dinner was hardcore Cambodian "party food" as one Khmer at our table put it. Seafood soup with "Chinese Storm Flower", mixed seafood and vege something, and a ginger flathead (the whole thing) was on each table. All quite different from anything we'd had so far, and quite lavish by local standards.
Room 23, "Prum Tep Guest House"
Tbeng Meanchey, Preah Vihear province
Cambodia
We dined on fresh lychees, rambutan and logan fruit as well as some exotic-type cooking.
After meeting and talking briefly with the 4 pastors from around the area we went for lunch over to the same place we dined last night. Not wanting to deal with all manner of bones that I would never have associated with poultry, I steered away from the chicken this time.
At our table was one of the pastors whose stuttering English filled more time in the conversation than any small talk we could have made (a commonly handy part of most conversations here). And still through all that we heard his remarkable story. Originally born in Phnom Penh, he escaped to right on the Vietnamese border when the Khmer Rouge Regime came to power. There he was a driver ("with a gun!" he said) of transport trucks and survived relatively alright. He is now the last of his family still alive, but while out near Vietnam was married and had his first son. After the Khmer Rouge Regime he returned to Phnom Penh where he worked on roads for the Ministry of Telecommunications & Transport, then at a Duty Free shop where is ability to speak 4 or 5 languages made him most employable. After 10 years there he managed to save a whopping US$100,000 while supporting his wife and 4 children.
Where his family were living just so happened to be directly next to a missionary's household. He heard them mention "Jesu" often, and went in to find out more about this "Jesu" business that he had come across before. Soon after, in 2002, he became a converted Christian, packed up his family, left his job and headed out to Preah Vihear (the poorest province) to do what he could to feed and help people there and spread the Gospel. Since then he's lost all of his savings – spent trying to start a small pig farm, and paying for fuel, food and medicines for the villages he visits every week – each on 100kms from his home in different directions (remember the "roads" are glorified dirt tracks – 100kms takes anywhere from 3 to 6 hours to travel).
He is a very friendly man with a pleasant (even across cultures) sense of humour, and an ever-optimistic outlook. He is passionate about what he does and the glow he emits when talking about it is quite fulfilling for those listening.
After lunch we went to visit an orphanage. The children were happy and well organised. This orphanage is Christian-run and has the support of churches in other countries. They sang and danced for us, and then we sang for them, our leader spoke briefly, then we handed them out gifts that team-members had brought along: home-made carry-bags and dolls, toys, books, lollies. The kids were ecstatic and so humble and thankful. It was very much like I imagine a small country school to be, but I had to remind myself that these children don't have a family to go home to , they sleep in a building out the back.
Back into the World Vision ute trays we piled, and on to a brief visit to one of the churches our lunch-mate-pastor looked after. As with other places we've been, people came from miles around to see the novelty. The novelty for us was a pet baby monkey that one of the kids there had! We took a number of photos, but the children there were as astonished as we were that we were astonished at all.
For breakfast that morning we had wandered around the corner to a place that was warned we were coming and had prepared baguettes and eggs for us instead of the local usual rice or noodles. On our way back a heard of cattle were out roaming the street and someone commented that we should bring our cameras tomorrow to take a photo of such an oddity. Pointing to a few locals who were lining the side of the road I commented that if they had them then they would also perhaps be bringing their cameras tomorrow too. Our group of 18 is said to be the largest single contingents of westerners to visit the town (perhaps even province). For reasons along those lines we are only staying 5 days here.
The next stop for the afternoon was the provincial (ie gov't/state run) orphanage. This was hugely different from the one we visited earlier. The children weren't in uniforms or lined up straight. They looked at us with more than a little bewilderment, though it was heartening to see they were still child-like and would smile and play face-pulling games from across the room. The problem here wasn't the poor treatment, but rather abject poverty.
The government administrator in charge of the orphanage started by apologising for not knowing how to deal with so many and this type of visitor. He then explained the nature of orphanages in the area. At the present time there are ~96 children within the province identified as having nowhere else to go (this is after private orphanages like the one we visited earlier are filled). For those children there are 2 or 3 provincial orphanages in the province, this one being the largest with 27 children. Quite aghast, someone later asked what is happening with the 50-60 children without a place to go? They are left sort of "hanging" in the meantime.
The orphanage received US$4.25 monthly for each girl and US$3.75 for each boy. And that's it. Food, accommodation, teaching, health care must all come from that.
We handed out gifts again, including packs of activity sheets and lollies that the local churches put together, and a couple of the ladies made balloon animals. We gave just about everything else we had to these beautiful children.
They took us outside and showed us the small garden where the children learn how to grow different types of crops and food. They had fun demonstrating the use of their water pump.
One of the younger boys read a thank you letter, and we had to be off. Visiting this place prompted a bit of questioning among the group as to whether the community centre was at all the best use of funds. All we could come up with was that the need for the centre was identified by the local community (or at least the Christian part of it?) and more than a few people resolved to raise money for this cause upon returning home.
As an aside, World Vision's policy in this area is (I think) quite forward thinking. Children need an orphanage when the community can't support them, so their idea is to try and build up the communities to a standard where they can handle some children without parent, rather than removing the children from their homes and placing them in an institution that relies entirely on outside funding.
Next stop was an unscheduled stop at the World Vision Demonstration and Exhibition farm. In January last year the government donated 2 hectares to World Vision to start this farm where people can come to learn the best ways to farm in the difficult Cambodian climate.
Rain in Cambodia doesn't fall for the entire dry season. Between the end of September 2004 and the start of June 2005 Tbeng Meanchey received 2mm fall from a freak storm in January, and that wasn't at all helpful.
Here at this farm, they're trialling a new type of rice that matures in 3 months, allowing for a second crop to be planted at the end of the wet to grow through the dry – sugar was given a go last dry, and proved successful if planted early enough.
Something else they're growing is a natural Malaria cure. Recently scientifically proven to cure malaria this plant is extremely rare. World Vision is experimenting with how to grow it here, so each household may be given some so that they might even eradicate this disease that's rife in the province.
On the land is also a small pig farm, and some chickens and ducks. The ducks were brought in to keep the flies down and are actually easier to keep (less disease) than the chickens, even though there is no pond for them.
This work is extremely exciting for those working there – most of whom are casual volunteers from local villages. Anyone is free to come and look at the farm and twice a year formal sessions are run over a few days for farmers to come and learn. The biggest challenge for the World Vision team is breaking the traditional mindset of "we can only grow rice and only in the wet".
After the farm we visited another church where we encountered some familiar songs from back home an some more happy and enthusiastic faces.
Then it was over to the community centre again for "Celebration Dinner and Fellowship". The dinner was hardcore Cambodian "party food" as one Khmer at our table put it. Seafood soup with "Chinese Storm Flower", mixed seafood and vege something, and a ginger flathead (the whole thing) was on each table. All quite different from anything we'd had so far, and quite lavish by local standards.
Room 23, "Prum Tep Guest House"
Tbeng Meanchey, Preah Vihear province
Cambodia
posted by Tim at 7:50 pm
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