The End.

The night after we had met Ran’s family, I asked one of my happy barangs how he was doing (he was awfully quiet for such a happy barang..). And he said, well I’m just sad. I told him and the team later how very appreciated his usual enthusiasm, laughs, jokes and goofy foolishness was… his love to bring smiles to those around him. But it was also awesome that he really shared in people’s sadness... that in itself would go a long way.

A note I got from one of my barangs after going back to Ran's family: :)

    This was my most special day of the trip and I appreciate your help making it possible for me to find a way back to put a smile on that woman’s face.

And my UNION team barangs continue to warm my heart with some of the messages they send me from time to time a few months after the trip:

    It was the best 3 weeks I have ever experienced.

    Going on the union trip has inspired me to start living life more.

    I realize this morning the ways my UNION experience has changed my views - I think it was the spark that helped me realize how much more I want out of this life. When I'm wishing my time away 2 weeks at a time when poor people of the world can just pray that tomorrow comes. And how its going to be .. Today I'm starting a new outlook and focusing more on breaking out of this cycle. I was sad but happy that I have the opportunity to be more this morning.

    Newsletter = awesome. I plan to put up 5 posters already haha.. Two gyms, work, my bike shop and local outfitters .. Woot UNION ROCKS .. I will do this with pride!

    [On giving water filters to Cambodian families in the name of friends and family as Christmas gifts]. I feel this is a great gift. I’m glad I can give to these people whenever and however I wish.. HOPE makes helping others easy .. I’m so proud to have been able to be even a little part of the big picture! I’m soo excited to give my cards [from HOPE about the water filters] as gifts this year.

Among many more :)

I was very thankful for these fun, crazy, and awesome people on my first (and thanks to them, not last ;) ) UNION team and it's been a blessing to journey with them through Cambodia and to some extent, still through life back in Canada.

HOPE’s UNION Program is really just what it stands for – Understanding Needs In Other Nations. Understanding human needs is the first step to meeting them (Adlai Stephenson’s words of wisdom, not mine).. and through all our various adventures and escapades through the Cambodian countryside, the Cambodia UNION team understood not only with their heads, but with their hearts. And they were moved to act and take the initiative to do it.

Initiative to see, to learn, to care and to act… will go a long way.

Poverty and human need is not so difficult to understand… yes the reasons and causes for poverty can be complex… but understanding some of the basic and simple needs that we can respond to – effectively – are not so hard. It might be more a choosing to open our eyes to see and allowing our hearts understand. And then choosing to take the initiative to respond… that will make all the difference. Maybe not for every single person in need, but it mattered to Ran and her family, and it always matters to that one.

*              *             *

Well, that is officially the end of the Chronicles of Team Barangutang’s adventures in Cambodia. There are many more stories untold that you can hear from me in person one of these days… - OR - maybe… experience for yourself next year!!

Find out more on HOPE's website at www.hope-international.com/union

- Or - see my latest UNION newsletter… and if you want, sign up your email for updates to hear about the opportunities coming up.

- Or - best yet, just talk to me sometime! :)

You can follow up my next adventure.. coming soon-ish at www.rainbow-in-ethiopia.blogspot.com.

So... is "The End" of this Cambodia 2010 blog (and actually finished -just barely- in 2010, imagine that!)... BUT the story of these 4 barangutangs, and the story of Ran and her family, and the stories of all the other families and kids that we had the chance to briefly be a part of.. are still being written.

We'll see what comes of these stories in 2011. :)

Thanks for sharing these adventures with me in blog-form.. and best wishes for you in the coming year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The best moment... the best smile :)

I appreciated a lot of things about my team. Fun, positivity, genuineness, and willingness-to-serve being high on the list among those. And general good-natured-ness. But what has really stood out about the team, over, above and beyond what I would’ve imagine, was their initiative and generosity. They took a lot of initiative – to get to know the workers, to learn Khmer however imperfectly and hilariously, to play with the kids, to creatively turn the school construction site into an adventure playground. They also were generous – with their finances, buying everything from ropes for swings, tennis balls for poi, food for the village party etc without second thought – and beyond that, with their own time, energy and themselves.

I previously put up two posts… one about Ran’s family and what we'd had a glimpse of, of real struggle with poverty. And another one I had put up before, a vague one about something very special.

Here’s where those come together…

The last day that we were in Pursat, before we were about to head back to Phnom Penh (the capital city of Cambodia, 3 hours away) the next morning, the team approached me and asked if there was something we could do for Ran’s family, who we'd met a few days before. Well, she should hopefully get a well within two years or so, I told them. I knew as well as them that two years.. getting by one day at a time in ill health.. is a long time. Installing one of the HOPE bio-sand water filters we’d seen as a less-expensive temporary measure was not really an option, as there are so many other families (without a source of underground water for a well) also in desperate need for water filters for clean water… and Ran is hopefully getting a well soon-ish.

It was also Saturday, when the HOPE staff should’ve been having their rest on the weekend – they work long and hard during the week! I called Ly. Well, she suggested, you could go to the market and buy a temporary clay water filter... it won’t last forever like the biosand filters – maybe two years. But by then, hopefully Ran’s family will have a water well.

Hurrah! With two of our favourite (not that we actually played favourites, they are all very awesome :) ) HOPE staff that willingly gave up their time with their family to come help us.. we went to the market.

And picked out a water filter! (Plastic bucket with a special clay pot insert that filters the water as it drips through)

The guys also picked out the biggest bag of rice they could find –  50 kg worth!

…and some pork (which, along with some dried fish – a common part of Cambodian diet, for those who can afford it – and multivitamins, would hopefully help nourish Ran with the iron her body needs to overcome anemia)

..and some soap, sugar, salt and basic supplies.

We can barely fit back into the tuk-tuk with all this stuff. Perfect! :)

And we packed up the HOPE truck and Pheap (Ly’s husband) drove us back to Ran’s family...

Where we had the privilege of giving them these few things we’d got.

And the much, much greater privilege of seeing a beautiful smile and eyes lit up with life from Ran and her mother.  – This – is my absolute favourite photo from the trip.



What a beautiful smile. :)   ...especially in contrast to how we'd known Ran last.

A few more memorable photos

Trying out the water filter

 More beautiful smiles

This last one.. hands together saying “Awkun!” – thank you!

We were really just as thankful, to be a part of her life, for her to be a part of ours. We shared a few words, saying just that we wanted very much for her to be well – her and her whole family. That we want her to have clean water and be able to be healthy and have a good future full of hope. That we hope that the few things that we had brought would help her family. And that even when the rice runs out, we hope that she would know that she has friends in Canada that care about her, and want to see her be well.

We weren’t heros. We were just friends.

And really, we hope these small tokens would help… clean water will give her greater freedom from typhoid, cholera, fever, diarrhea, fever, stomach aches and a greater chance for her son to heal from some kind of muscle infection. Some meat in her diet will also hopefully help her overcome anemia from iron deficiency. The extra rice to supplement their meager daily portions will hopefully help nourish their health and daily work in the fields.

Until Ran gets a water well, she still doesn’t have access to a water source.. and as the wet season comes to a close (now-ish) and rain no longer runs off her roof into a collecting canister, it will still be a long dry season, maybe two, ahead where the family won’t have water to put through the filter. They will probably still have to ask for it. But they might be able to do it with more dignity and vivid hope that day when they are no longer begging for the basic need of water (which, by the way, is a human right signed into international law as of this year!). And they can look ahead and see possibility and dream for a better tomorrow.

And for me, the best part (one of the all the best parts) was that Scottie, Adam, and Kat took the initiative to make a difference - THE difference - that we were able to be a part of. It wasn't me nagging them, Guys, we should really do something here. But it was them, responding to need they saw, taking initiative to extend compassion and generosity. And they made a difference. :)

So long, farewell...

All good things... come to an end! But what a good thing our time in that little village in Pursat, Cambodia was! We really did share a lot more than just building a school. We got to share in friendship, smiles, laughter, work, life, and real community. On our last day in the village, we wanted to express our thanks... so, with the help of Ly (director of HOPE Cambodia) we were able to invite the whole village that we lived in to a thank-you and farewell party. 

 

And everyone really did come out! It started pouring rain just as we were about to start, so as best we could, we all huddled into one room (where we had slept), and with Ly’s translating help as well, we got past our Khmer how-do-you-do attempts to actually thank everyone in the community. An impromptu speech – but more than easy enough from our hearts!

Thank you for letting us spend these last two weeks in your community. It’s been a great joy for us to be part of your work, part of your play, share in your smile and dancing and fun. Every day has seemed like a party!!  We have felt so welcome and have been so impressed by your hard work even late at night, and we have learned from you not only how to build a school but how to help and share in everything.

We have learned a lot from you and we will always remember you and our time together.

We hope the very best for all of you, and especially for the children. We hope that with the new school, they will be able to study hard and reach their dreams.

Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your community!

*     *     *

Here's one of my favourite pictures... the kids in the village that we'd grown to know and love... who are all going to be going to the new school we were building together.

Hands up, in response to my question: Who's going to study hard at your new school?

And then… let the party begin! We asked for the help of the local village women to prepare a bigggggggg pot of chicken stew and asked the little shopkeeper next to the school (who sold soap and pop, etc, in a little hut if he would get a nice big supply of pop for us to buy. A very locally-supplied party! :)

 

One of the awesomest things – in the many previous nights of slugging mud up from the riverbed for the foundation of the school, there was a woman who would come to sell fresh hot boiled corn. I can’t remember for how much. Maybe 5 cents a piece or something. On many occasions, we’d buy the whole lot of it, and then share it with everyone working hard together all night to hoe the river bed, pack down the wicker baskets, and carry the heavy soil up from the river to the school. I asked Ly if we could find that lady and ask if she would prepare enough corn for everyone in the village for the party. Sure enough – no problem! Ly wasn't there any of those nights when we were mud-carrying and corn-buying but she called the Village Chief, who then asked around to find out who was the Corn Lady. And sure enough, Corn Lady was found, and big warm baskets of freshly boiled corn arrived at our party!

Friends... some of whom we'd gotten to know by name. Most of the guys on the school construction site we knew. This guy on the right we affectionately called Tarzan for his ability to scale ladders, roofs, support poles, or anything and everything on site to fix something up high. :)

And.. that was it! Some hugs and handshakes (and a bucket of water on my head) later, we packed up the HOPE truck and hopped in the back one last time and waved our last goodbyes - (until next time.. )! 

Luckily we haven't really left them behind. HOPE is still very much a part of this community and the school should have been completed not long after we left... the kids should all be back in school now... learning new things, gaining new skills and knowledge, and preparing for themselves for a bright future ahead in their beautiful community. I'll look forward to seeing where these kids and families are at in a couple years!

A visit to the orphanage

 As a little disclaimer... there is a lot of jadedness and cynicism of all the harm done in the name of help when it comes to development. For me, this little one-day visit to the orphanage came with being keenly aware of the – well-intentioned – harm that volunteers can do, especially those that swoop in-and-out on such a short timeline. Volunteering abroad in developing countries - especially in orphanages - is maybe even more than 'development' at the end of those pointing fingers... and yes sometimes, for good exploitative reason, making a zoo of the poor and feeling good about ourselves.

 

I know the circles of discourse and criticism.. but I have to say, honestly and impressed-ly, that HOPE does development well - and volunteering well too. They have a solid approach of humble, local, community-led, sustainable ways of reaching the poorest people with basic needs that enable families and whole communities the opportunity to make a real, sustainable journey out of poverty to self-reliance. Sometimes that includes care for orphaned children that sets them on new paths of life and opportunity, like for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. And HOPE's UNION overseas volunteer program happens in the context of learning and serving alongside people who know and trust HOPE, alongside ongoing local work and genuine commitment to improving whole communities. More about that later maybe. :)

Anyhow, this orphanage in the town of Pursat actually isn't a HOPE project, but the HOPE staff know the local orphanage well. And it is a legitimate place where orphaned children - otherwise left alone - are cared for and have a place to call home. We shared just a little bit of time and smiles with them. 

 

Basketball with Adam! 

 Poi with Kat! 

Seeing how much the kids in the village loved Kat's poi, we actually bought something like 100 tennis balls or something like that, and (after a long hunt!) found coloured ribbons at the market make our own poi - tennis balls on the end of a string with colourful ribbons hanging off the end that you can swing around and make designs with. I'm not sure how many sets we made.. 50ish maybe? All I know is that we sat and punched holes in tennis balls and pushed string and colourful ribbons into them for a long time one night! 

But, it was definitely worth it... the kids LOVED them!! We left them behind for the kids to keep at the orphanage.

Sharing a meal with the kids

And finally, before saying goodbye, sharing with the kids our team's favourite Team Building. :)

Language lessons

As good guests in a new country and community would, we did our best to learn some of our host’s language... luckily, we had some great, good-humoured and endlessly patient teachers 24/7.

Typical Khmer language lesson:

One student. Fifteen-or-so teachers. A billion laughs.

Scottie did pretty good… :)

 

Knyom ni-yaay pi saa ka-may tik tik = I speak a little bit of Khmer. 

Let's see how much I remember by next year! :)

Cambodia: a few last stories..

I hit the ground running getting home from Cambodia last summer… as per usual. Despite my best intentions, I haven’t had a very good track record of finishing off my blogs from my travels… but, finally finding a few moments over the holidays now, I wanted to share just a last few stories of my Cambodian experiences with my crazy team of barang-utangs. So.. here goes a solid attempt!

Just for fun... here's my beloved UNION team... somehow scheming their way into getting me to smile & wave at the camera as they dump a bucket of water over my head on our last day in the village at our community farewell party. Thanks guys :P

(Blogger's video function seems to be not working.. so til it does, it's linked from YouTube)

All's well that ends well. :) These crazy barangs continue to warm my heart. Here's to a few of our last stories together in Cambodia!