Anyone who travels around SE Asia knows it's not all bustling big cities like Singapore & Bangkok. There is poverty prevalent in parts of this region which can seem irrecoverable to anyone from more privileged backgrounds who never imagined anything so stark.
Nothing can adequately prepare you for the unknown but anyone who ventures out on a house building trip carries with them an open heart so, no matter where they came from, there's automatically room for attachment & care. Learning about how Cambodia reached its present condition can make you cry, and has done within the groups we've sent, but that energy is quickly turned around to the efforts we set out for to begin with. To help make the lives of other human beings better.
We drive outside the city to dusty villages tucked within lush greenscapes, enduring extreme heat, bashed thumbs, cracked knees, swallowed dirt & wrecked hip joints but you don't hear a single complaint from anyone. You see nothing less than hard work and determination and that glow which comes when you let go of yourself and put others first.
After the trips, life continues back to the usual daily hustle but we take a minute every now again to remember our experiences in Cambodia and find ways to share that good feeling with others. To educate them about what happened in Cambodia, why we're needed in Cambodia and how important it is that others consider coming back with us.
Each time we go, we make a wonderful moment in time. From the lives we touch in the villages to the relationships we build with each other to the sense of peace we each feel in having had a positive impact in a country that so deserves every bit of help it can get.
We are better people for having had these experiences & look forward to having the opportunity to go back, again and again, to help Cambodia on its steady climb toward a better future.
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Cambodia is a place whose history is littered with violence, and the country is still recovering. In fact, Cambodia is the most bombed country by the United States, even more than Vietnam. It is forgotten in the discussion of U.S wars and although many people of the time frame knew of the mass genocide going on in this country, nothing was done. 21% of the population was killed by their own leader's regime and the survivors were forced to move to the country and harvest rice everyday for 4 years.
The Cambodian countryside is like nothing I have seen before. In the village that we visited there were 3 houses. These people had nothing but a couple of cows, a few measly chickens and a 2 pigs as livestock, their villages were surrounded by remaining land mines from the war and were 4 hours out of any form of city or hospital. These people lived in a way that I couldn't even imagine, in extreme poverty and isolation.
The houses that we built would seem primitive to many people in our western society, but for some of the villagers, this was the first roof they had ever had over their head, the first window for them to look out of. This build gives you some perspective on life in general and how good we have it. Many people talk about knowing how lucky they are, but for most, they don't. They don't understand the reality of these places. Many people that have never travelled come across as narrow-minded to me for this reason. Perspective is not something you can learn in a classroom, and there is a big difference between sympathy and empathy.
When you finish a house, and you see a family moving in, that is the most rewarding part of this whole trip. People always speak of the feeling that charity work gives you, but personally, I always laughed it off. I don't anymore. It is something truly wonderful that many people may never feel because they are either too selfish, or they merely don't have the time. Building the houses may not have been the most enjoyable thing I have ever done, but it is no doubt the most rewarding. It is an experience that I will never forget, something that I will take with me for the rest of my life. It gives me some perspective.
Ben Carr
Year 9 student
We left a rainy Toronto Canada on Thursday 12 May for our 21 hour journey via Seoul to Phnom Penh.
We arrived at 10 p.m. Friday night and our Kingdom of Cambodia eVisa worked smoothly and was fast - that's always a good start!
I was really excited about catching up with heaps of old friends from AISS Singapore and at the same time a little rattled about the actual build and what I'd see and encounter, and whether I was up to it.
On the first day we had our induction with Janne on the rooftop of the Tabitha offices under the fans. Janne is amazing, she is so easy to listen to because she has lived through the bad times and speaks from genuine experience in helping in the recovery of Cambodia. I was really struck by the gentleness of the Khmer people and found it hard to imagine how 21% of their population or 2 million people were wiped out under Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge Regime. Then we visited the Killing Fields and S21 Genocide Museum and the reality of the horrors of how war happens, was there to see. These are awful but necessary reminders of how terrible humans can be to each other.
2nd Day - Build Day - we had a convoy of buses to the village of Rek Smey Samkay. It took 3 hours of bumpy roads and incredible stuff to look at. Semi trailers speeding on the wrong side of the road, 5 people crammed on a tiny little Yamahas, people riding on top of vans and beautiful roadside shrines in front of all the huts and stalls, 92% of Cambodians are Buddhist.
A few kilometers out of the village we got bogged had to get out of the vans and the realities of being here became ever so real. Lisa reminded us not to stray off any dirt tracks as Cambodia is still the second most land mined country in the world (UNICEF) 143 mines per square mile and 10,000,000 estimated total mines. So we all stuck to the paths - then someone spotted a snake, this is certainly different to Singapore and Canada!
The village of Rek Smey Samkay is in a beautiful wide lush valley with a hilly range off to one side. There were neat fields with bendy little fences and crops of bananas, mangoes, paw paw, corn, zucchinis, lots of Brahman cattle, skinny dogs with really big teeth, and a few half dead bald chickens scratching around in the dirt. There was a Brahman Bull sharing a paddock with a Tabitha Water Well, maybe he was guarding it!
People appeared from out of nowhere as we arrived. Everyone was smiling and excited, it was a really welcoming village. There were lots and lots of little kids. Half of Cambodia's population is under 22 years of age and infant mortality is still a major issue in this country. Across Cambodia 53% of kids under 5 are malnourished but these ones looked pretty good.
The build was physically and emotionally demanding but incredibly worth it. The physical, is working in 38 degree heat and the emotional, is from the wonderful Khmer people and how happy they are to have a very basic weather proof house to keep them and their babies dry. In our last house, the Khmer dad presented us with a bowl of freshly picked mangoes and a huge machete! His eyes were full of genuine gratitude but we felt humbled to have to met someone as generous and caring as him. I will never forget that moment. This gift summed up the value of the whole Tabitha building experience for me. It was so overwhelming to think that this Khmer family who have very little materially, but what they have, they so generously shared. That amazing gesture was worth more to me than anything.
As we wove our way through the crazy traffic of cows, motorbikes, humans and semitrailers back into Phnom Penh it began to rain and I was really happy thinking that the 30 families in Rek Smey Samkay would be dry from this night onwards.
As a result of my 8th grade Service Learning assignment, with the help of Janne Ritskes, I successfully collected clothing for three Missionaries of Charity orphanages in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Due to the fact that many charities in Singapore have an age limit, which makes it almost impossible for young teens to help out, I had to find an alternative way to complete my service project. I was becoming discouraged, as volunteering in Singapore didn't appear to be an option, so my mom decided to write Janne, to ask if their was anything I could collect to benefit Tabitha or charities in Cambodia supported by Tabitha. She responded with the Missionaries of Charity Orphanages, and a request for children's clothing bundled into outfits. Surely, I could manage that.
First, I needed to find suitable locations where I could receive clothing financial contributions. I ended up having financial contributions boxes placed outside my house, and at the Singapore Polo Club. I also received uniforms from the Caring for Cambodia club at the Singapore American School. In total, I received approximately 1,000 pieces of clothing. My next order of business was sorting the clothing into age groups, and bundling them together into outfits. This proved to be the hardest part of my project as I am aprocrastinator, and with help from my mom, I was able to finish the sorting just before we left J. The transportation of the clothing was one issue that Janne was worried about, but thankfully with the help of the SAS Tabitha House-building Trip, we were able to transport all of the clothing to Cambodia.
I knew the minute I started collecting clothing, I wanted to travel to Cambodia to see the end result. Luckily,
my parents agreed to pay the bill, so on the morning of May 6, 2011, my mom and I set off for Phnom Penh. We headed to the Chom Chao orphanage the next morning with a van packed full of clothes, as well as other small necessities the orphanage had asked about. As we walked down the driveway, we were surrounded by small children; all eager to discover what was inside the monstrous white plastic bags we were carrying into their home. In a somewhat organized manner, with the help of one of the missionaries, we handed each child two outfits, as well as one toothbrush and one tube of toothpaste. The excitement over a new dress was unimaginable, but what I will never forget was how grateful and joyful they were because of one new pair of clothes. To you or me, it seems like a small gift, but to those children, itwas a big step in making a difference in their lives and in their broken country's future.
In December 2010, 29 Year 10 students and 5 teachers traveled to Phnom Penh, Cambodia for a Community and Service week that none of us will ever forget. Not only did we spend two days building houses in a village north of the city, but we visited and played with the orphans at a Maryknoll orphanage, and we walked through the Killing Fields and the S21 Genocide Museum to understand the devastation of the Pol Pot regime.
Our journey to Cambodia actually began back in February when we applied to be a part of the 11th AISS House Building project. For all of us this was an opportunity to be effective global citizens by helping those in need. We spent the year devising a range of fundraising activities, including bake sales, school fairs, catering for the school production, a raffle and a mufti day to recognize landmine victims. We were also fortunate to receive sponsorship from two companies Hallin Marine and Paula's Choice Australia. And of course the phenomenal effort of Ms Catherine Sieu's ultra-marathon raised thousands of dollars. We relied on the generosity and caring nature of the entire school community to support these fundraising efforts and they didn't let us down.
Finally, being able to make our journey to Cambodia, it became clear why we had spent so long raising money for the cause. Seeing so many people forced by their heritage and history into such unfortunate conditions was significant to each and every person there; the entire experience was emotional but worth every second of time put into it. Working with Tabitha Foundation and visiting them in Phnom Penh opened all of our eyes very quickly as we listened to a personal account of Pol Pot's reign in Cambodia. Working with these dedicated individuals in building houses clearly ranks highly when talking to members of our team; this and the orphanage visit definitely held strong significance for us all. It is difficult to relate to situations of the children whose lives are and will be so much more difficult than our own, but it was impossible not to enjoy the 'tap tap slap' (because the kids didn't understand 'duck duck goose') games!
Our house building days were a great experience for us all. Sure it was hot, dusty and even quite noisy, but it was immensely satisfying being put to work with hammers and nails and working side by side with the Cambodians who had struggled hard for these houses. Staying true to our slogan 'It's not about me', our team worked diligently all day even when we painfully hit our thumbs with hammers, or when the nails bent over and we had to pull them out and start afresh. Despite some very sore muscles we still got up at 6am the next day to do it all again.
Even with all the set activities for each day, whether tiring or highly emotional, it is impossible to forget the fun we all had around our hotel. Dinner was always a pleasure just to enjoy the time with one another and reflect on the experiences of each day. On the last night we took part in a Secret Santa, having all bought something for one dollar at the Russian Markets, unaware of who the receiver would be.
Overall it is clear what the team's feelings toward Cambodia are and will be from now on. Any one of our members would openly say how enjoyable the experience was and how glad they were to have taken part in it. The memories are of the type that nobody could forget, none of which are negative in any way. Forever we'll remember our community and service week in Cambodia.
We, the parents of 10 families, would like to share with you the experiences our children have made on our recent house building trip to Cambodia. The comments speak for themselves ….
"I think that it is admirable how the Cambodians do not have things like a television and video games, yet they can entertain themselves by just socializing with each other. They do not have comfortable beds but they do with what they have. They don`t have grocery stores so they grow their own food. Last year the village we went to house build did not even have a well. After this year's trip, I am more thankful for what I have." Adam - age 11
"I liked it because we got to play with all of the local children and help build houses for their families. They were so happy when we finished." Michael - age 10
''I enjoyed the experience and seeing how happy the local families are once their house is finished. It was hard work, but it was worth it.'' Sebastian - age 14
"I think it was a great experience and it really showed me how Cambodian's living compared to Singaporeans. I really liked the house building and it was fun playing with the village kids. I would definitely do it again!" Arden - age 10
"It was a great experience and a real eye opener to what has happened to Cambodians and how they are living right now. Building the houses was a rewarding experience and it was nice to see the smiles on the faces of the people afterwards." Simon - age 13
"I loved it! It was such an overall fulfilling cultural experience. It was a great feeling when you are building a house and realizing that this is something so important that you are giving someone. I can't wait to go again!" Emily - age 16
"I got to learn how Cambodians live. I think playing with them was fun. I'm glad we got to give them a new home." Caroline - age 6
"I liked building the houses and I liked playing football with the kids and seeing how they live. I'll never forget this experience." Oscar - age 8
"It was so tough you know - the bamboo. I thought it would be easier. Sometimes I needed a bit of help. But I had fun and the best bit was playing Duck, Duck, Goose with the children" Kate - age 7
"I banged in 59 nails and some more later. All the children counted. It was fun. We needed help at the end and everyone came so thehouse was full of people banging." Jocelyn - age 5
"I love to help people who live in poverty. Also the fundraising was hard work. Regarding the house building I think we did good work for people who had a horrible passed. Next year I want to build 20 houses." Leon - age 11
"I learned how to hammer nails. We raised money for the people by selling toys and baking more cookies. Next year I want to raise more and give it to Cambodia." Sean - age 10
"I like to help kids and poor people and Tabitha needs lots more money to build more houses. I liked it because I saw all my friends from last year. I learned to handle a hammer and I would go again as its fun but hard work." Kayleigh - age 9
"The house building was quite hard work, but it was worth it. The children who lived in the village were very nice and let us join in their games." Anastasia - age 6
"I liked being able to really help out with building the houses, I was allowed to use a hammer and nails and we made the floor. We then got to play with the kids who lived in the village. Their football was so good even though some of them played in barefoot." Jack - age 7
