Project Updates - July 2006

I continue working daily with the kids at the Center, supporting them with English school (mostly at a private schools, though some go to Aziza Schoolhouse which is just down the alley), medical and dental needs, as well as small projects and supplies for the community, including working to improve the hygiene on the structural level and with the kids personally.

Good moments are constant (bad moments are only consistent). Two 16 year old girls, Syremom and Syremom, are now engaged in long days, 6 days per week, at a vocational school, CCF (www.cambodianchildrensfund.org), where they learn academics and job skills to work in a beauty salon (their passion). “Syremom 1” might have been the captain of the cheerleading squad if such a things existed here, and if she would have been able to stay in school. My partner-in-chaos, Nader, made a connection and got them into the school, and now they return back to the Center with an obvious sense of pride. They stand tall, and have hopes for a future that might not have existed otherwise.

At first their attendance was unacceptable, but for the past 6 weeks I have been giving them $10 per week to take a moto-taxi (moped), and they haven't missed a day since. It is a pretty long ride and the 2 of them share the moto, each sitting sideways behind the driver (facing opposite directions).

With no small amount of effort, we were able to get a boy to go off with an NGO, Hagar (www.hagarproject.org), and build a water filter for the Center. For weeks it seemed like the project would fail, but with an additional training from Hagar staff, the community began to see the value of clean water, and has been using it consistently.

The “we” I use in my stories has referred to all of the donors and supporters who make everything here happen. “We” also refers to the team we are now; Sokchea the original school teacher and manager, who has changed everything by taking the school to new levels, Phana and Chay, who are the new teachers and have already accomplished much (washing hands and brushing teeth before class!), Chin, my (paid) intern, who is an excellent translator and much more, as well as Nader. Huge contributions have been made by other volunteers who were gracious enough to work with us and continue what I either neglected or never got to, namely;

Prishila, the exotic S African-Indian living in London, who came for a month and worked diligently, bringing with her a budget to finance the projects (more on her accomplishments coming). She has stories and pictures on her blog:
http://enigma147.blogspot.com

Nancy, a Colorado girl friend-of-a-friend, who in a short time made some beautiful work with her paint brushes that make the school a place that rings of inspiration. Her blog:
http://www.ballofdirt.com/entries/11657/154101.html

Michele Novik, and her sidekick Stephanie, who came for 3 weeks and did so much, also financing her great projects.
http://trip2cambo.blogspot.com/

Prishila and Michele never met, but some of their projects overlapped and include the Locker Project, so all the kids now have a metal locker and lock for their things. Until now, they had nowhere to put their things – just piled them on the floor. Kids were taken to the dentist; I’d guess about 35 teeth have been pulled so far, getting kids to the doctor (for everything from scabies to rabies), turning a barefoot football (soccer) group into a fully uniformed team, a sink and counter in the kitchen, outfitting the classroom, kitchen, parties, and too many things to list.

There were some also some laid back Irish folk; Katharine, Isabel, and Mickey, who did some cool stuff, including creating a dining area with tables, and a spreadsheet of all of the kids. Lastly is a new volunteer who has real skills for these communities, Carly, who is undertaking hygiene (teeth-brushing) and nutrition training.

A friend of a friend, Sherry, came to visit. She is a particularly talented writer, and has posted some great pictures;
http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/Phnom-Penh/blog-58844.html (genius I would say – check out all of her stuff).

Not everything works, and I have recently adopted the motto “I welcome failure,” because I feel it is my job to give kids a chance.

I now realize that by coming here to face the sadness, I have to face my anger, because behind many sad stories are real villains, people who inflict suffering onto others, people who’s hearts are black. The world will take a long time to fix. I have now lived these categories of emotion, and they have become a part of me.

There is plenty of emotion on the other side as well, since people are so damn funny. There are many characters here; amusing, entertaining, eccentric, often backward and rough. When a story unfolds that might be worth telling, the characters involved catapult the intensity of the humor into absurdity.

I will send the financial update to all the donors sometime soon. The project has already succeeded, and if I leave tomorrow, many kids are a little better off.

I imagine this has been the case all along with out having to say it, but I do want to ask that if you choose to give, make sure it really feels right for you. I am a conduit between your good-will and the kids here, and while it may sound a bit ‘out-there,’ the energy of this project is incredibly important.

My plans are as yet undetermined, but I will likely stay until the slum where the school and the Center are located is moved (I read they will build a mall there), when I will evaluate if I still want to be involved and if it looks like I can make a difference. I am guessing the move will happen around the end of the year. The relocation site will be far out of town, which poses many challenges. We are looking at making resources available for kids who get left out of the next plan.

Thank you all!