Long Day

We hope you all enjoyed the photos we posted yesterday.  Due to technical difficulties we are unable to post photos from the iPad - so we have had to wait till were able to access a desktop computer to upload them.  We will try to get more up soon.

Today has been a long day with our introductory talk at the Tabitha Foundation in preparation for house building tomorrow and visits to the Genocide Museum (S-21) and Killing Fields.  To top off an emotional day, half of the group is currently at a Khmer cooking class and should be returning shortly and the other half have just returned from dinner along the riverside.

Quite a few are keen to explain the impact of their day, but it may not happen till tomorrow.  We have an early start in the morning with a full day of house building.  By the end of tomorrow we will have provided simple housing to 10 more families.

Cheers for now
Sharon

Pictures from week one

Day six - Angkor Wat

Hi everyone it's Steph Runciman,
What a day we have had! Those who chose to rise at the bright and early time of 4 am went to see the sun rise over Angkor Wat, while Dave stayed at the hotel on his old Samsung flip phone.
The early risers which included myself were rewarded with a stunning Angkor Wat that had the sun rise over the historical temple.

We then returned to Angkor Wat later that day with the rest of the group to explore 3 temples that included Bayon, Ta Promh and finally the Angkor Wat. Each temple was unique in its own right with its own history. The temples are deceptively large and each time you enter a new part you stumble upon a new statue or a new path leading to another area. You could spend hours upon hours in each temple, as some of us did. The temples are laced with steps, every part you went into there were steps that seemed endless and after the second temple everyone was sick of climbing.

After a lunch break we started our walk to Angkor Wat which was extremely beautiful. We spent around 3 hours exploring, walking through the numerous paths and levels often stumbling upon different ruins. After walking about 12km or so for the day, it was time to head back to the hotel for some much needed rest so we could be ready for the 6:30 am boat ride to Phnom Penh tomorrow.
The Angkor Wat temples are as equally intriguing as they are beautiful and they have been the highlight of my trip so far.

See you soon!
Steph (Hi mum)

Day five - Green Gecko

Hello everyone, it's Georgia here (hi mum), I was asked to update the blog today as Dave's post failed to upload from his Samsung flip phone. Haha!

 Today we had the pleasure of visiting green gecko, an organisation that provides free education and a home to street kids. The organisation was founded by an Australian woman who aims to break the poverty cycle through education. We were separated into two groups to partake in both a tour of green gecko and the rehash trash program. 

Rehash trash is offered to the mothers of gecko kids who are uneducated and have no skills. The women were using recycled plastic bags and making ........... by crochet. During this time the women taught us how to crochet, made us wristbands out of plastic bags, danced and Bailey even found a wife. Upon arrival a lady claimed him as her boyfriend and she decided that she would take Bailey home and leave her husband. Very funny. Bailey had not only gained a wife, but also 3 kids, one of which he cuddled throughout the session. The lady even told the group that she was going to rename her 5 month old Bailey. Upon seperation, the mother sent Bailey to work so that they could buy milk for her child. It's fair to say it was love at first sight.

The tour was guided by, Kim Suan, a member of the first group to be accepted into green gecko. She guided us around the area, showing us where the children live while telling us her story. Kim Suan was originally a street kid and was due to follow the poverty cycle. At 19, Kim Suan had been at green gecko for 10 years, and now she is able to live at home with her mother. It is astonishing how Kim Suan was undertaking 'work experience' at green gecko in order to gain administrative skills, public speaking skills as well as practicing her English. 

At 12:00 the children of Green gecko were served up 'Morning glory' as they went to lunch and at 1:00 the children went for their siesta (sleep), which we believe should be included in the Australian curriculum.

At 2:00 our group and the younger children went to the green gecko farm and were given some jobs that included moving compost, making a path, placing bamboo leaves on plants and finally moving rubbish. We are proud to say that we definitely got down and dirty and it felt so good to work with the children on their farm. But not only did we work hard to help them, we had heaps of fun on the way. The gecko kids found charcoal and found it extremely entertaining to rub it all over our faces. You will always see a smile on the kids' faces!!

We ended our trip to green gecko with a $700 US donation to go towards school uniforms for the gecko kids which will allow 70 kids to have a brand new uniform. The members at green gecko were very appreciative, not only of the donation, but the way in which we interacted with the children for the entire day. 

Anyway, 4:30am start (for some) tomorrow heading to watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat.

Hope you are all well. Xo

Georgia Donat

Day four - New Hope

(Late upload because of power outage last night)

Today the team boarded the tuk tuks again and travelled a short distance to the poverty stricken area of a nearby village suburb in Siam Reap, supported by the New Hope Foundation.

The New Hope Foundation was a fantastic experience for everyone! Housing children, and mothers, who have been exposed to domestic violence. Tours around the housing helped the team to understand the extent of our luck back at home, while the children jumping all over the most unlikely of people (Jeremy) and poking and tickling others made the time light hearted and fun. 

The team then were led on a guided tour around the school facilities provided for villagers aged 4 to 30+ with classes including maths and the native language for primary schoolers, and sewing, English and computer skills for selected students of the 303 families partaking in the program, allowing the chance for tertiary studies later.

Our trip to New Hope's kitchen after the tour included a four course meal with sweet potato, peanuts and crickets (!) for entrées. Followed by deep fried fish cakes and Khmer noodle salad for starters, and vegetable soup and pork ribs for main meal. Dessert featured green beans in coconut milk that left diners with opposing views, with some finishing it off and others satisfied with just a taste.

We then took the tuk tuks back to the hotel. Where we were given the opportunity to choose to go down the street and do some shopping or relax by the pool or in the rooms. Later on we could choose from various restaurants and had our dinner.

Unexpectedly at about 10 o'clock the team that were still awake were confused when a blackout hit the viewable city leaving some stranded in the pool and the rooms in darkness.

P.S. James Wyatt says "Hi mummy, miss you heaps x Can't wait for cuddles!"

Abigail, Bec, Matt with a little help from Jeremy and Zac :)

Day three - House building with Life and Hope

The day started out like any of the others. It was a seven thirty start for breakfast, most people having the classic bread and jam with a bottle of water to go with it. After a quick breakfast, everyone ducked upstairs to finish freshening up before returning to the lobby at nine o'clock to get on the two minibuses. It was a twenty minute drive to the building site, where it was clear just how family oriented all the people really were.  The monks and surrounding villagers joined forces with us to help finish the house construction, nailing the floorboards down, the only task left to complete. In the blazing heat, all of our faces were shiny with sweat, despite the seemingly simple task of hammering nails into the floor. Our hard work however, did not go unnoticed. All the surrounding families were gathered together like yesterday, ready to celebrate the construction of the new house and support the family moving into it. It was wonderful to see the respect and love the people had for each other, chanting and praying together for happiness and health for the new tenants. All onlookers sauntered slowly around the house three times while chanting, to remove negativity and bless the house along with the people it was built for, and thank all those who pitched in to provide it. After that, there was a house-warming ceremony within the new house to again, thank all those who provided the house for the appreciative family. The monks chanted once again, while in the praying position, surrounded by the family and all of their community. We were all ecstatic to partake in the ceremony, rather enjoying the feeling that we had given a poor family a fresh chance at a better state of life. After the ceremony, as the rain poured down, we all re entered the buses to return to the Jasmine Family Hostel that we have been staying at. The rest of the afternoon was fairly low key, most people rushing to change into bathers and jump into the motel pool. An intense game of pool volleyball soon ensued, providing a time to cool off, while helping everyone adjust to each other's company in a fun and relaxed environment. At six o'clock, it was time for tea, everyone getting into tuk tuks to head to witness some Asprea dancing, a popular Cambodian style of dancing, while enjoying a buffet, which James Wyatt was seen to enjoy the most, truly getting his money's worth. 😏 Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, the night ending at about eight o'clock, getting us back to the motel by about eight thirty. With a pleasant and well awaited sleep in the first part of tomorrow's itinerary, everyone either used the time to stay up a little later than previous nights, enjoying further bonding with newfound friends; or giving themselves a well deserved sleep. Overall, the day was fairly successful, everyone seeming to enjoy themselves immensely, while working hard to better the lives of the poor people living in certain parts of Cambodia. Stay active, as Dave is hoping to blog soon. Whether or not he actually will, is another story 😂

Darcy Harrison

Day 2 - House building with Life and Hope Association

Our second full day in Cambodia was devoted to house building along side Life and Hope Association, among the small village of Prey Dang. Our hour long bus ride brought us to a rural community, and although we were expecting to construct a house by starting from minimum prior building, we found the house already 80% completed. Despite our disappointment, we all pitched in to help complete the wooden floor of the building, and attach windows and doors. Although the work wasn't extreme as it could have been, the building still resulted in immense sweat, tiredness and fatigue - talk about a days work!
When not building, we spent out time with the children and locals in the village. All of the children were so happy and endearing, as we played soccer and games with them. Despite the difficult circumstances they lived within, the locals were hard working and very appreciative and grateful for our help. Seeing the village and the community was at times confronting, but a great experience that helped us asses and appreciate our own lives.
In the intense heat and humidity, the house was completed, and the blessing ceremony began. The monks, families of the newly finished house, and ourselves circled the new home twice, and entered the building to begin the prayers. The entire ceremony lasted about an hour, and consisted of chanting, praying and blessing to ensure a new home of positive spirits, encouraging hope, love and health throughout the family and their house.
With many happy smiles from the locals and ourselves, we left the village to return to Siem Reap in midst of the Water Festival - a traditional Cambodian celebration, lasting three days. We then had dinner, and some relaxing, preparing for our beauty sleep for tomorrow, another full day of building!

Jessica Chester 😌

Day one: Wat Damnak, Military Museum and health pack shopping

Our first full day started with a ride on the tuk tuks and just like in the country, cows have the right of way!

Our first stop was at the life and hope association. Here we met the monks that we will be building houses for the next two days. The monks explained their hopes and goals for the association, their main focus is on education, which they hope will lead to breaking the poverty cycle. The monks also explained who will be receiving the houses that we build, the top three poorest families will be receiving the houses we build over the next two days. One of the monks then gave us a lesson in the Khmer language, we decided that we would just try to communicate with English as it is so much easier. The monks also explained to us what it means to be a monk, the biggest thing we couldn't believe was that they cannot eat from 12 noon to 6am, we all decided that wasn't an option for us as we headed off for lunch. 

The next stop was at the military museum. The museum was a big eye opener in terms of the Cambodian history and just how cruel it was. The museum had many guns, tanks, aeroplanes and pictures from the war. One of the tour guides was a survivor from the war, he has experienced near death 13 times and still lives to tell his story today.  

After lunch, we were all given a challenge to buy certain items for the health packs we give to the Green Gecko orphanage. We headed to the markets where many tried bartering for the first time. 

Tonight we are heading to the Red Piano restaurant for tea - this is where Angelina Jolie filmed a scene for Terminator, most of the boys are hoping she's still there! 

Tenielle Cooke

We have arrived!

We are sitting in the hotel enjoying breakfast before heading out for the day - all in high spirits and excited about what is ahead.
It was a very long trip here, with a long stopover at Changi Airport, so we were all very glad to arrive at the hotel last night. We drove through a very heavy shower - a reminder that the wet season isn't completely over - but the weather today is magnificent. We headed to a restaurant around the corner for dinner last night after settling into our rooms. People embraced the spirit of the trip and tackled the menu with gusto. There were no regrets, with all of us remarking on the freshness and immense flavour of the food! The chicken amok - a mild curry - was particularly popular.