Saturday, March 29, 2008

Kampong Chhnang Province

On Sunday morning I headed out on a field trip to a small village about 2 hours outside Kampong Chhnang town. I went with 15 university students from Phnom Penh and 2 youth leaders. It started with a mini van…this thing had seen better days long ago. A total of 20 people crammed into this van, the back was roped down and the door was hanging by a thread. It was a surprisingly hilarious trip filled with Khmer singing, getting stuck in the sand roads and the bus breaking down. We finally made it to Ognchagn village. It turns out this village is facing many difficulties one of which being that the Government has sold the villagers land to a foreign company who have begun to deforest the area ready to replant the land to export goods. On top of this the village has virtually no infrastructure; no electricity, running water, sewerage system and poor roads. There is limited access to primary education and virtually no access to health care. The day we arrived we met the other young people in the village where I was introduced to all kinds of Khmer games and traditional dancing. On Monday we met with the village leader who talked about the main problems the people are facing at the moment. Afterwards we went out to interview some villagers. The majority of the people are farmers who rely on the rainy season so they are able to produce crops to survive for the year, support their family and send their children to school. Everyone we talked to was concerned about the sale of their land and the deforestation in the area both by the company and neighbouring villages. They also talked about not being able to send their children to high school and that healthcare was a major concern. Others did not have access to a well to obtain water, while others were worried that their wells would dry up soon. Everyone was so lovely, welcoming and keen to talk to us. That afternoon we attended a local wedding. It was so much fun! The ceremony lasted a total of 3 days and the whole village was invited. It was also another excuse to practice my dancing skills which are still in need of desperate improvement. Tuesday morning we headed out for a day long hike. It wasn’t long before we walked into a fire started by a neighbouring village. We passed through Kdol village which has a small market, primary school and unattended health post. We ended up at a small mountain where we held some workshops with both the Phnom Penh students and the local villagers sharing their ideas about how the problems could be tackled. Wednesday we helped the villagers dig a communal well before setting up then running a role play for the whole village that night. It started with more dancing then the leader asking me to make an impromptu speech to the village through a translator. At least I got a few laughs. I played the part of a foreign business woman and even though I couldn’t understand a word of the entire play it was the funniest performance ever and everyone really enjoyed it! Early Thursday morning we headed back to Phnom Penh…the trip back was easy and we didn’t even break down once. Overall it was a fantastic experience and I’m looking forward to the next trip soon.

Local market in Kampong Chhnang town
Stuck in the sand again on the way to the village
Traditional Khmer wedding in the village
Hiking with the locals
Putting out a fire started by a neighbouring village
Kdol village market
Lunch and workshops in the forest
Students and locals
Digging a village well
Educational role play

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Happy Easter from Phnom Penh

Wishing you all a safe and Happy Easter!!
I’ve really been enjoying settling into my new home and soaking up the atmosphere this week. I’ve moved into my new place in Boeung Keng Kang and absolutely love it. It’s in a quiet area with a local market right around the corner where you can buy all the essentials. I’m on the top floor with a gorgeous rooftop balcony which is really bigger than the living space. I’ve got two bedrooms so if you’re considering a trip to Cambodge within the next 12 months stop putting it off and come on over! This week has been filled with Khmer language lessons which have been really helpful. I’m thinking more lessons and a lot more practise is in order for me though. With AYAD orientation over now I’m looking forward to getting back into the work routine. Tomorrow morning I’m off to Kampong Chhnang until Thursday to work on an environmental project. Apparently the villagers in that region rely heavily on the forest to produce goods so deforestation is becoming a huge problem. So I’m heading out there with a group of 15 university students from Phnom Penh to run workshops and facilitate capacity building exercises between them and the local community. It should be a great experience to get a better feel of what life really is like for 80% of the Cambodian population who live in rural areas. It’s easy to fall into a carefree lifestyle as an expat in Phnom Penh where everything is available anytime of day.


Language lessons with Setha

Local restaurant over the Mekong river

Home!!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

And so the work begins...

I meet with my host organisation on Friday. They are fantastic! Three of the staff came to meet me and took me over to the office. My desk was set up and already decked out with stationary and the like. I was even given a huge stack of business cards which is a first. KYSD is a small local NGO who have never had a foreign volunteer before which is pretty exciting. Everyone is so friendly and the work seems really interesting with a lot of travel to the provinces which is fantastic. There seems to be a lot of work to be done and not enough staff to carry it out. They are working on a number of projects at any one time, most of which are based on capacity building between youth in Phnom Penh and those in rural or remote regions with a focus on education, empowerment and advocacy. I’m already set to go out to Kampong Chhnang, about 90 km north-west of Phnom Penh, for 5 days next Sunday. The Khmer people are amazingly friendly and within the first few days I’ve been here I’ve been invited to a wedding and enough dinners to fill my schedule for the next month.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Seus s'day from the land of smiles



I'm so glad to finally be here after all the anticipation, stress and plain insanity of the last few weeks! Left Sydney monday night and arrived in Hong Kong early tuesday before catching a connecting flight to Phnom Penh. We were met at the airport by the AYAD team. Everything was suprisingly hassel free..walk off plane, check passport, get luggage, hand customs form to official and keep on walking. We are staying in a great area of town. Nice hotel, quiet street, great restaurants and Wat Lanka a few doors down. What more could you ask for. Today we checked out the goods at the Russian Market. I know Í'll be hanging out there a fair bit..you can buy just about anything there. I bought a motorcycle helmet for $7 and yes I know it's going to be totally useless in an accident but atleast it will make me feel better in the meantime. This afternoon we went on a boat cruise up the Mekong, it was really beautiful and the authentic Khmer Pizza Company lunch just topped it off. We stopped off at a silk weaving village up river which was great and also saw a beautiful Wat. Later on I went back to the orphanage mum and I had been to last year and the year before. It was so great to see everyone again and I'm really looking forward to hanging out there, teaching the kids some english and just having fun!! Everything is so much easier than I thought it would be. Going house hunting tomorrow and looking forward to finding a place all of my own.
Hong Kong Airport
Phnom Penh Airport
Silk Weaving Village