"Success is not a place which one arrives but rather the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the journey!"- Alex Noble
As I sit here in Seoul, Korea, only hours away from boarding my next flight back home to Vail, Colorado, I think back to my last day at CPO orphanage and about the many new experiences that occurred throughout my life in the last two weeks. This blog always takes me the longest to write, simply because it is the hardest for obvious reasons but also because I am taking the time to really reflect on the many new experiences that have occurred in my life in the past two weeks, the ones that changed me. Wonderful things have happened like meeting new children at various orphanages and creating relationships with them, learning about new orphanages and their philosophies around the city of Phnom Penh, becoming closer with my fellow student volunteers and chaperone's, and taking the opportunity to challenge myself through all the experiences and find immense personal growth! So here it goes, a blog titled An End yet for me the utmost amount of positivity is what it is all about!
There is never a last day or last moment that we spend with the children at the orphanages here that does not go out with a bang! I mean BANG! Here at Children's Global Alliance, we sure do know how to throw a party! We always cover the key essentials such as massive amounts of food, drinks, music, glow sticks, balloons, party hats, gifts, dance moves, sweat, laughter, and love. These essentials always take time and thought to purchase however we manage to do it every time with a smile on our faces! How could you not? Walking through the market with my colorful outfit, party hat on, and the drive to purchase large kilo amounts of chicken, rice, fruits, vegetables, spices, clothes pins, and picture frames while on budget - giggles from my left and right were not unheard of. Ha! Outside the Russian Market, we met our tuk-tuk drivers Lay and Jack and began our forty minute drive to the country side where CPO is located! As we made our way over the countless holes, puddles of rain, around motos/tuk-tuks/cars, and managed to keep everybody and every purchased item in, we arrived. Arriving at CPO on the last day, or arriving anywhere for your last day, is usually very bittersweet. Bittersweet because after you create great relationships with children at an orphanage, and teach them everything you can, with what you have, to be self-sustainable, then having to leave them with many uncertainties is never settling. I hope they use everything we created for them in the most proper way that is fair to all but also because you hope they remember you for everything. This is when I remember my quote above and I think to myself that I have accomplished what I have come to Cambodia to do. Change the lives of children, teach them to be self-sustainable, let them be loved, create relationships, learn life lessons, and simultaneously improve my life for the better. I believe I have done this and that is my success. Now, I take that successful spirit and continue my journey in life!
Over the course of the day, I had this idea with me and I wanted it to be a positive day full of smiles and laughter. Not sadness, anger, crying, or negativity. The children at the orphanage, myself, and the other volunteers here with me have all made an impact on each other. Each and everyone of us, it has been positive. Therefore, I wanted the children to remember this throughout the day and not that we were leaving. It worked, and it made for a great last day! We were able to dance, sing, smile, laugh, sweat, create memories and crafts, share stories, and last moments together with happiness in the air! Yes of course, we do have to say goodbye eventually and that is never easy so tears and sadness happened towards the end of the night. You can only ignore it, and pass go for so long, until the dreadful time comes.
Like last year, there are the few children who I create special relationships with and for that reason are the hardest to say goodbye to! These are the children that I have learned their stories and vividly compared their lives to mine. They undoubtedly had the biggest impact on me and I will always remember them. Srey Neath, Lavin, and Yoma all did this!
Srey Neath. A beautiful nine year old with a smile and an incredible vibe to her but a story that will hurt me inside every time I read it or hear it. The beginning of her childhood was very rough. Her mother, who now only lives 40 minutes away, was an extreme alcoholic, who used to cut herself in front of her daughter when she would have an outrage. Srey Neath would only try to help her mom by taking her to the doctor. By doing this she probably saved her mothers life more than a few times. She would also in the best term, "slave" around the house cooking and cleaning the house all day. When her mother would come home, and was not satisfied with her work, Srey Neath was beaten. Beaten by her mother.Ugh. Even though her mother doesn't want her back, I do not blame Srey Neath for telling me that she would rather live at CPO because she does not want to go back and that she wants my mom to be her mother! Yes. Big deep breath! She has a lot of potential to do great things with her life. She has overcome something I could never imagine with strength and bravery. At only nine years old she has experienced all of this. Some adults don't even have the strength, courage, or bravery to get out of a situation like that. Yet, she has created a life that she enjoys and feels happy to be living. Everyday I spent with her, I admired her beauty, her love for life, and her smile. Saying goodbye to her was very hard. The lump in the back of my throat was big but it was important for me to stay strong and positive for her. Thank you Srey Neath for sharing you personal story with me. You made a very large impact on my life! Big hugs!
Lavin. The boy with the face of an angel and a brain like Einstein's, who has too overcome, and has become a great person with an overwhelming amount of potential. Everyday he was the first to come greet me at the door. He is quiet and shy but when you get him to smile, he lights up the room. To add to his smile, he has excellent English. His excitement when I teach him new words and sentences and his want to always learn new ideas and information, is not only very fun for me but very challenging! I love a challenge! Lavin has many brothers and sisters at the orphanage and a mom living over at the slums with another new born baby. I had the opportunity to meet the mother and the baby when I visited the slums. The mother is HIV positive, does not look healthy, but always wants to hug and laugh. I saw this in 20 minutes from her, but I see it everyday from him! Knowing that just five minutes away from where he spends his everyday life, his mom is living with this continues to inspire me. Lavin continues to go to school and uses the CPO orphanage as a platform to improve his life. I am so very proud of this young boy! He cried while saying goodbye to me and he brought me to tears seeing the sadness. He left my arms at one point, trying to pull himself together, and he returned with a book in hand. The book is called Barnyard Boogie! As I wiped away the tears from his eyes and mine, he asked me if I would read this book to him again for the last time. I read this book to about six of the children the other day. When I say read, I mean sing! This book has a great rhythm to it! They all loved it! As I sat on the edge of the stage with Lavin, I sang this book to him, trying to keep it together. I told him to keep this book for himself and always remember me when he reads! I wrote a special note inside too. A note that I hope he will look at and see the support he has from across the world. Thank you Lavin for making me smile every single day I spent with you. You are a good boy! My smile is from ear to ear right now! :)
Yoma. I talked about Yoma in one of my previous blogs and my experience with his mother. My goodbye to Yoma was not easy for this reason alone. He is so young and so strong! Every time I hugged him and then pulled away after, I looked straight into his eyes. For the first time, I saw fear and sadness upon his face. I wrote in my blog the other day, that walking through the slums I felt scared and very uncertain. Yoma having my hand however reassured me that he had my back even though he is so small. Yoma continue to smile and live your life as you should! Happy and carefree! Take lots of baths as well because I know you love to do so, and remember to clean those ears every once in awhile. Ha!!
As a group last night we arrived at the Phnom Penh International Airport to an incredible surprise! Some of the children and directors from the orphanage waiting for us behind a wall. We were all so excited and grateful we got to see them again. I know it wasn't easy for them to get to us, because of the rain but we appreciated it so much. The windows at the airport have way too many hand marks and kiss marks. Thank you for surprising us! You are all amazing! Love you!
I would like to thank those who have supported me back home over the last couple of years as I embarked on my journeys here to Cambodia! Your support through love and donations has allowed me to do what I love and accomplish a great deal of things on the past trip and especially this trip. If you have not heard we have completed the clothes line, parts of a fence, we have running water at the orphanage, we have created a pig pen and we have a pig, they have a garden, the children are healthy, and this is all because of you! I can come over here and work plus love but it wouldn't be possible without any of you! Thank you so much. I appreciate you all very much!
I would like to especially thank my family for your incredible support! Dad you have made me who I am today. The experiences that you have provided me with throughout my life and the people who I have had the opportunity to meet because of you have all helped me to be who I am. I miss you so much and I cannot wait to see you! Thanks for being there and supporting me through everything! Zach you are the best brother. You have so much going for you right now. Not to mention you are sixteen now and you have your license! Congratulations! I cannot wait to see you when I get home!! Love you! Mom, sharing this experience with you was wonderful. You are great, always have been...always will! We will have these memories for a lifetime and these will be great stories! Love you all so very much! Thank you!
Thank you Lisa-Marie Howell and Children's Global Alliance for another successful service trip! It has been great experiencing this again! I am so grateful you are a part of my life and that I had this opportunity once again! You are an incredible women and you are inspiring me everyday and many more, continuing to ignite many fires, and empowering many!
A little over a year ago, my life was changed. I had always heard about these kind of service trips or volunteers. I envied them but never thought that it would soon be such a large part of my life. But now I am here in Cambodia for the second time, experiencing this. I am learning great things and continuing to challenge myself in the process. I am not sure when I will be back again to Cambodia as this was my second time. However, I know that this opportunity and journey has only opened doors for me and it has created memories and passions that will last me a lifetime! Now that is amazing! I will remember this journey as being an extreme positive in my life, and one of the first steps to an even more fulfilling life! I hope that myself, my fellow volunteers, and the leaders on the trip have encouraged you to try an experience like this. It does not need to be large like this one. Start in your community, in your state, and then work your way around the world! The feeling
Thank again! Love you! Will see you all when I arrive home!
Anna Trombetta :)
Sorry for writing such a book! This blog is what you call letting two weeks of emotions and eight full hours with no distractions of time to write! Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Day 8 and Day 9: Everything Happens for a Reason
The title of my blog post, is that famous quote that we all know! "Everything happens for a reason." For me, the events that I have experienced on Days 8 and 9 here in Cambodia were at times difficult to understand but remembering this quote I knew it would be okay.
As many of you know I volunteered my time along with the rest of my group last year at an orphanage called CHA. Children's Hope Association Orphanage. This orphanage will always have and hold a special place in my heart because it made a profound impact on my life. The children there have scarred my life for the better and when I say that there is not a day that does not go by with out thinking about them it is the truth. Your first experience volunteering and connecting with children who are less fortunate then you allows you to create a bond that is at times hard to re-create again. I will forever and always be grateful for the opportunity I had to share my time and love with the children at CHA!
As many of you do not know, this year as a mentor with the new group of students, we did not go back to CHA. The orphanage went from 75 children to only about 20 children. This is due to an intense amount of people being untrustworthy. Very! I will never regret one moment, not one, that I spent at CHA last year and the impact that they had on me or the impact that I had on them. That is the truth! However, the people surrounding the orphanage being untrustworthy with the resources that people give them is so frustrating. I could go into a lot more detail about the current situation at CHA but there is a great deal of positivity that occurred at the orphanage and to me rather than the great amount of negativity happening now. To tell you as well, I was asked if I would like to travel to the orphanage this year and I chose not to based on focusing on positivity rather than the negativity happening now.
Yes. I do not know where all the children who I worked with last year are located however a little hope here in there will do me good. That is what is great about creating relationships that will last you a lifetime in life alone. Nalin has been this to everyone in our group from last year. She is also no longer at the orphanage but in the best way she can she takes care of all the children from CHA. She is always checking in on them and making sure she knows where they are. Nalin is not with them but she is with them in spirit and support. She is not only with her kids from CHA but she has started a new journey with a new organization.
This organization is called Auscam. It is for all girls ages 15 and older and it is heaven compared to any other orphanage/organization I have visited. The organization was founded by a couple from Australia who I had the opportunity to meet at CHA last year - Julie and her husband. Very generous people with the want to give girls the opportunity, the choice, and the freedom. The motto of the organization itself! Nalin is there and Lisa-Marie took me there to see her. The best out of it all however, is Noit and Srey Lan two of the girls from CHA are living there. So good!!!! The even better news is that Noit little sister Mi Mi was in town from the provinces to visit and Visal Nalin's "little boy"were all there to visit. Now that is hope right there! Four special children all looking healthier than before, and for the time being happy and safe in there environments. I know, I know only four children. This is however a sense of hope for me!
Everything happens for a reason! I seem to find myself believing this day in and day out here. Thank you Lisa-Marie for giving me this opportunity!
Love
Anna
As many of you know I volunteered my time along with the rest of my group last year at an orphanage called CHA. Children's Hope Association Orphanage. This orphanage will always have and hold a special place in my heart because it made a profound impact on my life. The children there have scarred my life for the better and when I say that there is not a day that does not go by with out thinking about them it is the truth. Your first experience volunteering and connecting with children who are less fortunate then you allows you to create a bond that is at times hard to re-create again. I will forever and always be grateful for the opportunity I had to share my time and love with the children at CHA!
As many of you do not know, this year as a mentor with the new group of students, we did not go back to CHA. The orphanage went from 75 children to only about 20 children. This is due to an intense amount of people being untrustworthy. Very! I will never regret one moment, not one, that I spent at CHA last year and the impact that they had on me or the impact that I had on them. That is the truth! However, the people surrounding the orphanage being untrustworthy with the resources that people give them is so frustrating. I could go into a lot more detail about the current situation at CHA but there is a great deal of positivity that occurred at the orphanage and to me rather than the great amount of negativity happening now. To tell you as well, I was asked if I would like to travel to the orphanage this year and I chose not to based on focusing on positivity rather than the negativity happening now.
Yes. I do not know where all the children who I worked with last year are located however a little hope here in there will do me good. That is what is great about creating relationships that will last you a lifetime in life alone. Nalin has been this to everyone in our group from last year. She is also no longer at the orphanage but in the best way she can she takes care of all the children from CHA. She is always checking in on them and making sure she knows where they are. Nalin is not with them but she is with them in spirit and support. She is not only with her kids from CHA but she has started a new journey with a new organization.
This organization is called Auscam. It is for all girls ages 15 and older and it is heaven compared to any other orphanage/organization I have visited. The organization was founded by a couple from Australia who I had the opportunity to meet at CHA last year - Julie and her husband. Very generous people with the want to give girls the opportunity, the choice, and the freedom. The motto of the organization itself! Nalin is there and Lisa-Marie took me there to see her. The best out of it all however, is Noit and Srey Lan two of the girls from CHA are living there. So good!!!! The even better news is that Noit little sister Mi Mi was in town from the provinces to visit and Visal Nalin's "little boy"were all there to visit. Now that is hope right there! Four special children all looking healthier than before, and for the time being happy and safe in there environments. I know, I know only four children. This is however a sense of hope for me!
Everything happens for a reason! I seem to find myself believing this day in and day out here. Thank you Lisa-Marie for giving me this opportunity!
Love
Anna
Friday, July 6, 2012
Day 7: New Work yet Heavy Day
The title of my blog post kind of says it all. I want to describe to you how exciting and funny the first part of my day was and how sad and hard the end of my was. So here it goes!!
Day 7 started off with some de-lousing and greetings from all of the children. The children like I said have so much lice in their heads, but their hugs are the best so it is kind of hard to resist. We then moved on and headed to the other side of the orphanage. This is where the pig pen that we helped build, the garden that we planted, and now the new clothes lines for all the children are located. There it is, clothes line for the orphanage was the project of the day. I know that some of you might say that putting in a clothes line isn't really that hard and doesn't take much labor. Just rope, two poles at the end, land, and some clothes. Hypothetically yes, but here in Cambodia it is so much more intense and I love every second of it!!!!
Lisa-Marie and I spotted out the area in which we wanted to build and then gave the gave plan to the rest of the group. We couldn't just grab the poles and rope and put it into the ground. Our group had to mow the lawn. Mowing the lawn in Cambodia means using a machete. Yes a machete. Another one of those things that I really did not have on my bucket list but today I put it on the bucket list and crossed it off. Ha!
My group really worked hard throughout this long, hot day! We were surrounded by many interesting insects who all seemed to love our sweet skin. Boots would have come in handy considering all of the bites we have on our bodies. I am very happy to tell you though that despite all of the bites and sweat that we all encountered, we finished the clothes line area. There is very little grass around the area now, and we created four nice clothes lines for the orphanage. The best news out of it all is the children are using it instead of hanging their clothes on the broken fence! This might not sound like much of an accomplishment but this is huge. The area that we cleaned like I said before was all grass and weeds covered with many unknown insects. They treated it poorly by throwing their trash and other belonging that had no value to them there. We cleaned the spot entirely of trash and made sure that we cut all of the grass so that it was just dirt. The reasoning behind this is that the children will walk on the dirt realizing that they have a distinctive area to put all of their clothes to dry and continue doing so. This has already been put into use and the before and after pictures are great and everything that we wished for!
Later in the day, Lisa-Marie wanted to take myself and her friend Johnny to the slums again. For those of you who have not heard Johnny is a long time friend of LM's and is a doctor from Florida. The three of us traveled to the slums for two specific reasons. One to give the rest of the donated school supplies to the library and school that the children we are working with attend. Two, to talk to Yoma's and Lili's mother who is HIV positive. Visiting the school is always exciting. Only a few days ago we gave the orphanage a small amount of supplies. All of them are now in use. So coming back to give them more and feeling so appreciated by the teachers and students is a great feeling. It always makes me think how lucky I am to be able to go to school and receive and education with the neccessary resources to succeed. That was awesome!
And then we take about five steps and we are at Yoma and LiLi's mothers house. Yoma had walked with us to the slums holding my hand and laughing the entire way, making me feel as though he had my back even though he is tiny. Ha! As I walked into the home, a huge wave of emotions seemed to take over my body. I think this was because Johnny, Lisa-Marie, and I were there to ask the mother something very important yet at the same time, her children are two of a few children who I have become close with over the past couple weeks. We were there to ask her about the medication she is taking for her HIV. (We did have an incredible translator with us. Her name is Sod Ti. Thanks!!) The medication that she should be taking helps to surpress the symptoms, control the growth, and help help help to not give it to her children. She is taking the medicine, and both of her children that I know have been tested and are negative. Huge deep breath! We went deeper into her story and about the HIV and the other things that go along with it. It took me everything to not breakdown and cry. I mean everything. Having Yoma right next to me and looking down at his face, his hands especially, everything is identical to his mom. Ugh! Such an amazing boy with so much happy around him at the orphanage that seeing this just kills me. I got through the end of my day fighting every emotion. I am grateful and appreciative of my mom and her support and my dad for taking care of his girls the way he should! I love you both so very very much! Thank you thank you!
More later! Love!
Anna
Day 7 started off with some de-lousing and greetings from all of the children. The children like I said have so much lice in their heads, but their hugs are the best so it is kind of hard to resist. We then moved on and headed to the other side of the orphanage. This is where the pig pen that we helped build, the garden that we planted, and now the new clothes lines for all the children are located. There it is, clothes line for the orphanage was the project of the day. I know that some of you might say that putting in a clothes line isn't really that hard and doesn't take much labor. Just rope, two poles at the end, land, and some clothes. Hypothetically yes, but here in Cambodia it is so much more intense and I love every second of it!!!!
Lisa-Marie and I spotted out the area in which we wanted to build and then gave the gave plan to the rest of the group. We couldn't just grab the poles and rope and put it into the ground. Our group had to mow the lawn. Mowing the lawn in Cambodia means using a machete. Yes a machete. Another one of those things that I really did not have on my bucket list but today I put it on the bucket list and crossed it off. Ha!
My group really worked hard throughout this long, hot day! We were surrounded by many interesting insects who all seemed to love our sweet skin. Boots would have come in handy considering all of the bites we have on our bodies. I am very happy to tell you though that despite all of the bites and sweat that we all encountered, we finished the clothes line area. There is very little grass around the area now, and we created four nice clothes lines for the orphanage. The best news out of it all is the children are using it instead of hanging their clothes on the broken fence! This might not sound like much of an accomplishment but this is huge. The area that we cleaned like I said before was all grass and weeds covered with many unknown insects. They treated it poorly by throwing their trash and other belonging that had no value to them there. We cleaned the spot entirely of trash and made sure that we cut all of the grass so that it was just dirt. The reasoning behind this is that the children will walk on the dirt realizing that they have a distinctive area to put all of their clothes to dry and continue doing so. This has already been put into use and the before and after pictures are great and everything that we wished for!
Later in the day, Lisa-Marie wanted to take myself and her friend Johnny to the slums again. For those of you who have not heard Johnny is a long time friend of LM's and is a doctor from Florida. The three of us traveled to the slums for two specific reasons. One to give the rest of the donated school supplies to the library and school that the children we are working with attend. Two, to talk to Yoma's and Lili's mother who is HIV positive. Visiting the school is always exciting. Only a few days ago we gave the orphanage a small amount of supplies. All of them are now in use. So coming back to give them more and feeling so appreciated by the teachers and students is a great feeling. It always makes me think how lucky I am to be able to go to school and receive and education with the neccessary resources to succeed. That was awesome!
And then we take about five steps and we are at Yoma and LiLi's mothers house. Yoma had walked with us to the slums holding my hand and laughing the entire way, making me feel as though he had my back even though he is tiny. Ha! As I walked into the home, a huge wave of emotions seemed to take over my body. I think this was because Johnny, Lisa-Marie, and I were there to ask the mother something very important yet at the same time, her children are two of a few children who I have become close with over the past couple weeks. We were there to ask her about the medication she is taking for her HIV. (We did have an incredible translator with us. Her name is Sod Ti. Thanks!!) The medication that she should be taking helps to surpress the symptoms, control the growth, and help help help to not give it to her children. She is taking the medicine, and both of her children that I know have been tested and are negative. Huge deep breath! We went deeper into her story and about the HIV and the other things that go along with it. It took me everything to not breakdown and cry. I mean everything. Having Yoma right next to me and looking down at his face, his hands especially, everything is identical to his mom. Ugh! Such an amazing boy with so much happy around him at the orphanage that seeing this just kills me. I got through the end of my day fighting every emotion. I am grateful and appreciative of my mom and her support and my dad for taking care of his girls the way he should! I love you both so very very much! Thank you thank you!
More later! Love!
Anna
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Day 6: A Pig Pen, Some Rain, & Lots of Lice!
Wow! Today has been a great one! We built a pig pen today from scratch using cement, bricks, brooms, hammers, and lots of man power. I must say, the building of a pig pen is one of those things that I never expected myself to be apart of one day. However, I am so thankful that I did work so hard to accomplish this because I learned so many new things in the process. Knowing how to cement a wall, use bricks properly when doing so, and making sure that for the amount of hours that I am working, I give nothing but my best work!
This process was a very long one for some of us who stayed and worked all day. Towards the afternoon, we had two big monsoonal rain storms. So big that the the water was attempting to wash away are newly cementing walls. Ha! That was not going to happen and I was determined - even if it took my entire body getting completly wet. Those of us who continued working on the pig pen worked through the rain and made sure that the walls around the pig pen were finished.
On the other side of the fence at the orphanage, the rest of the students who are volunteering here took on the job of de-lousing students. The children at CPO orphanage have full heads of lice. It is so incredibly bad! It feels like no matter how many times I wash their hair and sit them down for hours on end, it never comes out. I wish that I could just shave their heads. PLEASE!!! Nice job ladies, your job was just as hard as ours across the way!!!
My group over here in Cambodia are doing great! I have seen each one of them progress over the last week or so. We are having a lot of great laughs and fun too!!
Thanks to you all back home!!
Love
Anna
This process was a very long one for some of us who stayed and worked all day. Towards the afternoon, we had two big monsoonal rain storms. So big that the the water was attempting to wash away are newly cementing walls. Ha! That was not going to happen and I was determined - even if it took my entire body getting completly wet. Those of us who continued working on the pig pen worked through the rain and made sure that the walls around the pig pen were finished.
On the other side of the fence at the orphanage, the rest of the students who are volunteering here took on the job of de-lousing students. The children at CPO orphanage have full heads of lice. It is so incredibly bad! It feels like no matter how many times I wash their hair and sit them down for hours on end, it never comes out. I wish that I could just shave their heads. PLEASE!!! Nice job ladies, your job was just as hard as ours across the way!!!
My group over here in Cambodia are doing great! I have seen each one of them progress over the last week or so. We are having a lot of great laughs and fun too!!
Thanks to you all back home!!
Love
Anna
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Day 4 and 5: SFODA & PIO and Hard Work
We visited two different orphanages in the past couple of days, PIO and SFODA. Both of these orphanages are located right in the city and are completely different then CPO which is located on the country side - 40 minutes from the city. CPO is where we spend most of our time, however we visit orphanages like PIO and SFODA so that we can donate needed supplies and see a different view of their lives in Cambodia!
Our day started off with a trip to the famous market I have always talked about. It has an intense smell, interesting items for purchase, and major lack of organization. The look on my groups faces as they walked in was priceless! They had a look of fear, shock, and excitement all at once. Ha! So we were off, no turning back with our group of eleven all getting their chance at bargaining for an items such as pork, vegetables, fruits, etc.. It is not easy but for Cambodia Team 2's first time, they did awesome!
After we purchased our neccessary amount of food for the SFODA orphanage we headed in our tuk-tuks across town to meet these smiling faces and give them the donated supplies and the food we had purchased. It is always exciting when your tuk-tuk pulls up to a new orphanage with "goods" in hand - meaning your supplies but more importantly ourselves who are ready to love - and is greeted with hands, hugs, and questions from the children. The feeling that you receive is incredible! All my hard work and all the support from you at home is finally coming to fruition now. Wow! How cool is that?
SFODA has in terms of orphanage, great living conditons. Great living conditions at an orphanage in Cambodia, in my mind, is when each child living at the orphanage has a bed to themselves, has three meals a day, has a stable person running it, water, schooling, sanitary ways of living, and the ability to use the resources and support that volunteer's like us give them! I mean I never want to say living at orphanage is anything close to great but with the material things and the important things such as love coming from the heart - SFODA has everything. Thank you SFODA children and directors for allowing us to spend sometime with you!
Later in the day after going through the market once again to find more food and supplies for the orphanage to go along with our donated supplies, we headed to PIO. PIO is also located in the city but is not as glamorous as it sounds. To get to this orphanage I have to travel through a massive, overflowing trash dump to get here. Take one step off the trash, dirt, and water filled cracks, and you walk into a happy, talented, and love filled place. I mean despite it's unfortunate surroundings, this place is apsoluelty incredible. Their artistic skills, their abilty to dance - boys and girls, and their kindness is very enjoyable to be around. Some of the children great English some not, but as I have found not only at this orphanage but the others as well, that really there is no language barrier when you are smiling, nodding, and being open to love. Thank you PIO children/directors for opening your home to my friends and I and letting me dance until I had nothing left!!
As I mentioned before, hard work is something that really pays off here. Working hard before we get here allows us to do the things we do yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So, when we get the chance to do projects I am always all over it - especially here in Cambodia. When you work hard at something here around the children, it is like instant reaction and the need to help from them. Therefore, when they see us planting the garden or washing their clothes or taking the time to de-louse and show them personal hygeine skills they want to be apart of it. This is great because after we leave we will not be here to enforce it so we hope that they take the time and realize the importance so that the efforts are continued. Yes....another goal of CGA accomplished, teaching children to be self-sustainable. Check!!!!
Everything we are doing here is because we have great support back home! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! You are with me everyday during my work!!
xoxo
Anna
Our day started off with a trip to the famous market I have always talked about. It has an intense smell, interesting items for purchase, and major lack of organization. The look on my groups faces as they walked in was priceless! They had a look of fear, shock, and excitement all at once. Ha! So we were off, no turning back with our group of eleven all getting their chance at bargaining for an items such as pork, vegetables, fruits, etc.. It is not easy but for Cambodia Team 2's first time, they did awesome!
After we purchased our neccessary amount of food for the SFODA orphanage we headed in our tuk-tuks across town to meet these smiling faces and give them the donated supplies and the food we had purchased. It is always exciting when your tuk-tuk pulls up to a new orphanage with "goods" in hand - meaning your supplies but more importantly ourselves who are ready to love - and is greeted with hands, hugs, and questions from the children. The feeling that you receive is incredible! All my hard work and all the support from you at home is finally coming to fruition now. Wow! How cool is that?
SFODA has in terms of orphanage, great living conditons. Great living conditions at an orphanage in Cambodia, in my mind, is when each child living at the orphanage has a bed to themselves, has three meals a day, has a stable person running it, water, schooling, sanitary ways of living, and the ability to use the resources and support that volunteer's like us give them! I mean I never want to say living at orphanage is anything close to great but with the material things and the important things such as love coming from the heart - SFODA has everything. Thank you SFODA children and directors for allowing us to spend sometime with you!
Later in the day after going through the market once again to find more food and supplies for the orphanage to go along with our donated supplies, we headed to PIO. PIO is also located in the city but is not as glamorous as it sounds. To get to this orphanage I have to travel through a massive, overflowing trash dump to get here. Take one step off the trash, dirt, and water filled cracks, and you walk into a happy, talented, and love filled place. I mean despite it's unfortunate surroundings, this place is apsoluelty incredible. Their artistic skills, their abilty to dance - boys and girls, and their kindness is very enjoyable to be around. Some of the children great English some not, but as I have found not only at this orphanage but the others as well, that really there is no language barrier when you are smiling, nodding, and being open to love. Thank you PIO children/directors for opening your home to my friends and I and letting me dance until I had nothing left!!
As I mentioned before, hard work is something that really pays off here. Working hard before we get here allows us to do the things we do yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So, when we get the chance to do projects I am always all over it - especially here in Cambodia. When you work hard at something here around the children, it is like instant reaction and the need to help from them. Therefore, when they see us planting the garden or washing their clothes or taking the time to de-louse and show them personal hygeine skills they want to be apart of it. This is great because after we leave we will not be here to enforce it so we hope that they take the time and realize the importance so that the efforts are continued. Yes....another goal of CGA accomplished, teaching children to be self-sustainable. Check!!!!
Everything we are doing here is because we have great support back home! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! You are with me everyday during my work!!
xoxo
Anna
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Day 3: The Slums
Yesterday we visited the "slums" in the afternoon. The "slums" are located five minutes on foot from the CPO orphanage where we are working but the environment change in those five minutes is so drastic. This is a place where the children grew up, and some of the parents live and it is also where the children walk to school everyday. We start at the orphanage where a happy life has been created for these children to laugh, dance, sing, play, be safe, and overall feel the a sense of relief from their other life. When we begin to walk it slowly starts to become an entirely different world. A world filled with alcoholism, sex drive, HIV Postitive bodies, yelling (never in Cambodia...here yes), dogs fighting, water flowing throughout homes and walkways with trash, feces, and urine. Rack-shackle living enviroments where the families of thirteen, nine, five - mainly mothers and children - are living. It was a place where I carefully considered my behavior such as watching where I was stepping, where I was looking, what I said, etc. Simply put it was scary and very sad!
To add, our group had about ten children from the orphanage walking with us. In the biggest way they seemed to comfort me, but in the opposite biggest way it seemed to bring me down. The biggest way, I think is obvious - they do this all the time and they will have my back if something were to go wrong. The biggest opposite way, because as I said before this is where their parents are living. Parents who are HIV Positive or the lack of parents per say because of illness related death are in the air.
As I walked through, I looked around and studied the living conditions and compared to the place I live in, where I am staying here, and where I am volunteering my time here. So many things running through my mind. Soon we began to come to a stop. We stopped in front of the house and Lisa-Marie told us that this is the house of YOMA, a child who I have been working so very closely with over the past couple days. His mom has nine kids total and is HIV Positive. She is very nice and kind an has the best kid. Always smiling, dancing, laughing, running, really doing what every kid his age at seven should be doing. I appreciate his mom for allowing YOMA to come to CPO and have a better life and I hope that her kids will look up to people like LM, Jenna, my mom, myself, Alex, Bret, Ava, Nikko, Zoe, Mallory, and Camryn for their future lives.
We also visited their classroom and another families home. I love to sit in on their learning and see how excited they are to learn! I am so grateful that I was able to see this side of Cambodia and this side of these kids lives. It really opened my eyes once again!
Thank you LM for taking us here! Thanks again for all your support back home. I can feel it and I know the kids can!!!
Love
Anna
To add, our group had about ten children from the orphanage walking with us. In the biggest way they seemed to comfort me, but in the opposite biggest way it seemed to bring me down. The biggest way, I think is obvious - they do this all the time and they will have my back if something were to go wrong. The biggest opposite way, because as I said before this is where their parents are living. Parents who are HIV Positive or the lack of parents per say because of illness related death are in the air.
As I walked through, I looked around and studied the living conditions and compared to the place I live in, where I am staying here, and where I am volunteering my time here. So many things running through my mind. Soon we began to come to a stop. We stopped in front of the house and Lisa-Marie told us that this is the house of YOMA, a child who I have been working so very closely with over the past couple days. His mom has nine kids total and is HIV Positive. She is very nice and kind an has the best kid. Always smiling, dancing, laughing, running, really doing what every kid his age at seven should be doing. I appreciate his mom for allowing YOMA to come to CPO and have a better life and I hope that her kids will look up to people like LM, Jenna, my mom, myself, Alex, Bret, Ava, Nikko, Zoe, Mallory, and Camryn for their future lives.
We also visited their classroom and another families home. I love to sit in on their learning and see how excited they are to learn! I am so grateful that I was able to see this side of Cambodia and this side of these kids lives. It really opened my eyes once again!
Thank you LM for taking us here! Thanks again for all your support back home. I can feel it and I know the kids can!!!
Love
Anna
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