FALL BREAK - HOUSEBUILDING IN CAMBODIA

This year during fall break, we chose to spend our holiday building houses for the poor in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We formed a group of seven families from the Singapore American School, mostly friends and neighbors with teenagers, and were also joined by two families from Brunei and one Canadian. After all the amazing trips that we have been fortunate enough to take, we all felt like it was time to give back. To do something firsthand for somebody else who isn't as fortunate as we are. Planning for this trip started in the spring, and fundraising efforts began in earnest when we all returned from summer break. We held a very successful fundraiser at a local restaurant, complete with raffles and auction, and were completely overwhelmed at the generosity of our friends who helped us reach our goal. As volunteers, we were responsible for our own transportation and hotel costs, but needed to raise money to pay for the building materials which is roughly $950 US per house. Thanks to the generous donations, we were able to build not only 16 houses, but raised enough money to pay for 16 ponds and wells to be dug in the community. This will allow the villagers to water their crops and to have access to water. The simple homes that we built are up on stilts, allowing the families to escape from the flood conditions and have a roof over their heads. The Cambodian families were required to raise the equivalent of $30 US dollars to purchase the small plot of land and to contribute to the cost of the building materials. It takes most families over TWO years to save thirty dollars!!! That is the cost of a pedicure in my world, and it made me want to work that much harder to help these people who live in such poor conditions. I personally have never seen such extreme poverty in my life. There was no running water, no electricity, many of the young children ran around naked and those who did have clothes that are dirty and torn. The kids had no toys to play with, and played with sticks or bamboo fishing poles they made. A few of them rode bicycles. They had no clean water, and washed their dishes and clothes in the river which was covered in algae. They live in huts made of grass, cardboard, and discarded materials. When it rains everything is covered in mud. They cook their meals over an open fire outdoors. Yet, strangely enough, they seem HAPPY! They were smiling and grateful that we were there. Though we weren't able to communicate through speaking, the smiles on their faces and the looks in their eyes said it all. We learned to say 'thank you' which sounds something like "Ah Kun" and the Cambodian people thanked us again and again for being there. They were very shy the first day but opened up the second day, and it was just heartwarming to see the children playing duck-duck-goose and doing the hokey-pokey with our kids. To watch their eyes light up and chase the bubbles that we blowed. To smile shyly and pose for the camera. That was definitely the highlight for me, taking pictures of all the people and then turning the camera around and showing them what they look like! The kids would just laugh and giggle and want to do it again! I truly could have just taken pictures all day long. Next time I will take a polaroid camera and give them some photos of themselves.....

The frames were already in place when we arrived. We were responsible for putting in the bamboo floors and the metal siding for the walls. It was a lot of hammering and very noisy! I am happy to report that we had no injuries other than a few smashed thumbs. Our theme song was "If I Had a Hammer"; remember that song?

The OCD in me prompted me to count the nails that went into each house built - roughly 2,500 nails in the bamboo floors, multiplied by 16 houses makes 36,000 nails in the floors alone! Part of our group worked on the floors, and the others started in on the walls. It actually went pretty fast! We finished 10 houses the first day, and did 6 the second day. It rained some the first day and things were very very muddy!

This is what the houses look like when finished. We gave a quilt to each of the families at the "Handing Over" ceremony at the end of the final day of housebuilding. It's hard to explain the emotions we felt as we handed a family their quilt and a lady blessed us to a life of 100 years! This was a very humbling and rewarding experience, and one that we will never forget.

Some of the kids played duck-duck-goose with our kids, while many of the villagers looked on.

This is our group at the end of the first day.

Kasey and her friend Elizabeth were covered in mud, as we all were after the rain!

Families who owned a pig or a cow were considered very well off.

This is a good "before" photo.

I watched as they cooked their meal over the fire-rice and something that looked like a root or a bean of some sort.

This woman was washing her dishes in the nasty river water. They have to use this water for cooking and cleaning too, if they don't have a well.

Zoom in on this picture and you will see a Cambodian style "playpen" used for their babies. Notice the chicken in the foreground!

I just loved taking pictures of the Cambodian people, and most of them were willing and eager to be photographed. There were very few elders in the village, as a result of the Pol Pot genocide killings in the late 1970's. Most of their population now is under the age of 30. Sadly, their infant mortality rate is very high.

Isn't she the cutest young girl? I noticed her right away, as she was always carrying around the younger children. She loved having her picture made and really worked the camera! ha!

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to touch or hold the children. Parents have been known to try to give their children away if they see you holding them.....either out of gratitude, or perhaps just wanting a better life for their children.

This little boy was more than happy to collect all of our empty water bottles at the end of the day!

They are just the cutest kids, always smiling. I went to bed thinking about them and woke up thinking about them too. Kasey kept reminding me not to get too attached!

This bald headed lady was one of my favorites

This little boy was digging in the dirt with a stick for hours. We saw no toys at all, except for bicycles.

These are the women who work in the Tabitha cottage industry, making silk items by hand which are beautiful.

Some of the women making quilts at the sewing machines

Our first day in Phnom Penh was spent at the Tuol Sleng torture center, where we learned about the evil Pol Pot regime of the late 1970's. Pol Pot was a communist who wanted to kill all Cambodians with an education and their extended families-and force all others to work in the rice fields outside of the city. The inhumane treatment of the Cambodian people was just unbelievable. If you were a doctor, teacher, or lawyer, you and your family were first tortured and then killed-babies and children included. Pol Pot wiped out millions of people, over half of the population.

Double click on this picture so you can read the sign at the torture center.

Pol Pot and his followers put identity tags on each person that they were going to kill, and then took their picture. Can you imagine having your picture taken and knowing that you were about to be tortured and killed?

One of Pol Pot's rules - NO SMILING!

One of the torture rooms

This photo was taken at the Killing Fields. This is the tree by which the infants were killed. The communists held the babies by their feet and smashed their heads against the tree to kill them, because they didn't want to waste a bullet.

Display of skulls of the victims at the killing fields

This is the building where the bones and skulls were displayed at the killing fields

Poverty in Cambodia is everywhere you look. The villagers used this dirty river water for bathing, cooking, washing dishes and clothes.

Check out this skinny cow!

A local man selling his coconuts

Workers in the fields

I took this photo from inside our bus. The people in the city of Phnom Penh get around on scooters and carry anything and everything with them! This guy had cases of fresh eggs.

Family of four on a scooter. I did actually see a family of six on a scooter but couldn't get their photo!

This is our group of boys on the trip

OK, I made Wesley pose for this picture outside of the Tabitha building where we were getting our overview on the housebuilding. I hate to even admit it, but when Wes was little and ran around without a shirt on and he was so skinny his ribs showed, I used to call him a Cambodian Refugee.

We did go to some local markets on our last day in Phnom Penh, and saw fried bugs for sale-looked like spiders and beetles and roaches. And raw meat and fish for sale, with flies all over them. Are we so blessed in our lives or what? I can't even let the water run in the sink now without thinking of those we served in Cambodia.