Steph’s Cambodia Blog

 

Please note we have moved our blog to the following address –

 

www.steph-cambodia.blogspot.com

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I decided to volunteer at Savong’s School and I am so happy that I did. I have met some of the most amazing people and I am very happy that I had the chance to go to a place where they really needed me and be a part of something that is so great.

I came to Cambodia not knowing what to expect and had no idea what I had gotten myself into when I decided to volunteer at Savong’s School in a little community village just outside of Siem Reap. On my journey I met some of the nicest people I could ever have come across!!

Coming back home and looking back at my time in Cambodia, I realize that I thought my life was complete before I came to Cambodia, but I now know that it wasn’t… Having this experience has changed my life and helped me realized how lucky I am to have so many privileges and simple things in my life. The kids that I met at Savong’s School taught me so much about life values and most importantly they taught me about myself… I am so thankful to each and every person – and now I am returning the favour by getting more people involved in my project. Together we can make a difference and I believe that if you make a difference to one person, if you help only even one person have a better future, then the world is already a better place!!

When I was at Savong’s School I became friends with so many kids… My family and I decided to sponsor Chom Rong – he is 22 years old and is one of the most polite and friendly people I have ever known.

We painted a mural at the school with many of the kids. One of them was Seyha, who is 17 years old and had never painted or drawn anything in his life… When he painted his first stroke with the paint brush, his eyes lit-up – it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen… We also got the kids to take photos of themselves and their friends… Whenever they took a photo of someone and showed them the picture they thought it was MAGIC!!!  These are only some of the little things I took for granted and these kids helped me realize that whether I am painting or taking a photo, it really is something special and I must take pride in what I do…

On the weekend we took some of the orphans to Angkor Wat and we also went to the Floating Village – they had so much fun and it was a great couple of days. Watching the kids jumping off the boat into the lake was an experience that I was very lucky to have, and I will never forget their faces when we jumped into the water…

Having a fancy car to drive and living in a nice house doesn’t make you rich… What’s around you doesn’t necessarily make you happy either… The amazing people I met are the living proof of that… Please make a difference and change a person’s life – I did, and it has changed my life and who I am for the better…

Steph

 

 

Part 1 – Thank you…

 

This trip would not have been possible without Svay Savong and the founding members and supporters of the Savong School. Savong’s dedication to his kids is deep-rooted, as we found in numerous conversations with him. Following in his father’s footsteps, he spent 3 years as a monk and learnt the value of education in the monastery – when he rejoined daily life outside the monastery,he set-up a small school at his parents’ home. With Duncan and the other Founders’ assistance, the school moved to the poorer rural area it is now in and the work being done there is so much needed.

 

I’d also like to thank Duncan Stuart, based in Auckland New Zealand, who has helped Savong establish the school and is now somewhat of an administrator and treasurer – both very time- consuming roles, which are done for love, not money. Thank you, Duncan, for your enthusiastic support and counsel you have given us.

 

You can learn more about the Savong School at   www.savong.com   and since some of you have asked how you may be able to contribute, you will find a link on the web site. Having said that, making a donation comes nowhere near getting in there and experiencing ‘giving’ – I would HIGHLY recommend it…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 2 – Rural Cambodia Photo Essay…

 

Rural Cambodia reminds me of the look Hollywood tries to recreate in some movies – a simple, nostalgic look, with the family unit and the community at its heart. On our many rides in the Tuk-Tuk, we stopped countless times for me to try to capture some of the essence of rural Cambodia through the lens of the camera – innocent and timeless scenes which most of us simply pay no attention to in our hastily-lived everyday lives…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 3 – The surprise…

 

Chomrong is one of Savong’s orphans – his mother died when he was very young and his father left him with his grandmother. When he was in his teens, she wanted him to drop out of school, which is very common in rural Cambodia, and he turned to Savong for help. Chomrong moved into the orphanage and has been studying at Savong’s school and the local high-school – he is very diligent and proudly showed us his notebooks. The work was meticulous, neat and clearly with a lot of pride. For the entire time we were in Cambodia, Chomrong always carried his dictionary with him – often just reading it…

 

Over the past few years Chomrong has become somewhat of a role-model to the younger kids at the school and orphanage. With a thirst to learn more, he asked Savon if he could change from the local high-school to the Siem Reap high-school for his final year (starting later this month) – in Cambodia the rural schools always get the lower-quality teachers…

 

The only problem was that the Siem Reap high-school is 1.5 hours by pushbike from the village and would cost $2 a day – a fortune in Cambodia, where the average wage is $1 a day. Well, technically the school is free, but all students who want to excel get 1-on-1 tutes with teachers who charge for their time… And this student clearly wants to excel…

 

We discussed the issue with Savong during our early days with him and later in our trip Michelle and I decided to sponsor Chomrong for his final year at high-school – we will pay his expenses and buy him a motorbike to cut the commute down to half an hour. He had tears in his eyes as we told him we’d love to be his sponsors for high school, and when he excels there, we will also sponsor him to go to university…

 

 

 

 

You see, EDUCATION IS THE KEY to breaking the poverty cycle – and if we want to make a difference, starting with 1 person at a time is better than not starting at all…

 

There is a Jewish proverb that says that if you save a life, it’s as if you saved the entire world… As our lives touched Chomrong’s, I’m certain his life will continue to touch others, who will in-turn touch others – and in the words of Michael Jackson, ‘the world will be a better place for you and for me’…

 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing our experience with us!!

 

AVIV

 

Hi Everyone,

 

Our ‘comments’ tab is now fixed !!

 

Please send us your comments by simply clicking on the ‘comments’ tab at the bottom of any of the blog entries.

And THANK YOU for your fantastic comments so far!! Really kept us going through those full-on days!!…

Here are some additional comments received by email who were happy to get posted –

——————–

Hi Aviv,

Great to hear from you my friend! I have been reading through your Blog and looking at all the photos. What an amazing story and what amazing people you all are!!! I am so proud of you Aviv. What you and your family are doing has touched me deeply.

When you get back you need to take all the words you have written, the photos and the captions and we will make photobooks for you. Not just for you all but also for the children. I know you have some sort of connection with a business that makes photo albums but you will have to let me do this for you

Take care.
My warmest regards to you all,
Rob

Rob Tolmie
Managing Director
Photo Create Pty Ltd

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wow! wow! wow!
can’t wait to read more!
with love to you all -
k

Kathy Kaplan

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Hi Aviv,
 
Just to say this is great stuff – kol hakavod!  I’ll look forward to hearing more about the project when you return.  Best wishes to the family, hope everyone is enjoying the experience, which looks amazing.
 
I’d love to have you guys share some of your experiences with the congregation some Shabbat.  We’ll talk more about it.
 
All the best!
 
Fred
 
Rabbi Fred Morgan
Temple Beth Israel

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Dot Nathan -
Wow! what joy and pleasure you all had and are having with this school and all your contacts along the way. You and your family have really lived! In giving you guys have received every so much more in what you have given to these kids. Your recordings and photos are amazing. How right you are taking the time to do something so great and thank you for sharing this with us all.
 
Kol hakavod to you and your family. A special hello to your Mum.
 
Dot.

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Thank you all!!

 

AVIV

 

 

PS. Next blog will be uploaded later today – with that special surprize!!

 

 

 

 

 

Well, dinner last night was not as planned… By the time we left the school to head to the restaurant (after 7.30pm), we missed the Apsara dancing… So we had a Khmer BBQ instead… Mikki and Steph got a lift there on the motorbikes, and my mother went home by motorbike… A first for her I think…

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday was our last day with the kids in Cambodia – it’s amazing how quickly we’ve bonded with them considering we’ve never met before, the cultural differences and the language barrier… We’ve found a common language so easily…

We started out as usual at 5.30 in the morning and stopped at a couple of bakeries on the way to school – we bought some bread and cakes for the kids – we were having our going-away parties in very class!! The cakes were our idea, but the bread was Savong’s – apparently it’s a treat for the kids to have the baguettes dipped in milk (the canned, sweetened variety).

As you can see, the parties were well received…

 

 

 

 

 

After the morning classes, at about 9am, we went to the orphanage where Savong had organized for us to meet with some of the poorest families in the village and pass on to them the good-will food parcels we bought. This was a bigger event than we expected… The commune leader came as well and I used this opportunity to congratulate Savong on the great job he is doing – education is EXACTLY the right way to break the poverty cycle and we were proud and humbled to be able to volunteer and assist. I urged the people to keep sending their kids to the school – in a country where education is optional and often not seen as important in the poorer rural areas, this is an important message.

 

We then went on to hand-out to each of the 16 families a bag of rice, some canned fish, fish sauce, loaves of bread and some money. Truly a humbling experience as each family representative came up and accepted the good-will packages from each of us.

 

 

 

We spent more time at the orphanage this morning and decorated the kids’ bedroom and living area with some of the wall-décor stickers we brought with us. The kids also loved the Disney colour-in books…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we returned to the school, I snapped some of these photos – we bought a couple of large sheets of glass for the library work-tables – we put photos under 1 and the kids’ artwork under the other… We also hung-up all the kids artwork in an ‘exhibition’ so that they can be proud of their work and everyone could enjoy it… And the finished wall-mural was unveiled…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued the party theme lessons with the afternoon and evening classes – and hit the jackpot with our 5-6pm class – 69 kids – many sitting 4 to a desk!!

  

   

 

At the end of the day, we really didn’t want the experience to end… We’ve put-in long days, but were truly rewarded with the kids’ appreciation and friendship. We knew at the outset this could be a life-altering trip, and for each of the 6 of us it was…

 

 

We went back to Pub Street for our final dinner and we were exhausted…

 

 

I asked everyone what they enjoyed the most and will remember the most about this unique trip, and everyone came back with the same reply – the sincere gratitude of the kids. They wrote us spontaneous thank-you notes, gave us drawings, unexpectedly stood-up in class and told us how much they appreciated us coming and spending time with them. Above all, they gave us their ever-present smiles that will stay in our hearts forever…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the last blog which will be posted over the next day or so, I’ll share with you some photos of the beauty of everyday life we were privileged to see in rural Cambodia, and one more surprise…

 

J 

AVIV

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday – Had a great day…

We stopped at the market at 5.30am on the way to school… There’s something we wouldn’t do at home… We bought some fresh baguettes and bananas for breakfast and took-in the stalls and street venders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today was ‘colour day’… We taught the kids the colours and made small colour charts with them in their notebooks – we also used the colourful balloons we brought with us– the kids loved it!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steph’s finished her project notebook and many of the students wrote some pretty cool messages for her – we also got a lot of personal notes from the kids – quite humbling really…

Before we broke-up at 9.30, we got all the kids who were at the school for the morning session outside and they sang Heal The World as we videoed it…  Considering they’ve only been learning it for a week, they did very well – and had a great time of course… I’ll see if we can add it to the blog…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At our lunch break we went to the central market – we bought some dried fish, canned fish, fish sauce and rice for some of the poorest families in the village. I asked Savong to invite about 10 families to the orphanage tomorrow and we’ll hand some good-will parcels to them. He was very grateful  - and invited some of the village elders to meet with us as well – he told me to work on my speech… Savong’s got a great sense of humour… J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mich taught another computer lesson, Mikki put-on his IT hat and is working to fix one of the school’s aging computers, my mother tidied-up the  library and appointed 6 monitors to keep it they way she’ll leave it… (good luck with that!!…). Alex and Steph started a trend for the kids to decorate the school’s walls with colour-chalk (with Savong’s permission of course…) – we bought colour-chalk with us and the kids really got into it!! It’ll wash down with the rain, but that just means another creative task for the next sunny day… J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight we’re taking Savong and his wife Aneed to dinner and an Apsara dance show – traditional Khmer dancing… And tomorrow is our last day… All to soon… LLL

We want to finish-off with a bang and will have a party in every class…

J

AVIV

Our mornings are back to the 5am wake-up call and the 5.30am pick-up… At school by 6-6.15am… Can’t imagine the kids doing that at home… J

On Monday we gave the kids the photos of them that we took on Friday – they were VERY excited… We took some coloured A4 paper and folded it in half to make photo-cards and then decorated it – all while learning English… Photo, card, glue, what colour paper would you like? etc… The kids got to take these home – they were so surprised!!

 

 

 

 

 

Today, Tuesday, we worked the full day too – early morning and afternoon.

 Got some great photos of the monks on our way to school…

 

 

 

We taught the kids to make name-bracelets using wooden beads with the letters of the alphabet – another great way to learn English – how many beads do you need? What colour beads would you like, not to mention looking for the letters you need in the thousands of wood beads we brought with us… J

 

 

At our lunch break we went to visit Savong’s father – a very interesting guy. He used to be a monk before Pol Pot turned all monks into farmers… After Pol Pot’s regime, he returned to practising Buddhism and now has a long line of people coming to seek his advice regarding best dates to do certain things and guide them. Taught us some interesting lessons too… Here’s one – Buddhism has 6 senses – the five we all know and a sense of SOUL – love it!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mural at school progressed further and the artwork and creativity continued to pour out… Mikki has been practising Heal The World with every class – and he and I even taught one class Old McDonald Had A Farm… Steph and Alex finished-off the photo-card making with the classes and continued with the name-bead-making…

 

 

 

 

 

For the last hour of the day Mich ran a computer lesson with some of the kids – pretty versatile aren’t we??

On the way back to the guest house tonight the girls got drenched in a tropical rain storm in the Tuk-Tuk… I’ve never seen someone laugh as much as they did – they had A BALL JJJ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AVIV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a week of full-on internation with the kids, we were looking forward to some R&R on the weekend… Only that there is so much to see and do, that we didn’t get much rest…

On Saturday morning we headed to Angkor Wat with Savong and some of the kids from the orphanage. This is a World Heritage Listed multiple-temple site that was built from about 800-1200 AD – that’s pretty old… The area was a vast metropolis, and today we can still visit and admire the grand carved stone architecture from the height of the Khmer Kingdom. (You can Google the rest of the info… J)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We wandered about with the kids, ‘melted’ in the heat and listened to Savong’s commentary before having lunch with the kids nearby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was off to the Central Market where we bought the kids some treats and a couple of treats from Savong and me… Not sure if you know, but large spiders are a delicacy in Cambodia – about the size of a Huntsman, these are fried and taste like a cross between chips and… chicken!!  You know, everything exotic tastes like chicken… kangaroo, emu, crocodile, snake – well, now I can add spider to that list… J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another full-on day with the kids, and we were ready to crash…

 

Today we were back at school – making some cards with the kids using the photos we took of them last week – we printed all 500 of them over the weekend!! And a couple of other surprises I’ll write about tomorrow or the next day…

Thanks to those of you who have already commented – and those of you that haven’t, feel free to leave us a message on the blog!!

Regards from a warm Cambodia and busy day at school,

AVIV

  

 

Hi Everyone!!

 

 

Had some trouble with the Blog, all up and running now thanks to Mikki…

 

We’ve been pretty much flat-out since getting here on Tuesday – long, hot days but very rewarding… This is the wet season, although it hasn’t rained every day all day – the temperature is around 35 degrees and 80% humidity during the day and about 25 degrees at night… We get sweaty at about 6am and cool off after 10pm when we get back from dinner…

 

We wake-up at about 5am and the car and Tuk-Tuk pick us up at 5.30!! We’re at Savong’s school by 6am and take 2 classes – 6-7am and 7-8am… Although, having said that, the kids (and us…) are having such a good time that the first class lasts to 7.30 and the second goes from 7.30-9am… Yes, these kids are keen – 2 packed classes with over 40 students in each – often sitting 3 to a desk… as early as 6am and 7.30am…

 

 

 

 

 

After the morning sessions the school has a break and resumes at 2pm – we’ve used this time to visit the orphanage, or visit the local market – check out the fresh meat and seafood…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The afternoon classes each last an hour and run from 2pm to 7pm… A pretty long and sweaty day… (remember we started at 6 in the morning…:))  The kids vary in ages from 7 or 8 through to 17-18 year olds, so as you can imagine, we have to cover different topics in each class… Our lessons have been as diverse as Australian history and animals, fruit and vegetables, feelings, photography and the solar system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My mother has been flat-out in the library – sorting out the books and resources when she has spare time at the start and end of each day… She’s basically flat-out working with the kids (all ages, including the teenagers) on numerous art and craft activities – they just LOVE it – check out the photos!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rural school is about half an hour from the Guest House we’re staying at – the countryside is so peaceful in the morning – ‘peak-hour’ bicycle riders commuting from the villages to the city to work and monks marching to bless homes in exchange for food… Sunrises reflecting in rice fields and the beautiful blooming lotus flowers… The people are just so beautiful and gentle – with an ever-present smile… It seems the less they have the happier they are…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the ’tuck-shop’ items cost 5-10 cents…

 

 

We’ve been teaching the kids the chorus of Heal The World  – we’re teaching it to every class and hope to have the entire school sing it on video on our last day…

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some class photos – yes, all the kids fit into these small classes and are VERY well behaved…

 

Alexandra and Steph riding back home on the Tuk-Tuk after a long and rewarding day… 

 

 

 

 

 

The last few photos are from Pub Street, which looks like it was taken out of a Vietnam war movie (they even play ’70s music…) - and the Fish Massage we had one night… These fish nibble at your feet eating-up the dead/dry skin… )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s all for today – I’ll try to update daily or every 2 days… Still to come – our visit with the orphans to Angkor Wat on the weekend – and me eating a Khmer delicacy – a large spider… Tasted similar to KFC’s pop-corn chicken, but not as meaty…  )

 

 

AVIV

 

 

Hi Everyone,

A few months ago our youngest daughter Steph applied to go on a school-organized volunteer trip to Cambodia. A pretty big decision for any 14 year-old… To her extreme disappointment, her school principal decided that since her application was lodged a few days past the deadline, she won’t be able to go on the trip (there were still 7 vacant spots mind you…).

I told Steph that everything in life is ‘meant to be’ – perhaps the universe wanted her to go on the trip to Cambodia with me, not her school… That night we hopped on the internet and Googled ’14 year old volunteer Cambodia’ – we narrowed the search to a dozen sites and emailed 6 of them. Our first reply was waiting for us the next morning – and our friendship with Savong’s school in Cambodia was formed.

Savong started his school with plenty of vision and no money. With the help and generosity of private donors in several countries, he has established a rural school that serves over 400 students. The classes are run for free, with the school costs being covered entirely by ordinary people like you and me. The students learn English and Japanese, to supplement the State School education they get.

But here’s the key – none of the kids HAVE to come to this school – they all WANT to come to this school… So much so that they are there at 6am before going to the State School – and others are there until 7pm, after their full day at school… You see, these kids are MOTIVATED to break their poverty cycle and live a fuller life of greater opportunities…

One thing led to another, and a few months after establishing contact with Savong’s school, 6 of us are travelling to Cambodia – my wife Michelle, our daughter Stephanie, my mother Nili, my nephew Mikki, Alexandra – a family friend who “just had to come” and me…

We prepared extensively with lesson plans and numerous materials – from Australian stuffed animals to basketball rings, laminated posters to art and craft material and so much more. I must also thank Alan and John for donating 2 lap-tops for the school (!!), Richard Robertson from Ted’s for the loan of the digital video camera, as well as Disney Consumer Products for the bevy of educational material and Office Works for the sports ribbons.

This blog is here to inspire you – to show you that ordinary people like us can so easily make a massive positive impact on other people’s lives… We can inspire them and support them so easily, if only we take the time out of our daily rushed-lives to look around… This experience is truly humbling – thank you for sharing it with us through our blog…

Enjoy…

AVIV