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The nostalgia is indescribable! As you can probably tell from my photos i got to spend time blowing bubbles and balloons with the worlds most beautiful children! The first week in PP was spent getting a glimpse of the historical buildings and my favourite, The Royal Palace! (image 18) However i must say the second part of my stay in Phnom Penh was far more rewarding. I spent time doing service for the incredible Tabitha Foundation. This involved building houses for families who either didn't previously have a home or their home was ruined in various floods. This required the families to save 25 US dollars which depressingly took most families up to two years to make! The houses we built for them were basically the size of a small bedroom which would then house up to families of 10! (images 10,11,13) Yet it was hard to show our concern because this was a gift of a lifetime for them and i will never forget the tears of joy and overbearing smiles on their faces when we handed the houses over in the blessing ceremony.
Between shifts of nailing down timber floors in high humidities and making cordial to ease our dehydration, we spent time with overly excited and avid receivers who would sit and just watch for hours on end offering to help whenever we made eye contact. The children in this village (images 1-9) were so content although they literally had nothing more than their clothes. (all were bare foot) We entertained them with balloons and bubbles, by which they were mesmerised. We taught them how to play duck duck goose and by the end of the day the whole village including Grandma, were running around enticed by this new found entertainment! The craftier members of our service team who were confronted by the fact that these children had never seen the likes of a TV (despite the fact they lived in a village that had no electricity and the only transport for miles was a cow cart in image 9 and that was the wealthy family!) Attempted to teach a pack of eager youngsters Beyonce's Single Ladies dance, to which they were successful! (video below)
Other than building houses in rural villages outside of Phnom Penh we taught english in schools in the cities centre, which consisted of a lot of "head, shoulders, knees and toes!" As well as our voluntary work for 'Free the Bears' at Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, 40 km south of PP. We spent the day feeding the Sun bears and scrubbing out their cages which required an acquired sense of smell...(image 16). Also take the time to visit the central markets via tuk tuk! I managed to find two pairs of vintage doc martins and cheap converse sneakers!!
However building houses for families with Tabitha was by far my favourite part of the whole trip because of how grateful they were to receive something we all take for granted! I have never seen this type of happiness, they thought we were Gods. Ironic how they felt truly privileged and blessed to receive a home that most would classify a shed on stilts and that they didn't take it disparagingly like it was their right. I have never seen someone so satisfied and righteously, our spoilt Western Suburb eyes were truly opened.
(So parents if your children are being a royal pain in the... or even if they are not! send them to build houses in Cambodia, because i can truly not describe the amazing experiences their senses will be exposed to! and even though i went on this trip back in October 2010 i am still reminded of it everyday! and go with them because i got to take my wonderful father and now we are sending mum there this October! :)
xx
