We woke to the sound of children singing, light coming in the windows, water splashing out of a wheelbarrow rolling by, and, on the first morning, to a pair of curious eyes peering in through our window. When are they going to get up??! All this before 7am. Not wanting to be a lazy volunteer, I managed to roll out of bed. Well, not really rolled. More liked ducked out of the net and stood up. Many of the kids were already outside and either playing on the swing set or helping with chores. Some of the kids had school in the morning, others in the afternoon. There were at least a dozen around at any given time. Our time was spent teaching basic English interspersed with games, art projects, and just hanging around the playground. Games, we quickly learned, were a fun way to practice English as well as entertainment for the adults as we laughed at the kids’ competitiveness being marred by their confusion between things such as bringing us the red or green pen (which was which?!) amidst the shouts from their teammates during a “steal the bacon†type game.
I had been advised to bring some art supplies for the kids, and this proved to be a great investment. In addition to the usual paper, pens and pencil, I had brought along several pairs of scissors. During some down time in the afternoon of our second day at Svay Kroum, I showed a couple kids how to make a spiral-shaped mobile by cutting a circle, drawing a swirl, and cutting along the outline. “Snake! Snake!†they exclaimed and smiled at the finished product. So began an afternoon of snake after snake. I would draw the outline, and the kids would cut it out themselves. Some caught on quickly and began making their own snakes or other cut-outs.
Matt showed some kids how to make palms trees, which was also a big hit. “Cutting time†was one of the highlights for me—it was so much fun to see the kids get into drawing and cutting out shapes, especially knowing that it provided some variety to just playing outside (not that there’s anything wrong with that!).
(Some outside kids from the village who arrived late in the day, but still wanted a chance to make a snake!)
The orphanage was basic. It was completed a few months before we arrived. A brick wall was still being built around the generously sized compound. Most of the area was covered in dusty sand; there were a few coconut trees, and newly planted papaya and banana trees, yet to bear any fruits. With no running water, each morning the boys would pump water to fill troughs in the outhouses and the large jar by the cooking and eating area. Power came in the form of a few hours of generator use on special nights and from a car battery rigged up to a fluorescent light. In addition to a cooking area, there was a multipurpose building at the entrance of the compound used for both meetings and housing, a playground with lots of swings, and a main building. The main building provided shelter from the sun during the day and other elements at night. Two staircases led up to an outside corridor on each side of the building, on leading to the boys’ room, the other to the girls’. Bunk beds filled each room. In the girls’ room pictures from a coloring book adorned the wall. Woven mats lay in place of mattresses. We slept on a mat too, in one of the rooms downstairs. It was hard. Literally. But the actually sleeping wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. A mosquito net provided us with extra physical and psychological comfort. (Regarding Matt’s post…are there any other ways to sleep than the three you mentioned, regardless of mattress? Sitting up maybe? I did that a lot in college…)
Traveling in Nepal and observing villagers throughout the trip prepared us for staying in a village in many ways. One of which is the bucket bath. For privacy, I would take my bucket of freshly pumped water to the “grown-up†toilet next to the multipurpose building. This small space consisted of the bottom half of a western toilet (no seat, and no water tank), a cement floor, and a drain in the back corner. One night I waited too long and it was dark out by the time I took my shower, I opted to do as most villagers seem to do, and bathed fully clothed by the water pump where there was a little bit more light. Matt went this route every night. By the last night he had an audience of little kids who helped by pumping his water, holding the flashlight, and one kid even held the bottle of shampoo. I thought it was cute that Matt had so many assistants to help him out.
As for the food, I feel bad to say it wasn’t so tasty, but it was lovingly prepared by the lady with the help of the girls, and on our last night someone else even came in to make us loc lak. It was interesting to eat new things. Cucumber stuffed with ground pork in broth, preserved ciku fruits, fish soup, noodles with water lily stems and other goodies, and a mystery dyed-pink rice dessert.
(Some of the girls making dessert. Pen Face looks on in the background.)
The kids ate most of the same stuff we had, only I suspect we got more meats, particularly on the loc lac night. The majority of the meals consisted of soup with fish and greens and lots of rice. Throughout the day I’d see some of the kids snacking on fruits and leftovers. It will be good for them when the fruit trees mature. One night Matt had the idea to bring out cans of coke to share with the kids. They ran around energetically like usual before crashing on the floor in front of the tv, using each other as support. It was like they could have been any other kids at home on a Saturday night. Only there were a lot of them, and they didn’t watch tv everyday. And they were watching dvds, not real time television; instead of carpet and couches, they lounged on the table and tile floor.
There were so many kids, and with me already bad at names in addition to trying to teach English for the first time, neither of us learned the kids’ names. But we made up for it with nicknames. The kid in the red jacket (later known as “Sank Youâ€), Pen Face (two days in a row he had gotten pen scribbled all over his face by eager helpers…), the Kid in the Shorts, Ladybug Shirt (“Someone has got to tell that kid he is wearing a girl’s shirt,†Matt said, though neither of us had the heart to break the news to him.), Little Sister, etc.
(Little Sister with her big sister.)
I had a lot of fun hanging out with them and watching them play with each other. They were really great kids: eager to learn, helpful (both for us, the caretakers, and their peers), and energetic—as shown by their constant running around and playing games throughout the day. One of the younger kids helped an older one with a learning disability to write down the lesson. Pen Face was constantly teasing Little Sister (as older brothers tend to do) and a group of the younger boys got kicks out of walking around like ducks to annoy each other. Matt eventually got annoyed of it himself, but on the last night (after figuring out what they were actually doing) I sat on the steps with some of the girls and shouted out other animals for the boys to mimic and we all had a lot of fun.
(Goofing around.)
When asked how and where we would like to help out, we said we could do whatever wherever- we just want to help. We were told that the rural orphanages had the greatest needs, particularly the one in Kompong Chnang. Located in a village with no guesthouses or hotels, few volunteers ever elect to help there. When New Hope’s administrator, Boeurn, asked us if we’d mind helping in a village, we said sure. “Are you sure?†he asked a couple more times. We assured him we’d be okay- we’d stayed in villages throughout Asia. He said he’d arrange for us to stay there for two nights and we could decide later if we wanted to stay another night.
