The Childrens'' Camp, Cambodia

After the youth training camp, the youth leaders and  we received over one hundred and fifty children from the various local churches to the Children's Camp.

The children were mainly from the nearby villages and  they were bussed in by church buses and were very excited when they got to the camp site.






 Excited they were yet the children were very cooperative and enjoyed all the activities we planned for them.

We were amazed at how fast they learned the English songs we prepared for them and they especially loved the actions that went with these fun songs.






These children might look a little shy but when they sang, they really sang with gusto and participated in all the games with enthusiasm!

Boy, could they ever limbo dance! There was so much excitement generated from this one game that required few equipment and could be played practically anywhere!

The Youth Leaders did an excellent job leading the singing, helping with many activities and especially looking after the children.

They were very responsible, mature and were outstanding role models for the children.

The Youth Leaders were Excellent Leaders!

The Youth Leaders demonstrated great leadership skills and displayed a lot of patience with the children.

We were very proud of how the youth leaders conducted themselves and did such an outstanding job in the children's camp.

Youth Leaders Assisting the Kids with their Crafts

We thank God for such a great opportunity to have worked with the Cambodian youths and the children. We had a great time sharing God's love and messages with the young people and their parents

It was a great week!


R.T. Cambodia
Nov. 2012

A Cambodian Street Wedding Tent

A Wedding Tent was Set Up in the Middle of a Phnom Penh Street

I have not had the opportunity to attend a Cambodian wedding since I was only in this county for less than a month.

However, I did have the opportunity to visit a  Cambodian wedding tent while I was in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Inside the Wedding Tent

We were out doing our morning walk early one morning. All of a sudden, we came across a huge beautiful pink tent set up in the middle of the street where we usually take to go to the park.

A huge wedding tent in the middle of a street? How interesting!

Out of curiosity,  we ventured inside the wedding tent to take a look, and some people from the grooms' side were gracious enough to allow us a tour of the wedding tent.

The Tent was Set Up and Decorated Beautifully

The wedding tent turned out to be a reception hall where a wedding banquet was about to take place. There were two sections in this wedding tent. We saw some of the people from the wedding party congregating in the smaller section on the right side of the tent which provided some privacy for whomever were sitting there.

Anybody could apply for a license to have a wedding tent set up in front of his/her house and invite friends and neighbors to the celebrations. How neat is that!

 As for the local traffic and the people who have not been invited to the party. they just have to detour around it while the neighbors are having a ball enjoying the feast and celebrations!

The tent was a beautiful place with many tables and chairs all set up for a big banquet. Waiters were all dressed up and some of the wedding party was already there.

This was about 6:45a.m. when we were out doing our morning exercises!

A Temporary Kitchen Specially Set Up for the Wedding Banquet

There was another tent set up at the back of the wedding tent - a huge working kitchen. This temporary kitchen was well equipped with many cooking utensils and equipment.

The kitchen staff was busy at work preparing food for the banquet.

Some Dishes Were Ready to be Served at the Wedding Banquet

Some of the dishes were already set out to be served.

Unfortunately, I did not have an opportunity to attend a Cambodian wedding, but I learned some traditions about how a bride gets ready for her wedding day.

I was told that that some wedding celebrations may take three days to one week! For some brides, they may take up to a month to get themselves ready and looking pretty for the big day by putting on some special lotions or herbal treatment. For a wealthy bride-to-be, the parents may even build a separate house for her so that she would live separately from her parents for up to a year to get herself ready for the wedding day! There are so many interesting customs and traditions about a Cambodian wedding, I would love to learn more about them in the future!

R.T. Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Nov. 2012

Visiting Churches and Schools in Rural Cambodia

A Rural church in Cambodia

Cambodia is a small country with a population of about eleven million people. Because of its civil wars in the 1970's that destroyed much of its country's infrastructures and wiped out a whole generation of educated Cambodians, the entire country has been pushed back for decades in terms of economic and technological development.

Fortunately, there are many countries and NGOs that are willing to lend a helping hand in this country. We visited Rita and Matthew - two individuals who willingly gave up their comfortable western life style, sold everything they had in Canada eight yearsa ago and moved to Cambodia. They have been living and serving the rural Cambodians in their small village ever since.

A Sparsely Furnished Village Classroom

Besides visiting this missionary couple, we also visited a few other rural churches and their schools. These churches are doing amazing work and providing important services to the villagers. The churches first started classes in their own building and from there they grew into schools to fill the needs of the villagers. The schools are typically free for the children and all the parents have to do is register their children. Some church schools ask parents to pay $5.00 a month for the snacks which the students get daily when they attend school.

Making Balloon Animals for the Kids in the Village

Led by the pastor of the local church, we went to visit the village and and helped promote the church\s new Children\s Centre. As we entered the village, we made balloon animals and gave them to the kids to entertain them. The families and children were happy to see their local pastor and her entourage. The children giggled and just loved seeing Steve twisting his balloons and  making different animals out of them.

The Small Church was Packed with Parents & Kids

Judging from the attendance at that evening's meeting, we did out job and got the parents out for the meeting to learn about the new Children\s Centre!





R.T.
Rural Cambodia

Youth Leadership Camp, Sihanonuk Ville, Cambodia

Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia - Where the Camp Took Place

6:30a.m.

An absolutely tranquil setting. A sunny blue sky above with birds chirping and singing their good morning tunes while soft ocean waves hitting against the rocks creating soothing sounds.

Sitting under a palm tree on a set of patio furniture craved out of the Cambodia hard wood, I am writing the last blog entry before I leave this beautiful resort town of Sihanouk Ville, a five hour car ride from Phnom Penh.

 Sihanouk Ville is like another world compared to the hustle and bustle of Cambodia's capital city.
It is a small, but very pretty, quiet, tourist town. There are a number of nice resort hotels built along the water and we chose to stay at the New Beach Hotel, not the most modern resort hotel, but the best price for its value. The Grace Church also rented the conference room for the youth leadership and children's camp here for the week, therefore, it has been very convenient for us.

Introducing the Youth Camp Leaders

We got here last Sunday evening, unloaded our luggage along with many props and gifts that we brought with us. We even had time to decorate the conference room, hang our wall murals and different posters turning this spacious room into a kid friendly and welcoming place.

We worked with over seventy youth leaders from five different local churches - one group of youth traveled over thirteen hours in a crammed church bus on bumpy roads to get to our camp site! By the time we got to the conference hall the first morning, all the youths, seventy five of them, were already there and started their songs and worship.The room was electrified, pumping with energy and emotions.

Youth Leading the Singing

The youths were singing in Khmer, naturally, we could not understand a word but we could feel the intense emotions in their singing. I closed my eyes and immersed myself in their beautiful angelic songs. Though I did not know the meaning of the songs, I felt their deep emotions. They were singing a prayer song for Cambodia. Their singing was sincere, inspiring and touching, an earnest prayer to God.

I thought I heard the Angles Sing at the Conference Hall

There was so much power, and emotions in every word the it touched the core of my heart. These young people love their country; they are the next

generation, the hope of Cambodia. Their love and earnest prayers for their county was obvious on their faces and every word they sang, they did it with their hearts and souls.

Tears streaming down my face; I started to pray for these youths and Cambodia. Knowing how much the country and its people have gone through in recent history, I have a great respect for the Cambodian people and their tolerance for life's mishaps and little inconveniences.

Dividing the Youths into Different Teams

The entire mission team from Canada was introduced to the youth leaders at the camp's first meeting and the youths were curious about our different background. I wish I had provided a couple of family pictures to the introduction ppt.

 The purpose of  this two day training camp was to provide some intensive training to the participants so that at the end of the leadership camp, the youths would be ready to assist and lead many of the activities for the two hundred kids taking place in the children's camp right after the training camp.

Pastor Teresa Leading a Workshop with a Translator

We had quite a tight schedule and there were many activities going on. Each of our mission team member was responsible for certain specific tasks at the training camp. There were numerous training sessions including leading songs, games, sports, using puppets to tell bible stories, making balloon animals to entertain kids, seminars and drama workshop etc. I was responsible for a workshop about  speaking with confidence in front of a large audience.

Youths were Eager to Learn & Participate

The participants were mostly senior high school and university students and they participated with enthusiasm and energy. They were polite, friendly, cheerful, helpful and anxious to learn as much from us as possible. These were a teacher's dream students and they were definitely a pleasure to teach.

Youths Practising What They have learned in Small Groups

We were all energized today and looking forward for the next few days working with the youths and kids at the camp.




R.T.
Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia
Nov. 2012

Getting Around in Cambodia

 If you want to travel from one city to the next, there are public buses that would take you to your destinations. However,  public transit buses are not available in the city of Phnom Penh.

In order to fill the needs of getting Cambodians from one place to the other in this city, there are many modes of private transportation from which one can choose.

One of which is a very popular three wheeled wagon like open air vehicles that are seen everywhere on the streets of Phnom Penh. Potential passengers can hail one anywhere on any street and the charge is very reasonable. It can sit four people easily with a minimum charge of 4000 Cambodia dollars = US $1.00.

I have taken it a number of times  with friends and paid only US$2.00 for a fairly good distance. It even comes with a rain fly in case of rain to protect the passengers.

Guys on  motorcycles to work stopped  for a coffee

Motor cycles are everywhere. In North America, practically every family owns a sedan. In Cambodia, the motor cycle replaces the sedan.  And why not?

Rush hour just outside of Phnom Penh

 The mileage is excellent! I have been told that one gallon of gas will last the family motorcycle a week's travel. Not bad at all!

If we all convert to driving motorcycles, just think about the oil and money we will save in a year. It will be good for our environment  and Greenpeace will thank us too!

Other modes of transportation abound such as bikes,  carts, trucks and  taxis.

If you've got to go to work, you 've got to get there.

This scene reminds me of a street scene I saw in Macau years ago.

Due to the dusty conditions of most roads in Cambodia, it will be wise to wear either a scarf or a mask when traveling on open vehicles.

During rush hour, some factories transport their workers using  company trucks such as this one.

In Cambodia, only the driver of the motorcycle is required to wear a helmet by law. Passengers are exempted from it.

For some motorists, especially those from the rural area, they seem to be unaware of the helmet law and often are riding their motorbikes without proper protection.

Unfortunately, there are many fatal accidents occurring on a daily basis.  About 1500- 2000 people die from motor accidents annually.

The Cambodia Government has recently launch a traffic safety campaign to increase its citizens' awareness of motor safety.

A creative method of transportation!

  
Hopefully, with increased level of awareness of vehicle safety, Cambodians will be able to reduce their accident fatalities and have safer journeys on the roads!



R.T.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Daughters of Cambodia - Light and Hope for Cambodia!

Daughters of Cambodia - A Place that Lifted My Spirit

Daughters of Cambodia  - Of all the places I have visited during my stay in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, this was the place that I enjoyed visiting the most and it lifted my spirit.











 Daughters of Cambodia is a place for young women rescued from the sex industry. The organization provides these abused women with love, support as well as training to help them gain employable skills so that they could start a new life for themselves.

Young women rescued are encouraged to develop their skills in the area of baking, sewing, spa services, cashier and retailing experiences.

The Daughters of Cambodia store is located in downtown Phnom Penh, right across from the palace.

It is a three story building with a main floor retail shop that sells clothing and costume jewellery items beautifully handmade by these women.

The jewelry items are modern and tastefully designed.

The shops also sells small and large fabric handbags dyed with natural colours such as berries.

I bought a well made fabric handbag at $28.00 and I know I will have a lot of mileage out of that sturdy handbag.

A Spa - Serves Female Customers Only

At the back of the retail store is a Spa that provides massage and manicure and pedicure services to female customers only.

On the day of our visit, we saw two white women having their manicure and pedicure done while a third was waiting. The price was very reasonable: U.S. $ 5.00 for each service. What a bargain price indeed!

One of the women providing a manicure service to a customer.

A male customer inquired at the counter about having his feet massaged but was politely informed that the Spa provides such services to female customers only. 

2nd Floor Video Room

On the second floor is a video room for educational purposes.  We were on a very tight schedule during that visit therefore we did not have time to sit down to view the video.

A cafe nestles on the third floor of the building with comfortable western style furniture.

There are two sets of patio furniture on a small but well shaded restaurant balcony for those who love the sun and heat.

Paintings Decorated the Wall of the Cafe

Patrons, mostly tourists and expatriate could order a home made delicious lunch, western style food at around ( US$ 5.00 - 7.00)  each plate or a coffee with delicate dessert pastry. at $2.00 each.

We all ordered a different lunch dish plus an ice cold smoothies made with fresh local fruits. Mine was a pineapple passion smoothies, delicious!

A Nice and Relaxing Environment to Enjoy a Coffee or Lunch

 The cafe is equipped with free wifi, where one could surf the net, work on whatever projects or choose  just to relax.

There was a lady sitting at the back hunching over her computer with a coffee on the table. She was there before we arrived and still there when we left. She looked pretty relaxed.


Since I have been in Cambodia, I have seen how both the rich and the poor live. The disparity is glaring. In a society that has gone through so much violence and devastation, it is taking a little while to recover. In the meantime, the poor and powerless, especially, women and children are the ones who suffer the most.

Someday, I wonder how much can I do to help this ravaged country and its innocent people. Visiting Daughters of Cambodia has given me hope and inspired me to do what little I could to help the people of this country. There are many NGO's here doing their parts to lend assistance. Regardless how little we can do, I do hope that I would be able to persuade my husband, family and friends so that we will be able to do volunteer tours and lend our hands in the near future!

R.T. Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Nov. 23, 2012

The Darkest History in Cambodia

I have been in Cambodia for more than two weeks and I have been avoiding the topic or any visit to any places related to Cambodia's darkest days - the 1970's period.

The Killing Field, Cambodia

The civil wars took place between 1975 - 1979, and since April 17, 1975 when the Khmer Rouge marched into Phnom Penh and drove the residents out of the city, about three million  Cambodians died ( about 1/3 of the population at that time).  When the Khmer Rogue was in power, many  innocent Cambodians were executed or murdered for no reason. Some Cambodians I met here still remembered these darkest days of their country. Many told me as long as the person was wearing glasses ( a sign of educated class), or if they held any professional jobs or were seen as intellectuals, they were arrested, detained and later killed while thousands upon thousands died from starvation as a result of this political persecution.

Our mission team visited the  S21 Museum – a Phnom Penh school that was turned into a place of tortured and prison for thousands of innocent victims. I did not go because I could not stomach images  and pictures of  violence and attacks on fellow human beings. I stayed at the church house.

However, I did go with my team members to the Killing field, about twenty km. out of Phnom Penh.

Killing Field - a Place to Remember the Victims

I was very reluctant to go as I hated the thought of watching any violent images. But I needed to go as this is one of the most tragic part of Cambodia’s history. As we have learned from the lost of Jewish lives during WWII, we need to remember these atrocities so that human beings would not repeat the same mistake again.

My team members and I took very few pictures at  both of these museums because of the unspeakable violence which took place there.  Nobody wanted to linger at these sites as we were keenly aware of the suffering and numerous lives lost there. We felt very sad and had sick feelings  and we asked ourselves these common questions:

How were men able to commit such atrocities against their own people, their own race? What compelled them to commit such horrible crimes against humanity? Were they not men with emotions and feelings? How could they stand sights of other human beings ‘suffering?

R.T. Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Nov, 2012