Jiom Reap Sui! (Greetings)
Ka Norm Che More Ahmed. (My name is Ahmed)
Ka Norm Che More Jiahuang. (My name is Jiahuang)
We are very honoured to be able to speak to you all on behalf of our team.
Before we begin, we would like to thank a few people.
We would like to thank the commune leaders.
The secondary school director, Mr Houn Va.
Our host, the primary school director, Mr Hen Chann.
All the teachers.
And most important of all, you, the students, who were so cooperative and eager to learn. Give yourself a round of applause!
For the past two weeks, we have helped nearly 12 households install Jumbo Jars, taught English and hygiene. We hope that the families have benefited from this project and the students have learnt more about English and hygiene.
Through the process of teaching and building, we have also learnt a lot from you. We have seen how many of you continued to come to school even though you have to spend hours walking here in the morning.
We have learnt the lesson of resilience, a trait which we feel that people from Singapore should possess. We feel inspired after seeing how you all are so determined and eager to learn despite the many difficulties that you face in everyday life.
In the future, we hope that each and every one of you will fulfil your dreams and contribute back to society. We believe that in the future Cambodia will develop and prosper.
And we believe that Cambodia will prosper because of you!
Singapore is country with no natural resources, only human resource. We have no water, no rice, and no vegetable. We buy all these from other countries. Cambodia is a country with both human and natural resources.
Hence, we believe that Cambodia will become a greater country. The future of Cambodia lies in your hand. To have enough human resource, education and hygiene is the key.
So study hard and we hope that you will visit Singapore in the future.
Once again, thank you for making all these possible and meaningful.
Aw Kun! (Thank You)
Monday, December 13, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Daily Reflections by Zi Qi & Luvina
12 Dec 2010
After a long night of playing cards as it was our last night together, most of us overslept and we rushed to stuff things into our already bursting bags. Breakfast was awesome:) we later left frangipani villa and headed onto a coach!! A change from the usual little vans we had to cram in. Even though we were rather sleepy, we tried to stay awake to see Phnom Penh for the last time!! Cambodia is certainly such a beautiful place and I'm sure all of us would want to return someday. Both of us are sitting outside Duffy Cambodia at the airport, watching most of the team doing last minute shopping, especially the guys haha:D we are certain most of us had the time of our lives these 2 weeks and even though this has come to an end, the memories will always be with us and the friendship forged will blossom even further! We love you all, ISLE Cambodia Rainwater, you guys are the best yay!!!!!! <33
Till next time, loads of love,
Ziqi & Luvina
xoxo
Just across the street...
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Daily Reflections by Anupriya & Sheng Wei
11 Dec 2010
Today started off with breakfast at our Beach Road hotel at Sihanoukville. It was really delicious, pancakes were huge and we managed to set off punctually at 8.00am. We took a van ride for one and half hours, and everyone got to catch up on their sleep, and everyone made a short pit-stop for drinks and a toilet break. There was a small souvenir shop and people went in to take a look and enjoy the air-con. Along the way, we saw quite a number of shabby looking houses, which was a bit shocking since we were supposed to be near the city area.
As we were reaching our hotel, Sotheany mentioned that the Russian market would start closing at 4.30, and that would mean we would have to finish our lunch, visit to the genocide museum and shopping in 4 hours. As this was too rushed, we decided to cancel our lunch appointment with the Friends’ restaurant, so that we did not have to rush through the museum visit. The vehicles weaved their way through the little streets and we finally reached the hotel (Frangipani 60s @ Street 252) around 1pm, and checked in quickly to leave for the museum at about 1.30.
At the museum, we gave ourselves about 1 hour 15 minutes to look around.
For most of us it was truly an eye-opener, as though most of us knew about the Khmer Rouge, we did not know the details and had definitely not seen the very place where the prisoners were kept. We walked through 4 buildings and looked at the prison cells, instruments of torture, mug shots of victims and stories about both the victims and people that joined the regime. We even saw the skulls of some of the victims. The museum visit was really interesting, leaving some of us depressed and the mood somber.
After the visit, we then left for the Russian Market, and gave ourselves about 2 hours to look through the entire square. We originally felt a bit lost, since the shops felt quite crammed together. We broke up into several groups and started looking through the shops. The hungrier ones went to grab a bite at KFC and ended up not having enough time to shop. After a while of looking, we realized that most of the shops were actually selling the same thing. Getting advice from Sotheany, we learnt that most of the prices were jacked up, because it was a tourist attraction, so we tried shamelessly bargaining with the shopkeepers. Some of us tried buying stuff from the same shop to get a bigger discount. Some of us less blessed with bargaining skills ended up paying prices above the original. At about 5.45pm, we met up at Rajana, a shop set up by a NGO, and people started shopping again. Since most of them had chosen shopping over food earlier, tummys were now rumbling and so we went straight for dinner, even though the reservation was made for 7pm. We reached Jacob’s Well restaurant at about 6.30pm and had a very nice meal there. It was a nice place to have our last dinner together as a team.
We got back to our hotel at 9.00pm, and most of us were quite happy with our rooms, and that we had the entire hotel to ourselves. It was amazing how these 2 weeks flew by so fast, and it has not really hit us yet, that we were going to leave this country tomorrow. We really enjoyed ourselves, though it took us a while to get used to the life in the village, most of us grew to enjoy the village life. It really felt as if we were thrown out of our comfort zone, but felt proud of the team for being able to adapt to the new lifestyle and successfully carry out our project. We think most of us are grateful for having the opportunity to embark on this project and be part of making a difference in the lives of others at the village we were at. We finally realized and saw the efforts we put in throughout the year bear fruit as we saw the gratitude of the people whose lives we managed to touch.
We finally felt that all the effort we have put in, has finally, paid off.
Today started off with breakfast at our Beach Road hotel at Sihanoukville. It was really delicious, pancakes were huge and we managed to set off punctually at 8.00am. We took a van ride for one and half hours, and everyone got to catch up on their sleep, and everyone made a short pit-stop for drinks and a toilet break. There was a small souvenir shop and people went in to take a look and enjoy the air-con. Along the way, we saw quite a number of shabby looking houses, which was a bit shocking since we were supposed to be near the city area.
As we were reaching our hotel, Sotheany mentioned that the Russian market would start closing at 4.30, and that would mean we would have to finish our lunch, visit to the genocide museum and shopping in 4 hours. As this was too rushed, we decided to cancel our lunch appointment with the Friends’ restaurant, so that we did not have to rush through the museum visit. The vehicles weaved their way through the little streets and we finally reached the hotel (Frangipani 60s @ Street 252) around 1pm, and checked in quickly to leave for the museum at about 1.30.
At the museum, we gave ourselves about 1 hour 15 minutes to look around.
For most of us it was truly an eye-opener, as though most of us knew about the Khmer Rouge, we did not know the details and had definitely not seen the very place where the prisoners were kept. We walked through 4 buildings and looked at the prison cells, instruments of torture, mug shots of victims and stories about both the victims and people that joined the regime. We even saw the skulls of some of the victims. The museum visit was really interesting, leaving some of us depressed and the mood somber.
After the visit, we then left for the Russian Market, and gave ourselves about 2 hours to look through the entire square. We originally felt a bit lost, since the shops felt quite crammed together. We broke up into several groups and started looking through the shops. The hungrier ones went to grab a bite at KFC and ended up not having enough time to shop. After a while of looking, we realized that most of the shops were actually selling the same thing. Getting advice from Sotheany, we learnt that most of the prices were jacked up, because it was a tourist attraction, so we tried shamelessly bargaining with the shopkeepers. Some of us tried buying stuff from the same shop to get a bigger discount. Some of us less blessed with bargaining skills ended up paying prices above the original. At about 5.45pm, we met up at Rajana, a shop set up by a NGO, and people started shopping again. Since most of them had chosen shopping over food earlier, tummys were now rumbling and so we went straight for dinner, even though the reservation was made for 7pm. We reached Jacob’s Well restaurant at about 6.30pm and had a very nice meal there. It was a nice place to have our last dinner together as a team.
We got back to our hotel at 9.00pm, and most of us were quite happy with our rooms, and that we had the entire hotel to ourselves. It was amazing how these 2 weeks flew by so fast, and it has not really hit us yet, that we were going to leave this country tomorrow. We really enjoyed ourselves, though it took us a while to get used to the life in the village, most of us grew to enjoy the village life. It really felt as if we were thrown out of our comfort zone, but felt proud of the team for being able to adapt to the new lifestyle and successfully carry out our project. We think most of us are grateful for having the opportunity to embark on this project and be part of making a difference in the lives of others at the village we were at. We finally realized and saw the efforts we put in throughout the year bear fruit as we saw the gratitude of the people whose lives we managed to touch.
We finally felt that all the effort we have put in, has finally, paid off.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Daily Reflections by Yuan Teng and Jia Wei
10th December 2010
Today marked the end of our stay in the village. It would be the last time we would wake up to the rooster in the morning, the last time we would climb out of our sleeping bags in the morning on the cold hard floor of our beautiful house, the last time we would be able to see the beautiful sunrise across the rice padi fields, the last time we would have to split the use the only one squat toilet without a flush, and most importantly, the last day we would stay in this very house as a team.
Breakfast and packing up was a rush, but with everyone’s help, everything was done in a jiffy, and before long, we distributed our utensils and other kitchen supplies to the families. After the morning rush, we all settled down a bit and sat around, and that was when nostalgia slowly set in. A ball of twine was passed around as we all stood in a circle, saying words of gratitude to someone in the team who has made our experience a special and unique one after passing the twine to him or her. As the twine went around, the sniffing and tearing began to fill the room as we all recounted how the people in the team have made our past days in this house a more enjoyable one despite all the challenges. Personally, I felt it was a nice way to conclude our journey thus far. It made every single person realize how he or she has been a unique individual whose contributions have been deeply treasured by the team.
Like any other journey, the comradeship between each and every single one of us is what had enabled us to hold on to our faiths and beliefs despite all the challenges we faced and made our journey a meaningful and enriching one. I am certain that without the team, I would never have survived 10 days and nights in the house, cooking my own meals, living with insects and away from the comforts of home, like literally.
Moreover, I think many of us have grown and learnt a lot through this entire journey, stepping out of our comfort zones into this unfamiliar place, unsure of whether we will be able to fulfill our ultimate goal of serving others. I think many of us are rather pampered at home, leaving laundry and all household chores to our parents or helpers to handle, so when we suddenly had a house of our own to take care of, we were all pretty lost. Besides, we had to juggle our lessons, fairs, construction, documentation and even cultural exchange at the same time. The learning curve was steep, but with teamwork, we managed to pull through, and I must say it has definitely been enriching.
When we took one last look at the house and bade our final farewell to the villagers and our translators before boarding the bus, our emotions overwhelmed us once again. The insect-infested house with a squat toilet without a flush and running water, rooms without beds, dining room without tables and chairs, no computers, barely any electricity. We never imagined how we could ever have survived it when we first arrived, but we eventually did, and now, we don’t want to leave. The irony of it all was that we have gotten used to this life, the simplicity and tranquility of village life, the strong bonds within the community, the optimism and determination that the villagers face all challenges with, the innocent smiles of the children. As much as they may lack the material comforts and tangibles that we take for granted, we have much to learn from them, the most important being, how they can make the best use of the bare minimal that they have and prosper, instead of complaining about how unfair life has been to them.
As the vans drove off, we waved to the villagers and watched the house slowly disappear behind us. We did not say much, but all of us knew deep down that we would miss this place deeply. Nonetheless, the end of a journey marks the start of another, and very soon, we begin our rest and recreation in Sihanoukville! After checking in at the hotel, we had a delicious lunch which took ages to come. As much as we enjoyed the good food, we were reminded of the daily meals that we had to cook on our own over the past two weeks.
Subsequently, we visited the beach and did some shopping before stopping over for hotpot dinner. It was great bonding time for the team, and also a good break after two weeks of hard work. We had lots of fun together, and snapped lots of photos. Photographs that will speak a thousand words, and memories that will stay with us forever. These special people are the ones who made this chapter of our life such an enriching and unique one. Hopefully, the ties we forged in the short time here will last a lifetime.
Done by Yuan Teng and Jiawei
Today marked the end of our stay in the village. It would be the last time we would wake up to the rooster in the morning, the last time we would climb out of our sleeping bags in the morning on the cold hard floor of our beautiful house, the last time we would be able to see the beautiful sunrise across the rice padi fields, the last time we would have to split the use the only one squat toilet without a flush, and most importantly, the last day we would stay in this very house as a team.
Breakfast and packing up was a rush, but with everyone’s help, everything was done in a jiffy, and before long, we distributed our utensils and other kitchen supplies to the families. After the morning rush, we all settled down a bit and sat around, and that was when nostalgia slowly set in. A ball of twine was passed around as we all stood in a circle, saying words of gratitude to someone in the team who has made our experience a special and unique one after passing the twine to him or her. As the twine went around, the sniffing and tearing began to fill the room as we all recounted how the people in the team have made our past days in this house a more enjoyable one despite all the challenges. Personally, I felt it was a nice way to conclude our journey thus far. It made every single person realize how he or she has been a unique individual whose contributions have been deeply treasured by the team.
Like any other journey, the comradeship between each and every single one of us is what had enabled us to hold on to our faiths and beliefs despite all the challenges we faced and made our journey a meaningful and enriching one. I am certain that without the team, I would never have survived 10 days and nights in the house, cooking my own meals, living with insects and away from the comforts of home, like literally.
Moreover, I think many of us have grown and learnt a lot through this entire journey, stepping out of our comfort zones into this unfamiliar place, unsure of whether we will be able to fulfill our ultimate goal of serving others. I think many of us are rather pampered at home, leaving laundry and all household chores to our parents or helpers to handle, so when we suddenly had a house of our own to take care of, we were all pretty lost. Besides, we had to juggle our lessons, fairs, construction, documentation and even cultural exchange at the same time. The learning curve was steep, but with teamwork, we managed to pull through, and I must say it has definitely been enriching.
When we took one last look at the house and bade our final farewell to the villagers and our translators before boarding the bus, our emotions overwhelmed us once again. The insect-infested house with a squat toilet without a flush and running water, rooms without beds, dining room without tables and chairs, no computers, barely any electricity. We never imagined how we could ever have survived it when we first arrived, but we eventually did, and now, we don’t want to leave. The irony of it all was that we have gotten used to this life, the simplicity and tranquility of village life, the strong bonds within the community, the optimism and determination that the villagers face all challenges with, the innocent smiles of the children. As much as they may lack the material comforts and tangibles that we take for granted, we have much to learn from them, the most important being, how they can make the best use of the bare minimal that they have and prosper, instead of complaining about how unfair life has been to them.
As the vans drove off, we waved to the villagers and watched the house slowly disappear behind us. We did not say much, but all of us knew deep down that we would miss this place deeply. Nonetheless, the end of a journey marks the start of another, and very soon, we begin our rest and recreation in Sihanoukville! After checking in at the hotel, we had a delicious lunch which took ages to come. As much as we enjoyed the good food, we were reminded of the daily meals that we had to cook on our own over the past two weeks.
Subsequently, we visited the beach and did some shopping before stopping over for hotpot dinner. It was great bonding time for the team, and also a good break after two weeks of hard work. We had lots of fun together, and snapped lots of photos. Photographs that will speak a thousand words, and memories that will stay with us forever. These special people are the ones who made this chapter of our life such an enriching and unique one. Hopefully, the ties we forged in the short time here will last a lifetime.
Done by Yuan Teng and Jiawei
"Leah Heuy" @ "Good-Byes"
Daily Reflections by Qianru and Siyu
Today is a special day; it is the last day we are staying at the village.
In the morning (8 to 10 am), we held a hygiene fair at Sre Chea Primary School. Primary 4-6 students and their parents were all invited to this fair. To reinforce the hygiene concepts we’ve taught in class, we set up eight game stations such as ‘Shooting the bad teeth’, ‘Fishing for rubbish’ and ‘Colouring’. As compared to the English fair, the hygiene fair was more fun-oriented. Flashcards used during lessons were reintroduced at the fair, but were used as props for games. By encouraging parent participation and rewarding those who visited all 8 booths with toothbrushes and toothpastes, we hope to spread the concept of hygiene among a wider population in the commune. Some students were so keen in the games that they visited some stations more than twice! Thanks to the coordination of Hygiene Comm I/C Kewei and the effort of all station masters, we managed to end the hygiene fair on a happy note.
We had some time before lunch to do a final check on the English and hygiene materials that we were going to leave behind for the school.
After lunch, we set off for the closing ceremony at school. We felt both excited and moody on our way to the school as this would be our last time visiting the loving students and teachers. When we arrived at the school, we were greeted with a colourfully decorated stage and cheerful villagers and students. To our curiosity, we also noticed a specially designated space beside the stage. It was not until the commune head’s speech that we were told that the space was for the ‘Pounding Rice’ (Dal Ambok) ceremony. In fact, it was a traditional practice for rural Cambodians to grind the young (newly harvested) glutinous rice by cooking and pounding it. We were lucky to join in this event because it’s the harvest season now. We were quite surprised to see the presumably gentle and calm Cambodians participate so enthusiastically in this ceremony that some of them even try to start ahead of others by ignoring signals from the bell. The commune head had to constantly remind the participants to adhere to the ritual by putting off the fire they lighted or pouring pack the rice they put into the pot.
Besides the ‘Pounding Rice’ ceremony, we were exposed to other forms of Cambodia culture by listening to Cambodian instruments and songs, and watching traditional Cambodia dance performance. Students, teachers and commune leaders have put up a fantastic show for us. In exchange, we danced and sang the song ‘Home’, our batch song and the ‘banana song’.
On the whole, we felt very honoured by the warm reception from the school. They treated us with fresh coconuts and pounded rice near the end of the ceremony. They also taught us simple steps of Cambodian dance and we danced together round and round a tree. The atmosphere was so high that we felt reluctant to slow down our dancing feet. In the end, we exchanged gifts with the school and took photos to capture our last moments together.
Upon returning home, we distributed the clothes to the 12 families that we’ve visited over the past 2 weeks. We felt sorry that we can do just this little to help with their dire needs, but still comforted by the thought that we have made a change to their lives.
The day was officially ended by a short debrief at night during which we thanked our 4 Rainwater Cambodia staff for their help and guidance. Some of us then took a night walk to the field to gaze at the stars. We spotted several shooting stars and identified some stars with the help of Kewei.
The night turned late with stars shifting quietly above us, but we still could hardly let go of today, for we will miss this place and the time we had here.
In the morning (8 to 10 am), we held a hygiene fair at Sre Chea Primary School. Primary 4-6 students and their parents were all invited to this fair. To reinforce the hygiene concepts we’ve taught in class, we set up eight game stations such as ‘Shooting the bad teeth’, ‘Fishing for rubbish’ and ‘Colouring’. As compared to the English fair, the hygiene fair was more fun-oriented. Flashcards used during lessons were reintroduced at the fair, but were used as props for games. By encouraging parent participation and rewarding those who visited all 8 booths with toothbrushes and toothpastes, we hope to spread the concept of hygiene among a wider population in the commune. Some students were so keen in the games that they visited some stations more than twice! Thanks to the coordination of Hygiene Comm I/C Kewei and the effort of all station masters, we managed to end the hygiene fair on a happy note.
We had some time before lunch to do a final check on the English and hygiene materials that we were going to leave behind for the school.
After lunch, we set off for the closing ceremony at school. We felt both excited and moody on our way to the school as this would be our last time visiting the loving students and teachers. When we arrived at the school, we were greeted with a colourfully decorated stage and cheerful villagers and students. To our curiosity, we also noticed a specially designated space beside the stage. It was not until the commune head’s speech that we were told that the space was for the ‘Pounding Rice’ (Dal Ambok) ceremony. In fact, it was a traditional practice for rural Cambodians to grind the young (newly harvested) glutinous rice by cooking and pounding it. We were lucky to join in this event because it’s the harvest season now. We were quite surprised to see the presumably gentle and calm Cambodians participate so enthusiastically in this ceremony that some of them even try to start ahead of others by ignoring signals from the bell. The commune head had to constantly remind the participants to adhere to the ritual by putting off the fire they lighted or pouring pack the rice they put into the pot.
Besides the ‘Pounding Rice’ ceremony, we were exposed to other forms of Cambodia culture by listening to Cambodian instruments and songs, and watching traditional Cambodia dance performance. Students, teachers and commune leaders have put up a fantastic show for us. In exchange, we danced and sang the song ‘Home’, our batch song and the ‘banana song’.
On the whole, we felt very honoured by the warm reception from the school. They treated us with fresh coconuts and pounded rice near the end of the ceremony. They also taught us simple steps of Cambodian dance and we danced together round and round a tree. The atmosphere was so high that we felt reluctant to slow down our dancing feet. In the end, we exchanged gifts with the school and took photos to capture our last moments together.
Upon returning home, we distributed the clothes to the 12 families that we’ve visited over the past 2 weeks. We felt sorry that we can do just this little to help with their dire needs, but still comforted by the thought that we have made a change to their lives.
The day was officially ended by a short debrief at night during which we thanked our 4 Rainwater Cambodia staff for their help and guidance. Some of us then took a night walk to the field to gaze at the stars. We spotted several shooting stars and identified some stars with the help of Kewei.
The night turned late with stars shifting quietly above us, but we still could hardly let go of today, for we will miss this place and the time we had here.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The end product of all that roasting & pounding
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