Day 7 - Wheels on the Bus

It was a lazy morning as the team prepared to leave Phnom Penh for Siem Reap. A quick stop at a local bakery with amazing cupcakes then it was time to say good buy to our leaders Troy, Katrina, Little Troy, Lekenha and Em who were not coming with us. It was very emotional for some as we had grown close to each other. 

It was a three hour bus ride to ICCs Light of Hope School where we had lunch and spent time with the kids.  Some of team who had spent time here previously got the opportunity to catch up with their sponsor children. It was a quick stop but some of the team played soccer with the kids while others handed out stickers to the little kids. It was amazing to see that the school is currently installing a bakery and that a class was already baking banana bread to sell in the village. More info on the school including sponsorship is available on www.iccaustralia.org.au. 

3 more hours in the bus and we finally made it to Siem Reap for our last part of the trip. 

Kids from Light of Hope School

Playing soccer Aussie vs Cambodian 

PERSONAL VIEW of the trip by Lloyd Plane

I have found being the team leader for this trip really rewarding as I believe the experience has helped me grow and develop important life skills. It has been great working with this team as everyone has gotten on so well and there have been no major issues. I have felt in my element checking in on everyone and making sure that everyone is ok as many people have found the experience confronting and emotional. I am sad that Kaz in not with me as much of her pre-trip organisation of the team has made this trip as successful as it is. 

I feel like we really did build well on the first two days, it's just a shame that circumstances didn't allow us to finish. Although we didn't get the satisfaction of finishing the house with our hands, we have had a hand in achieving the main goal which is for the children to have a safe environment to grow up in. 

I am really proud of the team. I believe everyone combined their strengths so as a group we were able to do the amazing things we did.   There were a few people who I thought may struggle with building or with the hospital visit. I am really proud that these people pushed through and got the job done to the best of their abilities without complaining. Even people who were unwell still came and did what they could. Towards the end of the trip I felt that individuals within the team were able to share more of the emotions that they were feeling. This was a major part of helping knit the group together so we were able to make a difference in Cambodia. 

Lloyd with his hairy mates

PERSONAL VIEW of ICC Light of Hope School by Ben Hartley

We were only at the school for a short period of time but the biggest thing I noticed was the amount of new buildings that had built since I was here a year ago.  You can really see this school is going places. It was also really good to meet our sponsor child Kangja and be able to speak to her in person rather then through letters. 

The boys decided to play a quick game of soccer with some of the kids and they were really good players. Of course we won the game but mostly that's because we had stolen a few of the best players from the other team. 

It really was amazing too see the basketball ring that the team built last year had survived what looks to be a lot of use. It feels good to actually see that something that I contributed too has added enjoyment to these kids life. 

The basketball ring is in for the long haul 

Mel and Ben were able to catch up with their sponcer child Kangja 

Day 6 - Cold in Cambodia

We packed off early this morning for our last building day at Gunty's Island. It had been raining all night and had not stopped as the two vans struggled to stay on the slippery mud roads. Unfortunately one of the vans got bogged up to the chassis in a particularly muddy patch. It looked like we were going to have to dig it out by hand in the  rain as trying to pull it out with the other van had not worked. Rob Hartley remembered seeing a bobcat down the road and organised for it to pull us out saving a lot off digging.  Little did we know that this was only the beginning of the dramas cause by the rain. 

Bus stuck in the mud

When we arrived at the building site it was still bucketing down and an indefinite stop work meeting was called as it was too hard and dangerous to work on the house. It is disappointing that we weren't able to finish the house ourselves but it was organised for the local builders to finish the job for us when the weather permits.  

The house so far

Family we are building for

Also due to the rain, cooking dinner for the families was going to be an impossibility as there was no firewood for the bonfire. In the end we decided to pool all the food together to make a big lunch to hand out to the families. The girls all washed, chopped and boiled various vegetables, noodles and rice with the help of Gunty's wife Dep (the boys were busy having an extended morning tea break). We were using very traditional methods of cooking which basically consisted of a big wok over a coal fire in an outside kitchen. Using what was available we managed to create a large stir-fry with noodles and a curry with rice. The next step was to transfer the food to the families. This was quite a task as it involved transporting big saucepans of food along a muddy track to the houses. There was many a slip but the food and everyone made it without a fall. It was great handing out the food to the families who regularly struggle to provide dinner. We also handed out shirts, lollies and stickers which put a big smile on everyone's face. 

Impromptu Cambodian Cooking class

Walking the food out to the locals

Not sure if that is a grimace or a smile.  Either way all the food was taken. 

The last disappointment was that we were not able to be able to say overnight at the village. We did however make it off the island without getting stuck in the mud. 

Day 5 - Heartache and Happiness

It was an emotional roller-coaster today as the team went to She rescue, the local hospital and then a funny dress up dinner. 

The She Rescue Home exists as a safe haven for girls ages 5 to 16 who have been trafficked, raped, prostituted or are at risk of any of these things.  We were given a briefing off all the good things that She is doing for these vulnerable girls. www.sherescuehome.org.

The team then went to the local hospital to provide some comfort to the patients which many off us found extremely confronting. As we entered the institutionalised looking building we were met with screams which definitely gave us a clue that this was no western hospital. The screaming was due to the patients getting the bandages changed on there horrific injuries.  The team provided as much support as possible but there was very little we could do for the many motorbike, burns victims and amputees.  We did help volunteers from ICC hair washing, and give out protein and milk drinks to those that wanted it as nothing is provided by the hospital not even dressings or medication. 

PERSONAL VIEW of the hospital by Amy Chapman

This morning we visited a local hospital. It was nothing like I expected and like no hospital I had ever seen. Our team came in and helped wash people's hair and gave them some protein shakes and milk drinks. Some of the patients had significant injuries but there appeared to be minimal pain medications eg no antibiotics and only saline drips. However they were so grateful for our help and I really enjoyed caring for them and helping them. There was a particular man that was in the hospital with his family. He was in serious pain and I spent a bit of time washing his hair and gave him a nice head massage. As I was leaving the room his family and him stopped me and said thank you over and over even though I felt like I didn't and couldn't do anything significant to help. I will never forget this experience.

Amy and Jo washing a boys hair who had fallen off his motorbike and Broken his leg

Rob and Matt also washing hair in the hospital. 

PERSONAL VIEW of hanging out with the locals by Mal and Kylie Topperwein.

Malcolm, Kylie and Em hung out with some local kids and threw balls, frisbees and jumped rope. After starting with 2 kids we were soon surrounded by many who were eager to play catch and skip. Then some hats began being distributed; the first was given to a local Nanna who had the most thankful smile. The sounds of fun and the smiles of the children as more joined in the games with us were infectious. As we were getting ready to leave, there was an almost endless stream of high-fives given out as we headed for the tuk-tuk and the children fairwelled us with the biggest brightest smiles and waves as we disappeared around the corner. 

 

Sun smart Nanna

Fun is a universal language

We were all pretty wrecked emotionally by the mornings activities so Troy gave us a challenge for dinner.  Everyone drew a name out of a hat and went to the market to spend $10 on an outfit for that person to wear out to dinner. As you can imagine it was a welcome release and many a strange costume was purchased (much to the grief of the wearer).  

While we were at the market we also needed to buy food for the family we are staying with in the village. The only problem is each pair was only allowed to spend $2 max on dinner and breakfast to feed themselves and a Cambodian family!!!!  There was much frantic bartering going on in the market but we all walked out with rather small bags of food.  

As the team are staying out at the village tomorrow night and as they are lacking in the wifi (and running water, flushing toilets...) area there will not be a blog tomorrow. 

Day 4 - Can we build it?

It was rise and shine early today as we needed to complete 2/3 of the house by the end of the day. There was a lot of girl power happening with many of the chicks using hammers, drills and circular saws for the first time. All of us pulled together and the floor and the beams for the walls and roof were built. Days without a workplace injury has been changed to 0 as Lloyd Plane stepped on a nail but I am pleased to announce that he was very brave and didn't cry. Also included in the injury count is Rob Hartley who fell off his scooter.  Apart from making everyone late home there was no serious side effects of the accident. 

After an externally hard days work, we had a lovely relaxing dinner on the roof of our hotel which has a magnificent view of the Phnom Penh city skyline. 

Ben, Matt and Bob the builder (Rob) excited about riding their motorbikes 

Cute kids at Guntys 

Building materials delivered by horse and cart 

The house goes up

Day 3 - The Building Begins

Some very keen team members started the day off crazy early doing training with the Cambodian Police. Troy Roberts and his team run fitness and other training for the Cambodian anti trafficking police as this training is not provided by the government and some fitness freaks decided to join in.  After breakfast we pushed a mini bus to its limits on a ride on very rutted road to Gunty's island where we started building a house for two children who lost there mom to aids 3 months ago. Gunty has organised for the kids, boy aged 5 and a girl aged 13, to live with a teacher from the school but they did not have anywhere to live. There was lots of sunscreen and more plumbers cracks than necessary as the boys went to work on the house while the majority of ladies interacted with the kids from Gunty's school and the surrounding orphanage. To celebrate our achievements we had tarantulas as an appetiser which a few insane people actually tried. 

Athol teaching Amy which end of the hammer to use

Jo hanging out with some pretty cute kids

Nom nom nom. Yummy tarantula for a snack. 

PERSONAL VIEW by Lyn Prior of the kids at Guntys 

Today I was looking forward to spending time with the kids at Gunty's island. I got to spend a lot of time with the kids from the school and also ones that came in from the village. I taught the kids knuckle-bones which they had never seen before but within half an hour I had gone from teaching 2 kids to 12 who had not only mastered the game but created new ones using the knuckle-bones. It was great interacting with the kids and there was no language barrier as they all spoke English quite well. I also did some other activities such as colouring in, sticker books and some much needed nit removal. I am really looking forward to tomorrow as I feel in my element playing, helping and giving attention to these kids. 

Lyn teaching the kids knuckle-bones

Having fun playing ball

PERSONAL VIEW by Rob Hartley of the building 

It was hard but rewarding work today as we started building the house. Because it was over 2m off the ground it made normal jobs extra difficult.  It was amazing to see how the locals worked with hand tools and do a better job than I can with power tools. After the last couple of days where we have seen and heard all of the bad things that has happened to Cambodia, I felt like I was able to give back and achieve something worthwhile today.

Building 101 Cambodian style