I sit in Seoul Korea on our way back home and finally have the time to write my blog entry. We are all doing well and are looking forward to being reunited with our families and friends.
In Cambodia there is a saying “Same, same, but different”. The Khmer word for different is psame psame, but the “p” is rather silent. When we say “samething”, most Khmer people hear same same which means different. When we here them say psame psame, we think they are saying “samething”. So when you see all of us wearing our “same, same, but different” t-shirts, you will be able to laugh. Cambodia after 5 years is the same same, but different. The streets are getting a facelift and buildings are going up, but the people are still the same on the streets. Children continue to be homeless and poor without appropriate healthcare, hygeine or nutrition. My blog about our village trip that we took on Saturday.
Several people donated money for us to do some good while here and good we did. Several of us made a trip to the Orrusey Market which was quite the experience. Thankfully we took 3 of our Cambodian friends with us to help with translation. We bought school supplies (807 writing books, pencils, rulers, sharpener, eraser and bags), shoes, large book bags for honor students, toothbrushes, tooth paste and more for 269 children in a village in Kandal province about 1 hour or so outside of Phnom Penh city. Additionally, we brought rice, soy and fish sauce for the poorest of families that was to be determined by the school director. We packed our supplies and our lunch and loaded the bus with 17 of us plus several of our Cambodian friends from church and the hospital.

When we arrived at the school, all of the children were lined up in the scorching heat anticipating our arrival. The faces were the same but different. Beautiful children with large eyes and big smiles, scared looks and shyness all at the same time, staring and waiting patiently to see what was in store for them today. After some confusion and a bit of a ceremony, we were down to business. Halli and Phalla scooted off to participate in a “mini clinic” and treated some 60 children and adults from the school and village for various ailments. We also had a pharmacy student, Brandon participating in the clinic shelling out medcine. Diane Maynard (alumni of Belmont and Cambodia trip) led the hygiene session which consisted of hand washing techniques and teeth brushing. And yes, the same dirty pond water was available for both :).
Yet another group of us began giving out the rice and supplies to the poorest of families. There were 5 bags left over, so we decided to have a lottery to decide who would get the rest. This was very interesting and actually more heart wrenching than we thought. The first two were easy as a young girl was brought forward (looked about 15) and we were told she was the head of her household as both of her parents were dead. I don’t remember how many siblings she had, but she got one of the five remaining bags. Then, a group of 7 school aged children with one parent was identified, so they got the next bag. Another bag went to another set of children that were without one or both parents, so we were down to 2 bags for the lottery. There were about 35 children in the lottery. That was the same heart wrenching feeling, but different village and different faces.
After that, we played some really fun games with the kids. One game consisted of balloons and a team of 6 people in a line. The object was to run down and around a chair with your balloon and then sitting on it and busting the balloon racing back to your team for the next person to go. The second game was my favorite where a number was called out and you had to grab hold of that many people to form a group. Lots of hugs were given during that game.
Finally, we went on a tour of the school and facilities. They had an old bathroom out back that was not usable and needed to be repaired. With the money that was donated, we were able to repair the toilets and a well for drinking water. We wanted to actually do some of the physical labor, but were not really qualified. After seeing the state of both the well (which looked like a sewer) and the sewer which needed cleaning out, we were a bit relieved to lack the appropriate qualifications. Providing the money to those qualified made more sense and we will get the after pictures.
Around noon, the children went home and we pulled out our various lunches. Cambodians brought rice, prohok (which is Cambodian cheese made from fermented fish parts…yum), beef and various other delights while we downed some PB&H and cheese sandwiches (made from rotten milk :>) chips, fruit and water. We ate Cambodia style with lots of sharing on top a wooden slated bed cross legged. Then back on the bus to PP with memories to last us a lifetime.
As we leave Cambodia and those we love behind, we look forward to continuing friendships and pray our hearts remain tender toward those less fortunate than ourselves…..wherever we may be.
All my love,
Susan