Farewell Cambodia

Hi everyone,

Well the last week has been the most joyous and the saddest all at once as we complete our rounds of farewells to all the children and all of our Cambodian friends that we have made over the last 2 months. The week started last Sat. with a farewell dinner organised by all the teachers. We were picked up at our guest house at 4pm and forgetting that we would be travelling by moto, I mistakenly wore a dress. I then had to sit perched precariously on the back, side-saddle! As it turned out, I enjoyed the ride immensley as we travelled about 9 kms on Route 6 which is the main road to the airport and made all the way. I felt at once both spectator and particpant as we whirled along past the ever changing klaidescope of events that make up a Cambodian day. The motos with 50-60 live chickens trussed up by their feet, on their way to the markets, the water buffalo taking a bath in the canals, the parched, fallow rice paddies, waiting and waiting for the rain to come, whole families on bicycles, luckier ones on motos, unluckier ones walking in the scorching heat with their goods for sale being carried in large baskets on their heads.

After about 20 mins. we reached the restaurant and we were the only foreigners. The restaurant consisted of a series of open air bamboo huts and we were allocated one to our small party. Brightly coloured mats were then laid down on the bamboo floor to sit on and for us "barangs" with our western knees that screamed in protest at sitting cross-legged on the floor, some hammocks were slung up for us to recline in. We began the meal with meat and chicken skewers, followed by the most delicious pancakes. These were made of rice flour and were stuffed with minced meat and vegetables. You then take a lettuce leaf and some other green vegetables, tear off a piece of pancake with your fingers, wrap up the lettuce into a parcel and dip into a rice-vinegr and sugar dressing with some prices. Absolutely wonderful! We were then presented with a number of gifts which was totally unexpected,

Tuesday was our last official teaching day and we decided to do some revision of all the work that we had done with the children. This was very satisfying to us as we were able to see how much they had learned and retained and it gave us a sense of real achievement. Unfortunately one of the volunteers that was going to take over from us has withdrawn, but the other volunteer has decided to continue on her own which will be quite a difficult task for her due to the wide abilities of the children, nevertheless, we are sure that she will do a great job.

Thursday was PARTY DAY! We had ordered for the day 3 huge cakes from the students at the Salai Bei training school. We picked these up the day before, not realising that they would be covered in thick butter icing. The tiny fridge in our room was just adequate for one if we took absolutely everything else out but we had to figure out a plan to keep the other 2 from melting. We devised a system of rotating them in the frig every hour or so throughout the night and the ones that were not in the frig, we rigged up a "coolgardie safe", using wet towels with the overhead fan blowing on them. We also had 40 pizzas, 20 large packets of chips and 16 large bottles of coke as well as numerous lollies and balloons to carry. So we employed Mr Soc, our ever helpful tuk tuk driver for the day and he did the 3 trips back and forth with everything.

We began with the Family Centre and the children were so excited as they had never ever tasted pizza before. We had taught them to say "I like to eat pizza" which they can say beautifully. Four of the childen put on an impromptu concert - one young lad sang a song in English and 3 others sang Khmer songs with great enthusiasm. They then blew up their balloons and blew lots and lots of bubbles. A great time was had by all. Two of the students had done some paintings which they presented to us. One large one was of the classroom with both of us teaching the children - amazing! There were also a number of smaller paintings of typical Cambodian rural scenes. We were by this time, pretty overwhelmed and when it came time to say goodbye, the tears flowed - and it was still only 9am!

We then arrived at the Protection Centre with the next lot of food at 11.30 to an equally excited bunch - more pizza, more cake and more tears.
At 5.30pm we arrived for the final party with the blind children. All of the teachers were there to greet us when we arrived and they had arranged for the ice-cream cart to be there and bought us an ice-cream before the concert began. Luckily for us a number of other volunteers from our guest house arrived to help. The children sang beautifully - in all 6 different songs in English and the finale was a song called "All My Life's a Circle" which we had practiced at the end of every lesson. The other songs were ones that Barry had created out of the lesson themes that we had taught them. The Principal then gave a speech, thanking us for teaching the children and 2 of the children also stood up and gave a little speech on behalf of the students - very moving! Goodbyes were prolonged by lots of hugs and "good luck for you" from all the students.

We also managed during the last week to visit a number of other NGO's, including the Sockeum Centre, which was the original orphanage that we thought we were going to be assigned to. This was a very impressive organisation and is funded mostly by an Italian NGO. The Director who started it was a young Cambodian who dreamed of the concept when he was in a refugee camp. The children all live in separate Khmer style cottages, around 6-7 children with one teacher and sibling groups kept together. The cottages are joined with pathways and have small gardens around them. The children all sleep on sleeping mats and the model is based on a typical Cambodian family home so that the children feel as much like a normal family as possible. The children all o to the local school but have additional classes in English, music and dance at the centre. They also have a silk weaving school for local poor families and make traditional crafts. Each child is supported until they are 18 years and then assisted to move into independence and to find a job.

I managed to find my way to the one and only golf course in Siem Reap - a very high class resort with a similarly high price tag. I had to have a caddy and golf cart and needed to hire some clubs. I teed off at 7.15 to avoid the heat and was pleased to finish with a 98 against par 72 - one par!! I WAS THE ONLY PERSON ON THE COURSE. Really enjoyed this once in a lifetime experience.

We also finally found the Green Gecko after a number of failed attempts. We had heard lots about this organisation which is run by an Australian woman called Tania. This program provides support for many of the street children who come from very disadvantaged families and are often abused and neglected. Their parents are provided with a cart and books to sell to the tourists in exchange for allowing their children to come to the centre each day from 9am-5pm instead of begging on the streets for their families. The Centre had a very colourful and warm atmosphere with lots of volunteers giving the children 1:1 attention. They also provide Khmer and English classes as well as dance and circus skills. Each morning the children come and they have a shower and wash their clothes, and change into their Green Gecko T-shirts and shorts. They then brush their teeth and have the largest row of toothbrushes you have ever seen with each child's photo above their own brush. They are also provided with a meal at lunchtime and for some this is the only meal of the day. Many of the children have severe behavioural problems due to their background and the local schools refuse to allow them to enrol. The Green Gecko also has a night shelter for 15 of the children that have no family to go home to. Many of the childrens' families have missing limbs and have problems with drug addiction and gamboling. They have no access to drug rehabilitation programs or counselling.

Tonight we are having final drinks on our balcony to say goodbye to the other volunteers and then a farewell dinner with our daughter-in-law, Thieng and our Cambodian friend Chorda and her husband. Thieng has her interview for her appeal on 26th March and we are all hoping that she will be allowed to finally come to Australia to be with her husband. It has been very difficult for both of them to be living apart since their marriage.

Well this is our final blog. We hope that you have enjoyed reading it as much as we have recording it. Our journey has been a rich and rewarding one and one that we will remember and reflect on for a long time. We have seen many changes in Cambodia since our previous visit 12 months ago. There is lots and lots of development happening here and overseas investment that will provide a lot more structural development, including a Chinese company developing a national electricity grid, improved water, roads &c. There are also 330 NGO'S currently working in Cambodia, providing some amazing programs. However, there is still much to be done as most people still exist on less than US$1 per day and cannot affort basic education or have access to even minimal health care. Because the government jobs are so poorly paid, there is corruption at every level and this is a major problem. People have no confidence yet in the government or police to solve any of their problems. There are fresh elections on 1st April which will be interesting to watch. Much hope is being pinned on a recent discovery of oil which may help the economy if they can keep some control of the profits from it and it flows on to the Cambodian people. Still despite all this, the people are incredibly friendly, always ready with a smile and a chat and impeccably polite and extremely hard working. One of the lads at our guest house is 18 years old and works on reception. He works 18 hours a day, sleeps in the foyer on a fold up bed and never, ever gets a day off. His salary is US$60 per month and as he has no father, he sends US$40 of this to his mother and 3 younger siblings so that they can survive. He lives on US$20 and has to buy all his meals outside of the guest house. He lives in hope that one day his boss will let him have a day off so that he can visit his family!

Well that's all folks - We fly out of Siem Reap tomorrow afternoon (Monday) and arrive in Melbourne on Tuesday. Looking forward to catching up with you all.

Lots of love..................Barry & Rhon xxxxxxx

Hi everyone,

Two of the photos are from a sunset expedition we did on Wednesday(details later); one is from our visit to a cooking school (details later); one is of the local water bottling factory!; one is at a dinner we had with Thieng plus Chorda and her husband; and the last is of children being collected from the villages and being taken to the hospital for encephalitis injections.

Anyway it's now Friday and we only have to work half a day as we are now handing over our classes to two new volunteers who will take over from us when we leave. Next week is our last and we will only be working two days. One of these will be Thursday when we are planning to have a party for the children at each of the locations. So we will be carting 20 pizzas, 3 cakes, 12 bottles of coke, balloons, and various other odds and ends during the day on the tuk tuk. Our last lesson will be a concert that we planning with the blind children. They have been learning a few songs and will be singing their whole repertoire in front of the teachers and maybe some parents. So it will be a monstrous day!!!

We have had another interesting week. On Wednesday went to visit a training school, called SalaBei which has been set up to provide training to disadvantaged students for employment in the hotel industry. Subjects taught are waitressing/waiter, cooking, housekeeping and receptionist work. They are also taught English. A waiter earns about $50 per month, but if they can speak English, they can earn up to $100 per month. They spend 11 months at the school which includes several months of hands-on practice at a hotel. They have a restaurant and also 3 rooms where you can stay. This gives the students additional practice. We had a personal tour of the school and were introduced to 2 of the classes. They wanted us to have some conversation with the students in English so that they could practice their skills. They also employ a social worker who visits the potential students in their homes to assess whether or not they qualify for a place i.e. whether they come from poor families. The school is funded by some French funding as well as AusAid. At the end of their training, the school finds them a job. They have a 100% success rate which is pretty impressive. We had a beautiful lunch and the service was excellent, but perhaps a little over-attentive due to their enthusiasm. However, we enjoyed it very much.


Some of the animals that we encounter on our way to school are worth a mention. Last week as we drove to school on the moto we drove through a herd of the most beautiful goats. All shades of brown, black, brindle, being herded along by small children. Other children are in charge of water buffalo or cows.Other cows just roam completely unattended. On one of the new main roads to the temples, complete with lines down the middle which people mostly obey - there is a large roundabout. In the middle of this roundabout there was a herd of cattle having a lovely time eating the fresh new shoots on the newly planted shrubs! The lazy dogs are also worth a mention. They lie in a soporific stupor in the middle of the road and the traffic just goes around them. They are so docile that I have almost conquered my dog phobia. Every house also seems to have a number of hens, always accompanied by a brood of chicks. As the chicks get bigger they seem to loose their fluff and go bald before their new feathers grow - so they look quite a sight. Often we see women selling boiled eggs on the side of the road which they sell to the local people with salt and chilli. It is a delicacy to have a boiled egg, complete with embryo inside!

On Monday we visited the other Family Centre which is about 1.1/2 kms from where we teach. The children usually walk to our centre for their class. They were very excited that we were visiting them to take their photos. All of them had put on their best clothes and brushed their hair. We were greeted with fresh coconut juice and were given green mangoes with salt and chilli and some small bunches of fruit - similar to a small lychee. All of these were picked from their own fruit trees. We then had a tour of the house which is 3 storeys high and rendered brick, but each story is quite small. The bottom floor has a basic kitchen and eating room and main bedroom where the foster parents sleep. The first floor is reached by climbing some incredibly steep wooden steps and is where all the children sleep. The foster parents have 3 of their own children, including a 16 mo baby, and they look after another 10 children - so 13 of them sleep on this floor which is about 10ft x 10ft for the boys and and another small room about 8 ft x 8 ft for the girls. They do not have any beds, just sleeping mats. The third floor is a small attic room where the children each have a small basket for their belongings, clothes &c

The family home where we teach is the same design. The foster mother spoils us everyday with special treats. Today we had some packets of sweet rice which are stuffed with bean paste and wrapped in a banana leaf, and also some Cambodian cakes which made of white glutenous rice with pink stripes. They are quite delicious. In the afternoon, we had some yellow and green mangoes and Barry made the mistake of inadvertently dipping them in the salt and chilli! HOT11111111111 We are also treated to lunch at the Reception Centre every day and today we had some dried fish with watermelon. Sounds weird but I can highly recommend it. I can only hope tht the fish did not meet the same fate as we witnessed at the cooking school where the fish were put straight into the hot oven ALIVE!!!

We went to see the sunset at Angkor Wat on Wed and had a lovely tuk tuk ride out past the Tonle Sap River. It was a balmy evening and we enjoyed the evening air rushing past cooling our hot bodies after the opressive heat of the day. We were then faced with the challenge of getting to the top of the mountain. The choices were to go by elephant or by foot. In the best interests of ourselves and the elephants, we chose to go by foot! All of our efforts to get fit before our trip have now completely evaporated as it is just too hot to bother with any recreational pursusits. The climb took about 15 minutes and then we had the final climb to the top of the temple. The steps up the temple were designed to break the leg of even the fittest person. Straight up and each step too narrow to put your whole foot on - a handrail? Forget it! I had visions of us trying to get down again in the dark and with such a large crowd of people, an accident was just waiting to happen. So, we left before the final setting of the sun when we still had enough daylight left to at least see where we were going. If anyone did fall, the only assistance I could see anyone getting would have been from the couple of monks who might have been able to pray for you!

As our trip is coming to a close, we are starting to do some reflection. I would like to particularly acknowledge and thank all of my friends and collegues at Wesley Do Care for their support during my absence. Particular thanks to Viv, Leonie and Gini who have all taken on extra duties on top of their busy caseloads. Also to Robert for your support in allowing me to take the time off. Without you all, we would not have been able to do this trip, so we are truly thankfull.

Also to our family and friends who have given us so much encouragement and support as well as your generous donations towards helping to change the lives of many Cambodian children and families. We have enjoyed and looked forward to your emails which have given us a sense of connectedness to our lives at home. Thank you all so much. We look forward to catching up with you all on our return.

Much love to you all..................Barry & Rhon xxxxxxxx

Hi to all our friends and family,

This week we have had 2 new volunteers arrive who will take over from us when we leave in 2 weeks time. One is Sam and he is English with a broad London accent and the other girl is Jill with a broad Irish accent! Sooooooooo after 2 months with our "perfect" Aussie accents, the children will now have to get used to completely different pronunciations of the same words! Just as well we English speaking people all spell the same! (well, most words we do!!) Anyway we are thrilled that there will be some continuity when we leave.

We are now into our 7th week and can really see that we are making progress and that the children have actually learned lots and are speaking beautifully in their Australian accents. We have also improved our Khmer, but still have a long way to go. We have learned so much more though than the language and will really miss the children and Cambodia when we leave. We are preparing photo albums for them and will have a party with them all before we go.

On Wed. we visited a drop-in centre in town for Street Children and they had a photo exhibition that a volunteer had helped them produce and workshop. There was a caption explaining the background of each of the photographers. Most of them with stories of violence and abuse at home and then life on the street where they either sniffed glue or took drugs in order to cope with their pain and suffering. We spent some time talking to the social worker who runs the centre and he said that the children can come here during the day and they provide 1 hour of schooling and try to educate them about HIV, drugs and paedophilia. The Centre has some funding from USAID and several other organisations and has just received a grant from AUSAID. However they are unable to offer them a bed at night (they can come and sleep during the day) - and they have no money to offer them any food. So they either have to scavenge, beg, steal or sell drugs or their bodies, in order to survive.

Krousar Thmey (where we are volunteering) also has a Street Kids Centre near our guest house and the 2 new volunteers are going to teach English there 2 hours a day. Some of the kids sell postcards and despite them not having any formal education, some of the kids have amazing English skills which they have learned from the tourists. First they come up to you and ask where do you come from? Then they deliver in rapid fire English an impressive list of facts. eg. "I know-how-many-people-live-in-your-country - 24 million-and-your-Prime-Minister-is-Mr-John-Howard-and-your-queen-is-Elizabeth-and-she-has-four-children-and........" By this time you are so impressed , how could you refuse to buy some postcards!

Today we went back to the Children's Hospital to donate blood. First you have to fill in a form which includes your date of birth. When the nurse saw that Barry was 65 y.o., she consulted her chart and said that he was too old to give blood. After putting on an Academy Award winning performance, letting her know in no uncertain terms that he was very disappointed and assuring her that he was fit and healthy - they finally decided to check his blood to see whether his blood count was adequate enough to accept. Naturally, my age was fine, she said! Anyway they then checked both of us for our blood types and other mysterious things before pronouncing that Barry's blood was acceptable, HOWEVER, MINE WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!. Of course Barry was very modest and did not give me a hard time about this at all!
We were both very impressed with the standard of the hospital which seemed very high tech and Barry had no hesitation in giving blood - I of course would have equally had no hesitation if I had the opportunity! I did come in some use however whilst there - one of the nurses came up to me with her English book and I gave her a free lesson!

Almost forgot to mention that we actually had some RAIN this week. It only lasted a few minutes but was enough for us to know that we do not want it to rain again whilst we are here! The pot holes in the roads filled instantly and the dust immediately turned to sloshy mud and was very slippery and dangerous trying to keep the moto on the road. I now know why Cambodian people always take their shoes off inside! We can also now imagine how difficult life must be during the wet season here. There are few paths in the town and none at all in the villages. There is no such thing as a lawn outside people's homes and the village houses are completely open to the elements and not at all waterproof.

Well that's about all from us for this week.

See you soon.................heaps of love.............Barry and Rhon xxx

Hi all,

Well once again we have had a very interesting and busy week. On Friday we went to the wedding of one of the teachers at the Blind School. Thankfully we hired a bus to take everyone. The original plan was for us to go on the back of a moto with some of the other teachers. The road was unbelievable. I have never seen such dust and can imagine what state we would have been in by the time we got there. The dust clung to everything - the trees, the roadside vegetation, the ever hopeful stall owners, the thatched houses with no doors or windows, the children walking home from school through the fields, the motos with live pigs strapped (legs flaying) to the back of them, were all equally coated in a layer of thick, red dirt. The village was 50 km from Siem Reap and because of the road conditions, it took us nearly 2 hours each way! Very interesting though to see some of the countryside. It is very, very dry at the moment and the rice paddies were bare dust bowls. What water there was, was polluted with green slime. People were carrying water long distances by hand using the traditional yolk across the shoulders. The villagers looked very poor, but despite this, there were many houses under construction using pretty crude "bush" construction methods. There were about 500 people at the wedding and the food was really delicious. The bride looked stunning in her traditional dress. The guests were all dressed beautifully. Much pride is taken in looking their best. One of the teachers hand made her outfit which was stitched with thousands of sequins. She made this during her "spare"time at school. We felt very honoured to be included.

Last night we went to a Beatocello concert at the Cambodian Children's Hospital. This is a weekly cello recital by Dr Beat Richner. Dr Richner is from Switzerland and has been in Cambodia for 50 years. He is the Director of 3 large private hospitals in Cambodia and is the most amazing man. A real entrepreneur! Every year he raises $17 million dollars through private donations to keep the hospitals running. At one of these recitals recently a man donated $1 million - such is his powers of persuasion! Between each musical piece, he informs the audience about the health system in Cambodia and it's decimation since 1975. Beginning with the Kissinger/Nixon invasion, which gave rise to the Khmer Rouge and the civil war. In 1975 there were 600 trained doctors in Cambodia. After Pol Pot, only 50 doctors survived. One of the major health problems in Cambodia is TB which spread rapidly in the poor sanitary conditions in the refugee camps. 65% of the population are now infected. There is no immunisation that can be given against TB, which lowers the immune system of the children who are then subject to other serious illnesses such as dengue fever, menangitus and encephalitis. There is currently an epidemic of dengue fever in Cambodia. The cure for this is to be hospitalised and given oxygen, followed by a series of 12 blood transfusions. The only problem is that 17% of the population are infected with HIV and Hep B. Therefore there is an urgent need for blood. Hence one of the reasons for the concerts is to raise awareness and encourage tourists to give, not just money, but much needed blood donations. Without this organisation (Kantha Bopha Coundation) 75,000 children a year would die. These 3 private hospitals are the only free health services in Cambodia and the only corruption free services. To gain access to the public hospitals or drugs, you must pay as the service is full of corruption. If you do not have money, you do not receive a service. 95% of the Cambodian population have no money to pay for health care. Dr Richter, is an inspiring man who is obviously passionate about his work and the driving force behind the Kantha Bopha Foundation. After the performance he looked tired and spent.

Today I went shopping with Chorda, a Cambodian friend from Interweave who we are working through. We went to a large market where there are no tourists to buy some silk. Unfortunately Chorda had her purse stolen with US$400 in it. This was money that she had collected the night before from the hotels where she delivers meat each evening. It is a small fortune here and will take her many, many months to pay back to her boss. As well as this she lost her identity card that allows her to bank the money she collects each day. Without this she cannot do her job. It will take her 3 months to replace the card, so she will have no income until she can fix this problem. Life is certainly not easy here!

Tomorrow we start another week. Two new volunteers have arrived and will take over our program when we leave. Good to know that there will be some continuity after we have gone.

As usual our week has been full of highs and lows and continues to amaze and challenge us.

Hope that you are all well. Thinking of you all................

Love and best wishes.....................Barry & Rhon xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Well it's Sunday arvo and Rhonda has gone off shopping and to have lunch with Thieng who is now back in Siem Reap for at least a month. When Rhon gets back we will post another blog about the weeks' activities. But in the meantime I thought I'd let you look at the amusing side of Cambodia. You may need to enlarge the shots to see them properly. So, as you will see, you can get robbed anywhere when you get off your bike to spend a short time with your best friend; when you win fourth prize in the lottery I'm not sure what you do with the prize; the Dead Fish Cafe serves only good meat; the FBI is alive and well in Cambodia; you get frequent Tuk-Tuk points for obeying the Do Not Litter sign, but not many are earned; and drinks on this list are particularly cheap, especially the Mekhong whisky.

Enjoy

Barry

Hi all,

On Valentine's Day, Barry organised for us to go to a really amazing restaurant called Hotel de la Paix which is one of the many 5 star hotels in Siem Reap, mostly catering for the increasing tourist trade. When we arrived there was a red carpet laid to the front door (I really thought that Barry had gone to a lot of trouble in arranging this for me!). When we reached the door, the doorman said that the Princess of Cambodia had just arrived and was opening an art exhibition. Much to our amazement, he invited us to go in to the event which we duly did. We were then offered drinks and trays of food and watched a special Apsara (dance) performance for the princess. She was sitting quite close and there were only about 50-60 people in the room. The exhibition was by a feminist painter that we presume must have been well known as the prices were from US$3,ooo-6,500.

Thursday, we were bought sharply back to the realities of the lives of the Cambodian people as we travelled out again to the villages on the back of the moto. I am pleased to report that I am no longer terrified on the moto, just terribly, terribly alert! Especially going on the back roads with the many large potholes swallowing their daily diet of bicycles, carts, motos and people. This week however, we witnessed a road improvement scheme that involved the (presumably volunteer) labour of teams of student teachers - in their nice clean uniforms - white blouses and blue skirts for the girls and white shirts and trousers for the boys. The students dug a drain, approx. 1 metre deep along the side of the road and then put the dirt into the holes. Quite effective, but I'm glad that I am not a student teacher!

The life of a teacher is very difficult and is also one of the most poorly paid, US$30 per month. I was talking to a couple of the teachers of the deaf children and their day starts at 6am and begins with them going to classes for further study for 2 hours before beginning teaching at 8am. They finish at 6pm and work 6 days PW. Because there are not enough schools, children ether go to school in the morning, orthe afternoon. The teachers come to our English class during their "break"!" We were taking the class of blind children a couple of days ago and Barry was playing the guitar and a women wandered in to listen. It turned out that she is also a volunteer who comes to teach the deaf children to paint 2 days per week. We have bought a guitar today to give to the Blind School for the students. One of the young lads is very bright and extremely interested in learning the guitar, so hopefully Barry will be able to teach him a few chords before we leave.

This week it has been ChineseNew Year (Year of the Golden Pig). It started on Sat and went for 3 days. The first day, everybody cleans the house and then the next 2 days are spent visiting friends and family and having a party. Many people have Chinese-Cambodian ethnic origins, so it is quite a large event. Many of the shops were closed on Sat and even the tuk-tuk drivers were difficult to find. For 3 nights we could hear firecrackers going off and people having a great time. Apparently making fireworks is a very lucrative business here.

It's so good to see people having fun after everything the Cambodian people have been through. I have just finished reading the saddest book called "Stay Alive My Son". It is a typical story of a Cambodian man who lost 14 members of his family who either starved to death, were murdered or died through neglect during the 3 years of Pol Pot regime and the following 10 years of gorilla warfare. He eventually escaped to Thailand, but lost his wife and 3 children. The Cambodian people are still waiting for justice to be done and an explaination of what happened during this period. There have been many delays in setting up an International War Crimes Tribunal and deciding on the Terms of Reference and the model. This has been extremely frustrating for the Cambodians.

Today we visited an organisation called Handicapped International. We have been quite concerned about a man that we regularly see in one of the villages. He only has one leg and he crawls along the dusty road on his bottom. We were pleased to discover that this organisation assists disabled people with aids such as crutches, prosthesis, and physiotherapy. The service is completely free and they are funded by donations from Belgium. They also have an outreach program and will visit the man to do an assessment of his needs. About 3.5 percent of the population have a severe disability. The main causes are unexploded mines (600 new cases each year), road accidents and birth defects. Road accidents being the main cause. This organisation is also working with the Cambodian government to educate people about road safety and to try to legislate for a new set of road rules. The cost of a complete assessment, prothesis, physio and follow up is approx US$100-240.

We had a great weekend with our daughter-in-law, Thieng and her mother, Saroum. They arrived on Friday. Saturday we hired a bus, a driver and interpreter and went to a very large reservoir about 10 kms out of town. This is where the Cambodian people go to swim and have a picnic. Many home made umbrellas were set up along the edge of the water and bright hammocks swung beneath thatched huts. Stalls were set up which were grilling whole fish and smelled delicious. For the more adventurous, you could even try the grilled frogs! Not exactly the Riveria but close!

We then went to silk factory and a guide showed us through the process from the Mulberry bushes, collecting the silk thread, spinning, dyeing and then weaving. And of course - the inevitable shop selling beautiful silk garments, scarves, handbags, &c.

We then travelled back to Siem Reap and visited the Cambodian Cultural Centre. This has many exhibitions, including each of the different ethnic groups in Cambodia and every half hour there is a different show depicting the dances and typical life of the village people. Perhaps because it was the Chines New Year, most of the crowd were Cambodian families. Everywhere in Cambodia there is a Banyan (tourist) price and a local Cambodian price. This seems to us a fair system and means that the local people can enjoy events such as this and Ankor Wat, which is free to Cambodians and US20 for tourists.

On Sunday had to say goodbye to Thieng and her mother, but have arranged for Thieng to come back to Siem Reap next Sunday for one month of private English tutoring. It will be good to be able to spend more time with her.

Well that's about all this week from us.

Love and best wishes to you all..............Barry and Rhon xxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi everyone,

It is Wednesday and our much needed day off. We generally use our day off to do some errands, catch up with emails, the blog and just recover enough to finish off the rest of the week.

Saturday night we went to the puppet parade which was just wonderful. There were 9 schools involved , all of them NGO schools and all of the children were from disadvantaged families, orphans or street children. They had all made the puppets themselves with the help of lots of foreign volunteers. The person that organised the parade is English and he travels all over the world teaching children about the environment. The children were so excited and the volunteers worked them up to feverish pitch with lots of chants, drumming &c. The puppets were amazing. Hopefully you can see in the photos, there was a giant dragon, a green ghecko, a policeman, Mr toothbrush, a giant bird and several others. At the end of the parade they finished in a park and the Raffles Hotel provided a meal for them all. Then they were transported on the back of open trucks (approx 70 to a truck!) back to their villages.

We have arranged for our daughter-in-law (Theing and her mother) to come to Siem Reap next weekend from Sisophon and really looking forward to catching up with them. Have also been invited to one of the teacher's wedding on 23rd February which will be great. The wedding will be in a village about 50 kms out of Siem Reap, so it will be good to see some more of the countryside.

Our classes are going well and we now have more of a handle on where the children are at with their English. We have now split the classes into two and Barry takes the older ones and I take the younger ones. However this is not always how it works as some of the littler ones are much better than the older ones. We also have another new student at the Blind School. He is 5 years old and cute as a button. He only looks about the size of a 3 year old. His parents both have HIV.

Have a couple of other road rules to add to Barry's list and these are the ones for pedestrians.

1. When crossing the road, never look both ways. (or even one way!)

2. Close your eyes and just start walking at a steady even pace and the traffic will go around

you.
3. Never stop or you will be hit.

4. If you are hit - as a foreigner, you will automatically be in the wrong.

5. As a foreigner, you will be expected to pay any damages.

Well that's all from us. Happy Valentine's Day!.......................Lots of love Barry & Rhon