Palmera Projects
Why we are here
Posted on Saturday, Dec 26 2009
Cambodians have experienced immense torture and it's evident as you walk down the streets of Siem Reap. Mine victums with missing limbs, poor dirty starving kids, mums with malnourished babies and of coz the always eager tuk tuk drivers. For the last one and a half day, I've managed to ignored them which is so difficult to do as they are everywhere you turn. Self preservation mechanism. "Avoid eye-contact". "Don't give money to one as once you do, the rest will swarm you". "Walk-away".
All good advice from well-wishers and the experienced, however the kids WILL eventually get to you. The night started off with a beautiful dinner and a trip to the night market. Well.... we didn't even get to the entrance of the night market. On the way, we bumped into a student near a convenience store who was taught by the June'09 volunteer group. He was selling bangles and postcards on the streets to pay for his education.We stopped to chat and the boy was extremely embrassed but happy to see his old teachers. We bought what he was selling.
With 5 minutes, we had a swamp of kids all around us. One kid really stood out. He was wearing a dirty once orange T-shirt and a pair of raggy shorts (evetually everything/everyone in Siem reap becomes a dirty shade of brown.) He was tiny and looked no more than 6. He was 10 and was starving. With the convenice store close by, I decided to get him biscuits and bread. I told him to wait outside but watching me enter the store, he followed and stood at the entrance. I asked what he wanted and he rushed to get milk power.
Yup! milk powder for his brother.
When I asked him what he wanted for himself, he first hestiated and rushed to the biscuit shelf. Very pratical. With our milk power and a bag of biscuits in hand we walked out the door. BIG mistake. kids everywhere. touching, hanging on. pleading for me to get them food as well. I looked at the kid and had never felt so helpless before. How can you help all? It is impossible.
A different kid now had clung onto me not wanting to let go. Self-preservation went out the door. Emotions flaring. Tears rolled down. I needed Rhamya to drag me away and Dilan to pry the kid's hand off me. Thanks a lot guys!
Laura reenforced the reason why we were in Siem Reap. What we are doing by teaching them English is giving them the opportunity to help the kids get out of the situation that they are in and we can't help them all.
Lesson 2: "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he will eat a lifetime".
Caroline