The arrival was very hard. The whole trip from the city of Phonm Phen to the volunteer area, you see a lot of things. I spent all this trip with a lot of mixed feelings. I swear that in less than an hour I reconsidered my whole existence and everything I know. All the things that I take for granted back home.. Those are privileges. We don’t know what we have, and we don’t know what the world is like. All that trip in a shattered, crowded van, traveling with a lot of people, trying not to burst into tears. It was as if I felt bad about myself, I can not tell you exactly why, but I think it bothered me to find myself much more privileged than I thought to be.
The shower consisted of throwing a bucket of water from the well. Here everything is done with water from the well, including cooking, and now that the monsoon is not yet getting here, the water from the well is going to be finished soon.
I think almost everyone feels the same when arriving here. I see it every time there is a new volunteer, and we talk openly about it. The arrival is hard.
Talking about cooking. The menu of these children consists of rice with vegetables … Same for dinner. Everyday. One day I bought 10 loaves of bread to accompany the meal and the manager told me to give it to them after lunch, because the children would it the bread as a dessert, as if it were a cake.
These kids have some very tough stories. Stories I don’t want to tell you. But they are strong children, and very independent.
Today I had to go teach at the public school. Yesterday was the first day I was doing a class at the public school. So far I had only given classes at the house of cpoc (that’s the name of the organization). It was really cool. Those classes are not mandatory or anything, but the kids go anyway. Especially at the one at 5 o’clock, it’s always full! It so much fun. They have a great affection and respect for the teachers. They make drawings, they give you flowers. A came to record with his camera and they went crazy with him. I turned around for a moment and when I looked back they were combing his hair and putting flowers on it, he looked like a hippy.
Apart from the classes, we usually spend the day fixing or building things, like a house for the ducks, and we are recording the documentary project of all this. So we’re busy. Oh S, there are so many things I would like to tell you.
So these are some of the many photos I took while I was volunteering at the CPOC in July 2015. It was one of the best, most valuable experiences I’ve had.
profit organization founded by Mr. Kim. The work of the CPOC foundation centers on taking care of poor and orphaned children, helping poor
families in the area, as well as teaching classes in english to the local kids.
The story of Mr. Kim and the CPOC is a true inspiration. You can learn more about the amazing work done at the CPOC and help by visiting www.cpocfoundation.com
