I absolutely love teaching English at Hope school. Before coming here I really didn't think I would enjoy it, I had no clue how to teach and I was worried that being dyslexic would make the job even harder. But it's actually amazing. The students at the school are very different from British students. They really want to learn, they respect you as a teacher from day one and they don't give up if something is hard. I remember on my second day in Cambodia, I had to lead a class all on my own and I felt out of my depth. But I did it and from then on I've loved planning lessons, creating and thinking of new activities to do in my classes and seeing the students progress and learn. I totally get why people teach!
Aside from teaching, Hope Agency also gets involved with the community through the food bank project. This is one of the main reasons why I set up a justgiving page. Thank you to those who have donated. Last week I got the chance to visit some of the families that the project supports, I thought I would write about it because I don't think people get how important this project is in helping the people who need it. I know it's so much easier for myself and other volunteers to understand it because we are here. But being away from my life in England and all the stresses that it brings really puts those worries and 'problems' into perspective and made me realise how self absorbed I can be, and I think it's fair to say we all can be. For example, one of the women the food bank helps has been paralysed from the waist down ever since she had a complicated pregnancy when she was 20 years of age. She's now 50 and has been living on the same raised wooden platform outside her house for 30 years. She lives with her daughter who has to go and work during the day in order to provide for her family as well as her mothers needs. She can not move and no one is there to move her, the highlight of her day is watching volunteers drive by in a tuktuk whilst waving. When I saw her lying there I just thought it was so selfish of me to ever complain about having a boring day at home. The food bank allows volunteers to visit her and give her company as well as bring the family food to help ease the pressure that her daughter faces.
We also visited a student and her mother. Her mother is not well and is constantly in and out of hospital. They live in another village, it is a long journey for the daughter to make so the food bank provided her with a motorbike to get to school on. The food bank was also able to pay for the mothers doctor appointments and medication. They also receive a food package which helps feed the two of them. The food bank fund also made it possible for Hope Agency to build them a new house. The first 2 pictures (left to right) show their old house. It's built out of scrap metal and the floor is raised and made out of wood. The other 3 pictures show the new house that was built. It's made out of new metal with a tiled floor (still to be finished), in the last picture (right) you can see the motorbike that was bought by the food bank project.
I also was able to visit the oldest woman in the village. She has no husband or family because of the Khmer rouge (genocide in Cambodia). This means that she relies on the community and the food bank project to feed and look after her. She's an incredible woman who has been through some things I could never dream of. Because of the generation she's from she never asks for help or food and is extremely humble. She is about 80 years old and is well respected in the village. Below are some photos of her house.
Hope agency supports over 20 families through the food bank project. Money goes towards hospital appointments, medication, motorbikes and food packages. This is what a food package includes:
1. Cooking oil
2. Fish sauce
3. Soy sauce
4. Salt, Sugar
5. Chicken powder
6. 20 tins of mackerel
7. 20 packets of noodles
8. Soap bars, washing up soap
9. Crackers, Wafer biscuits
10. 50kg of rice
All together this food package costs about $50 and will last a family 3 weeks, and someone on their own about 2 months.
So to answer the question, I'm asking for money because there is a need for it. A dollar goes a long way in Cambodia. I know a lot of people are students, I'm a student but a small amount really goes a long way.
On another note, it's a national holiday in Cambodia where they celebrate the dead and respect their ancestors so on Friday we through a big party for the kids and payed for them to have lunch. Here are some photos.
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