Highlight: Cambodian Childrens Fund
It's been a while since I labelled anything as a highlight. The problem hasn't been a lack of stunning scenery, great people or great food. There just hadn't been anything to really make me take a step back and try and take it all in. The choice might seem a little odd at first but read on!
We have always tried to make sure we get a decent view of real life in the countries we go to and in Cambodia we got a full dose and then some. We saw a side of Cambodia that most locals don't see, let alone us tourists, spending three days this week with the Cambodian Childrens Fund (CCF) in the care of Scott Neeson (the founder) and Lisa Jones. The organisation was set up in 2003 to help care for some of the most impoverished children in Phnom Penh. Today it is certainly doing that; originally a site for 45 children, they now have 4 main sites caring for over 300 children, a community day care centre, the provision of community relief programs and much more.
The majority of the children come from an area surrounding a garbage dump, the largest in South East Asia, on the outskirts of town. From an early age a lot of these children are sent by their parents to work long days and nights in appalling and dangerous conditions sifting through the rubbish for less than a pound a day. Children helped by the organisation are taken in due to various backgrounds. Many are abused by drunk or aggresive parents, others sold into the sex trade and many are severely malnourished.
Our first stop was to be the dump. Ironically, the first impression you get is how happy these kids seem. Faces light up as Scott arrives on what seems a desolate scene and the kids all rush to meet him. The poorest live in small wooden shacks with tarpaulin or cardboard roofs and walls and no sanitation. The 'rich' still live below a level I've seen before. The affection these kids have is also bestowed onto us, they want to meet us and walk hand in hand with us as Scott does his rounds through the dump. Everyday, laden with a list of notes from the previous day he visits the most neady families. However, every day heralds new problems, whether they be cuts incurred from working on the dump or parents threatening to pull their children out of the organisation unless they are paid considerable sums of money.
At the time it's actually hard to appreciate how hard some of these kids have it. It led to a pretty sombre mood each night though as you start to replay things you have seen through the day. Over the three days we got to see some of the good work being done whilst also seeing the problems first hand. One of the more striking things was the visible difference between those waiting to attend CCF and those already being helped at one of the centres. We were there on a weekend, when most of the children return to their homes; those already in CCF had clean clothes and hair and just seemed to have a glow and confidence about them missing from the other kids. The children know that getting an education is the best way out of it - 'Take me to study' was a common request as we walked around. Some of these families are first generation victims of Pol Pot's regime and educating these children is going to be the best way to ensure a better future. They are also receiving soft skills training and the manners of these kids is great. We took a small group for a ride on an escalator (there are only two in Cambodia so not as dull as it sounds) and an ice-cream and they were so well behaved through out the whole trip.
It's quite humbling to appreciate the personal sacrifices that Scott and some of his team have made in pursuit of their cause. I'm not running it myself this year for obvious reasons but if there are any budding London Marathon runners out there looking for a worthy cause this would certainly be a deserving one.
More pictures in my gallery!!
We have always tried to make sure we get a decent view of real life in the countries we go to and in Cambodia we got a full dose and then some. We saw a side of Cambodia that most locals don't see, let alone us tourists, spending three days this week with the Cambodian Childrens Fund (CCF) in the care of Scott Neeson (the founder) and Lisa Jones. The organisation was set up in 2003 to help care for some of the most impoverished children in Phnom Penh. Today it is certainly doing that; originally a site for 45 children, they now have 4 main sites caring for over 300 children, a community day care centre, the provision of community relief programs and much more.
The majority of the children come from an area surrounding a garbage dump, the largest in South East Asia, on the outskirts of town. From an early age a lot of these children are sent by their parents to work long days and nights in appalling and dangerous conditions sifting through the rubbish for less than a pound a day. Children helped by the organisation are taken in due to various backgrounds. Many are abused by drunk or aggresive parents, others sold into the sex trade and many are severely malnourished.Our first stop was to be the dump. Ironically, the first impression you get is how happy these kids seem. Faces light up as Scott arrives on what seems a desolate scene and the kids all rush to meet him. The poorest live in small wooden shacks with tarpaulin or cardboard roofs and walls and no sanitation. The 'rich' still live below a level I've seen before. The affection these kids have is also bestowed onto us, they want to meet us and walk hand in hand with us as Scott does his rounds through the dump. Everyday, laden with a list of notes from the previous day he visits the most neady families. However, every day heralds new problems, whether they be cuts incurred from working on the dump or parents threatening to pull their children out of the organisation unless they are paid considerable sums of money.At the time it's actually hard to appreciate how hard some of these kids have it. It led to a pretty sombre mood each night though as you start to replay things you have seen through the day. Over the three days we got to see some of the good work being done whilst also seeing the problems first hand. One of the more striking things was the visible difference between those waiting to attend CCF and those already being helped at one of the centres. We were there on a weekend, when most of the children return to their homes; those already in CCF had clean clothes and hair and just seemed to have a glow and confidence about them missing from the other kids. The children know that getting an education is the best way out of it - 'Take me to study' was a common request as we walked around. Some of these families are first generation victims of Pol Pot's regime and educating these children is going to be the best way to ensure a better future. They are also receiving soft skills training and the manners of these kids is great. We took a small group for a ride on an escalator (there are only two in Cambodia so not as dull as it sounds) and an ice-cream and they were so well behaved through out the whole trip. It's quite humbling to appreciate the personal sacrifices that Scott and some of his team have made in pursuit of their cause. I'm not running it myself this year for obvious reasons but if there are any budding London Marathon runners out there looking for a worthy cause this would certainly be a deserving one.
More pictures in my gallery!!
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