Well it’s been quite a week! We took a bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, a trip which was supposed to take 6 or 7 hours and ended up taking 10. We made it to the New Hope for Cambodian Children orphanage late on Monday night, and quickly passed out in our dorms. Over the next few days we made good use of the bathrooms, as most of us came down with some form of travel sickness, but the orphanage was a blast anyways.
During our time there, we helped out in the classrooms, played soccer with the kids, painted a mural, and even learned a bunch of new Australian slang from our fellow volunteers. I was placed in a 5th grade classroom, where I got to help teach English, science, and social studies. I got to know the 13 kids in the class pretty well, and it was awesome to see all their unique personalities come out over the week. Cole and Dillon were tasked with creating and giving a presentation on America. They covered some iconic topics (Obama, hot dogs and hamburgers, Spongebob…all the important stuff really), and even had Topher play some well-known songs on his guitar. The artists in the group (Amby, Cami, and Hadlie) worked with a graphic designer from Australia to paint a beautiful mural on one of the houses.
We also were able to learn about the HIV problem in Cambodia this week. When the New Hope for Cambodian Children orphanage was started, HIV/AIDS was a big problem, and they were receiving HIV positive babies every week. However, over the last 10 years or so, the prices of the medications for HIV have decreased dramatically, so it isn’t spreading as rapidly. NHCC was established only 7 years ago, and there are 230 children living at the orphanage who receive antiretrovirals once a day. The organization also supports over 1,300 kids in and around Phnom Penh by providing cheap medications and helping them find schooling or jobs. An English school was even established on the property just last year, and all of the kids receive their education there up through 8th grade. If I didn’t know this was an orphanage for HIV positive kids, I never would have been able to tell – they all play just as hard as any other kid, and are constantly smiling and giggling.
That’s all for now,
Tessa (with help from Amby)