Last Day of Work

I have recieved some emails from friends wanting more information on what my day typically looked like, so here is a synapsis.

27 people loaded two vans for the 12k drive to our worksight. No roads are paved, so the dust becomes an issue by 8am. Traffic is intense with motorbikes crossing in front of one another so close, they touch each other and often times, the side of our van. Once we arrive to our sight, we break into five teams to work on five seperate houses.

This particular neighborhood has an entry sign that calls out "Kyhmer Society for the Poor". There is no electricity, no running water. Houses are made of brick and are often only one main room, with a toilet area. Toilets are squatters (holes in the ground) and are washed out with small buckets of water. Your business is simply washed under ground and soon will surface to the swamp area behind the homes.

Each home is approximately 300 to 400 sq ft. with brick walls and concrete floors. Residents lay straw weaved mats on the floor, and this is where they both eat and sleep. A few (a very few) have seating in the home. If they do have furniture, it must be moved at night to allow the motorbike to be parked in the living area.

Food is bought on a daily basis, as there are no refridgerators. Garbarge is not collected, so it must be burned every morning. Plastic is not burned, subsequently, it litters the land everywhere.

Kids go to school during the day from 8 to 11am and then again from 2 to 5pm. We usually ended our work day at 4:30, so we got to enjoy the kids during the lunch break. They were incredibily friendly and loved attempting to teach us to count in Kyhmer. They often made fun of us for feeling so hot in the 90 degree sun, while they were fully clothed in long sleeves shirts!

Our last day of work in Cambodia was graced with the dedication of all the homes we worked on, and the three that actually got finished! The dedications were emotional with home owners crying at the prospect of finally having a place to live. While most of us looked at the crooked brick walls with total disgrace, they looked at the same walls with complete joy and happiness. The security of a home that the government can not take away is a dream come true. Just having a place they can lock up at night is overwhelming for them.