my heart for siem reap | part II

After spending 5 days at BBLC, we moved on to Siem Reap City for touristy adventures (think buffet, shopping, massage!). But alas, God was not done… He had more to show and teach me. Landmine Museum We visited a landmine museum which was built and maintained by a man called Aki Ra. Here, we learnt more about Cambodia’s history and Aki Ra’s life & work – a man who has devoted his life to deactivating landmines in Cambodia. He was born during the war times and brought up as a child soldier for the Khmer Rouge but was later captured by and served the Vietnamese army. As a child, he was forced to lay many landmines around Cambodia. When the war was over, he received education and started to de-mine on his own. Aki Ra and his wife adopts and bring landmine victims (about 11 to-date) to live with them in Siem Reap where they go to school, learn English (& other languages like Japanese!) and help out at the museum as guides. Its very heartening to know that many foreigners visit the museum and take active steps to help Aki Ra – setting up a website, helping with donations, teaching English to the adopted kids, etc. landmine museum entrance The museum isn’t like our typical concrete, polished ones with nice glass casing and labels. Instead, it’s a makeshift attap-like one, with various handmade posters, paintings, stories pin up everywhere, together with large array of different weapons, landmines. There we watched a video which showed the various events leading up to current Cambodia, the state of landmine activity now and the lives of kids who have suffered from the effects of these. our guide, Hak There was a portion of the video that really moved me to tears – where Aki Ra’s adopted kids were introduced one by one with their names (and obvious handicaps), all happy and grinning into the cameras. And the scene after that showed them having fun playing soccer, jumping into the river for swims, mucking around like normal teens. Its strange but that tugged at my heart as I marveled at how amazing it was that these kids, underprivileged in our eyes, take so much joy in life, are so very grateful they have a chance now to study, to grow to be useful adults. I wondered how our kids would be if they ever faced such a handicap, how I would be if I faced such a handicap – would it be the end of the world for us, or would we be strong and continue to embrace life like they have? Sobering and shaming at the same time… what right do we have to complain about our lives if they can live so well in theirs. Facts (as far as I know at point of visit) - 2-3 kids are injured/killed daily, around 1,000 a year - 97% of landmine casualties are civilian - There are approximately about 7 million mines still left at the Thai-Cambodian border You can read more about the museum’s work and how you can help here www.akiramineaction.com & www.cambodialandminemuseum.org Beatocello’s Concert Another outstanding man in Siem Reap is a Swiss doctor, Dr Beat Richner. Dr Beat gives free cello concerts every Sat evening in a wonderful concert hall in Siem Reap City. He plays classical and self-composed pieces to tourists weekly and uses the session as a platform to raise awareness of the condition of children healthcare in Cambodia, the work that he is doing and to raise donations to support this work. At the concert, I learnt many things about the poor state of hospitals and healthcare in Cambodia. In summary, Dr Beat attributes it to 3 main causes: 1) Corruption The Cambodian healthcare system is inefficient and ridden with corruption. Healthcare providers are paid poorly (US$14/month) which leads to bribe-taking and poor patients not being granted admission unless they could pay. Healthcare workers also worked short hours, stole medicines etc to survive. All of which meant the poor (which would be 90% of Cambodians) do not get the medical attention they need and the kids die. 2) War The many years of war that Cambodia has gone through apparently resulted in dormant tuberculosis in majority of Cambodians. Dr Beat gave an approximated 65% figure as the proportion of children he thinks suffer from tuberculosis (dormant & otherwise). I’m no medical expert, but I understood that this fact meant that the Cambodians are more vulnerable to succumbing to minor ills and infections compared to other kids. It was also in Cambodia (due to his policy of effecting the right methods for the right issues regardless of costs) that infant tuberculosis was detected (a first in medical world). 3) Attitude of first-world countries To my shock and horror, many reputed NGOs and first-world officials apparently subscribe to the belief that ‘poor medicine is good enough for poor people in poor countries’. According to this logic, they adhere that a country like Cambodia should not use modern technology like CT scans, blood labs to ensure clean blood transfusions. And medicines that are exported to Cambodia would be outdated ones (that may not work) not modern ones as Cambodians should get only what they can afford. According to Dr Beat, this policy amounts to passive genocide. Of cos this idea is atrocious. Listening to Dr Beat, I realized how fallen our world is and one question kept ringing in my head Is the life of a Cambodian child worth less than that of a first-world child? Dr Beat was right. In Australia, Switzerland, Singapore, the UK, the US – would we spare any expense to save our child from an illness? Would we allow backdated methods/medicine to be used or to skip important steps in a blood transfusion exercise? Obviously not. Yet we deem it fit for the poor, just cos they are distant, ignorant, helpless. Shame on us. Why are we so obnoxious and selfish, to only channel the right medicines to the ones that can afford it? I thought it through and realize it isn’t just the first-world governments or pharmaceutical companies that are guilty of perpetuating this error. It is common people like you and me that contribute to the problem. Pharmaceutical companies would not give good medicine for charity (which is what giving to Cambodians would be cos they can’t afford much) because they operate for revenue. They operate for revenue because they have to answer to stakeholders, mainly shareholders of these companies. And shareholders of these companies would be individuals that own stocks, that demand high returns on their shares yearly. And these individuals could be anyone of us in the developed world. Dr Beat was commissioned by the Cambodian king to build a children hospital that’s efficient and gives free healthcare. Over years of hardwork, he has now built three such hospitals in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Dr Beat pays his healthcare workers reasonably, trains Cambodians to work in the hospitals and grant free healthcare for all. When he first started the hospital it was run by a majority of foreigners. Now, he has successfully equipped the locals and these hospitals are run mainly by Cambodians (1,600 Cambodians, 2 Foreigners). He ensures the right equipment, methods are used to ensure safety of the kids. Dr Beat face many challenges from the international community which I was ignorant of until that day. His work is sustained 90% by donations from tourists, people who attend his talks/concerts, the other 10% from his home country, Switzerland. Its appalling, but huge organizations (I shan’t name names) call on people NOT to give to Dr Beat cos they deem him a rebel and non-conformist to standards set internationally (basically in my opinion, they don’t like him cos he is spoiling the market). You can find out more by visiting his site www.beatocello.com or borrow the book I bought titled ‘Hope for the Children of Kantha Bopha’ by Dr Beat Richner. At times like these, I wished I was either a trained doctor so I can help or a millionaire many times over so I can give more to these people. Preserving their lives is one step forward – that they will live long enough to know the gospel before final death comes. _________________________ Though the realities of what I’ve seen, desire to serve there again is keen and strong now, I know the urban world with its comforts and complications can make these realities distant and mild in time. So I pray and trust Him to preserve and strengthen any desire of mine as He wills... pray with me :)

my heart for siem reap | part I

Its been months since I came around here to say anything. Time as always is a scarce commodity for the busy bee Singaporean that’s me.

But I just got back from a week long trip in Cambodia and the things I saw, experienced need to be documented (so I will remember) and shared (so it may benefit those who haven’t been). Here goes!

BB Learning Centre

The trip was organized by YMCA for a group of volunteers to help teach kids at a Boys’ Brigade Learning Centre located in a Cambodian village called Phroung (?), in Puok district, 45mins from Siem Reap City. This learning centre was set up in June 2006 by BB Singapore and is staffed by two Singaporeans (main teacher, Reuben & administrator, Jason) and a Cambodian (translator, Pich). The volunteers were a mixed bunch of characters, mostly from my company and a handful not. I was a little apprehensive prior to going cos

1) I didn’t know anyone in the team
2) the living conditions would be tougher than usual, very back to basics
3) majority were ladies and I was scared of the potential squabbles (think bitching, hair pulling, nail scratching) and girly whining I might have to face

But God as always, prepared the way and these fears were largely unfounded :)

Mentally prepared for tougher than usual living conditions and physically armed with gear that would help ease me into rural life (sleeping bag, repellent, mobile mattress & a set of saboteur cards – thanks paddychicken!), the experience was more than manageable and I returned unscathed (save for some mossie bites, bruises and an uneven tan) with a different perspective, bunch of great new friends and many valuable lessons.

team shot at angkor wat

In the village, BBLC is the only concrete building with bath/WC amenities (thank God!) and an electricity generator (which was switched on only at certain times, off at night so we wont disturb the villagers). The centre is located 10-15min from the main road by foot. The only path in & out to the main road is a muddy one littered with cow poo, potholes and puddles. Our meals were prepared by a Christian Cambodian lady living at the main road, so twice a day, rain or shine we trudge through the muddy path to/from her house. Meals were simple but rather yummy - a standard fare of rice, a vegetable dish with meat and a vegetable soup. We had our meals seated on the floor, communally. In the beginning, it was uncomfy to have perpetually muddy feet and sian to drench yourself in repellant and bring the poncho/brolly whenever we go out (the weather is rather unpredictable between super sunny and really rainy) but after awhile, we adjusted and it became enjoyable and fun. It helps to be boh chap about how filthy you/the place is… Itchy? scratch lor! Dirty? wash lor! Smelly? walk faster!













me in a lil' red rainy hood


path we take to meals

Working with the kids was really a joyful time. They were eager to learn and extremely adorable. We taught them english (through role play, songs), dance and art. It was heartwarming to see how diligent they were in noting down words we were teaching in their little, scruffy notebooks. Despite the language barrier, we shared a lot of laughter playing games and doing the dance together. Though they had little, they made an effort to show their appreciation to us through self-made cards etc. My favourite boy, Rattana was especially endearing. He brought a picture of his family and himself (one of only two pictures he owned) and wanted to give it to me. I didn’t take it of cos, but took a picture of the photo instead. I miss Rattana.

Living at the centre and observing the villagers around gave me a tiny taste of the Cambodian life. Its cliché but true that basics we take for granted here – sanitation, clean water, electricity, proper roads – are the very things they don’t have. Other signs of poverty were everywhere – everyone from kids to cows were small and scrawny… So many kids looked smaller than their age, like a boy who looked 5yrs old was actually 9! And the kids wore almost the same clothes to the centre daily. The disparity between the poor in a country like Cambodia and the rich (anyone in the developed world) is huge. Seeing what little the Cambodians have made me realize the abundance we are living in. Their ability to live life simply, in contentment should put us all to shame. We need to be less selfish and wiser in choosing the use of our resources. One dollar spent on me, is one dollar less for the poor, for God’s work. More should be channeled to those in need.

a skinny cow & me

It was also at the centre that I learnt more about the history of Cambodia, through Pastor Bangsa’s personal story growing up in war times (he is pastor of the church in the village) and a book titled The Tears of My Soul by Reaksa Himm (everyone shd read it, can borrow from me or get a copy at SKS). The Khmer Rouge era was a horrific time of torture and pain for so many Cambodians. Its easy to be brought to tears when you learn of what they went through. It helped me to realize the importance of political stability, to understand why their state of life is the way it is now and how strong the people in Cambodia are. I also had the chance to meet and share in a prayer time with some Christian Cambodians one evening. It was truly encouraging to see God working in the land in such a real way… to see native Christians meeting, singing and praying together. Though we were singing in different tongues, all of us were united in the same Christ. It made me want to commit to praying more for the people of Cambodia, especially since 96% of the country is Buddhist.

shot with pastor bangsa's family & neighbours

I think the guys at BBLC are doing a great work, teaching the kids and patiently trying to reach them for Christ. I left the centre & village sad. There was not enough time to really know and love them. I will pray for another opportunity to return to serve them again soon.