Caring for Cambodia

2015 will mark 40 years since genocidal leader Pol Pot declared the “year-zero” and executed 25 per cent of the population. In the years since, volunteers have flocked from all over the world to restore the country to its former glory. 

“My eyes have been opened to what real problems are in the world. In the Western World, we think being inconvenienced in some way is the end of the world, when in fact, we have nothing to complain about. From my experience (in Cambodia) I have learned not to sweat the small stuff.”

American Keisha Courtney, 29, is just one of thousands of volunteers who have come from all over the globe to see the world in a different way, to be challenged and to make a difference in the lives of someone who has nothing. It is these volunteers that local schools and non-government organisations such as Our Home (a school for orphaned and disadvantaged children) say are so important that they would not be able to run smoothly without them. In this polarising country, for every harrowing story of heartbreak there is an equally beautiful and heart-warming story to match.

The feeling as you step off the plane and into this new world is different for everyone. Some, like American volunteer Daniel LaRoche, are overwhelmed by a sense of adventure or excitement, others, like Australian volunteer Lenore Klumpp, are exhausted by the heat, and many, like tourist Luke Dixon, are shocked by the smell. 

“The first experience of Cambodia is in the air. As you enter the streets a violent variety of stench greets you. At first, the odour of abandoned refuse and rotting scraps is unbearable but over time one adapts to the smell to the point of not noticing,” says Dixon. 

It really is like entering a new world the first time you step out of the Phnom Penh airport. Militant men with stone faces and large guns line the outer walls of the airport and swarms of eager men shout “tuk tuk?” at you as if it were a question they were desperate for you to answer. Nothing around you is like the first-world comfort that are so deeply ingrained to your being. Nothing. Bare-footed children line the streets pulling behind them heavy carts or begging for money from tourists. They are cute and often so thin you want to give them all your money, you want to buy them lunch, but you know you can’t feed them all and you’ve been warned of the adverse consequences of giving these children money. Giving “street kids” money keeps them on the streets and out of school. The sad reality is that the desperate parents of these children send them to the streets to beg for money and the more successful they are the less likely they are to ever return to school. Fortunately there are charities like Think Child Safe based in Cambodia, and all over the world, to help travellers give the children the most ethical treatment possible.

Cambodia, officially titled The Kingdom of Cambodia, is a constitutional monarchy that is slowly recovering from a dark past while still wallowing in the corruption of the present. Almost 40 years ago 25 per cent of the Cambodian population was executed during the genocidal regime of Pol Pot. After taking control of the Cambodian government in 1975 Pol Pot declared it to be the “Year Zero” in which society would restart and Cambodia, or Kampuchea as it was then called, would become an independent agricultural nation. In an Orwellian attack Pol Pot ordered the execution of any citizen that he believed to be against the party. This included anyone who was educated or appeared to be so.

Almost forty years on from Year Zero the legacy of the Khmer Rouge genocide is still evident in the hundreds of mass graves and ‘Killing Fields’, an estimated 10 million remaining land mines, and deeply entrenched corruption. The generosity of the human spirit shines out as the silver lining emerging from the storm cloud of Cambodia’s past.

Former Los Angeles news reporter Keisha Courtney spent two months volunteering with a humanitarian program based in Phnom Penh and saw some of the impacts of government corruption.

“Families were thrown out of their homes by the government and then their homes were demolished right in front of them. I didn't actually see this firsthand, but the organization we worked with (Cambodian Independent Anti-Corruption Committee) dealt with trying to help these people,” she said.

Klumpp blames the bulk of the corruption on poor pay and working conditions.

“A lot of it is created through poor pay. The police, for example, only earn about $50 a month and a lot of their extra money is through taking bribes for traffic offences. You can pay them off pretty easy,” says Klumpp.

Klumpp spent three months volunteering at Joy Day care based near the Phnom Penh rubbish dump. 

“It’s a massive, massive area and it’s probably three or four stories high. There’s a lot of people that actually work on the dump, scrounging through the rubbish and it’s a really dangerous place to be. It’s toxic, it’s disease ridden and not a good place for anyone to be, let alone children. Some of the children have actually lost their lives. They chase after the big rubbish trucks that come to dump the rubbish and there have been quite a few children who have been buried in that rubbish. Unfortunately the government don’t seem to want to stop people from working on it because it is a source of income for them but the death rate amongst the people is really, really high and of course the diseases and everything else. There’s typhoid and dengue fever and all sorts of horrible, horrible diseases,” she said.

Spending three months in a dump-side daycare centre, Klumpp saw more horrors in that time than most of us will see in a lifetime. The most chilling memory that Klumpp has of her stay in Cambodia was the sight of a small group of adults sitting around a camp fire cooking a dog that they had found on the dump heap. Klumpp’s translator told her that it may have been the only thing the group ate for days.

“It was quite overwhelming and I was in shock, I was in horror. At the same time it was really sad that these people have to resort to that to be able to eat for the day. I think that was probably one of the most shocking things that I’ve seen,” she said. 

Like the proverbial rose growing from the rubble, a beautiful demonstration human nature has arisen from the dangerously poor country of Cambodia. In the midst of the corruption and poverty are dozens of volunteer organisations working with local groups and international volunteers to work towards a better future.

International volunteer organisations such as International Volunteer Head Quarters and Projects Abroad work with local NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to provide the most help where it is needed. Volunteers come from all over the world to undergo tasks from teaching school children to working with struggling rural towns to collect donations. When volunteers were asked about the most beautiful thing they saw in Cambodia all the responses had one common theme. The people.

“I’ve made some friends there that I will have for the rest of my life and that’s probably the biggest reason why I keep going back,” said Daniel LaRoche a student from North Carolina who spent six months volunteering in Cambodia after deciding that his future was in humanitarian work. “People there are so genuine,” he said.

Just as her most confronting experience came to mind so readily, Klumpp took less than a second to remember the positive experience that affected her the most. Her friend and tuk tuk driver had driven her to the ruins of a small temple on the outskirts of Phnom Penh where she met two elderly women.

“It’s just got the most beautiful feeling about it, this place. Very spiritual. These two elderly ladies took me into this little part of the temple and burnt some incense, said a prayer and did a blessing for me. And then we just sat outside amongst the garden and it was just beautiful. The three of us just sat there and took in the fresh air and I looked at these two ladies and I thought, gee, what you would have witnessed in your lifetime. What you would have been through would have just been so unbelievably devastating. And you could see it etched on their faces but their souls were still intact because they had the most beautiful souls. That was a really moving day. I spent hours there and it was just beautiful,” she said with a glowing warmth in her voice. 

The Chinese philosophical symbol yin and yang describes the belief that in every good there is some evil, and in every evil there is some good. Much like this there is so much good that can be found in even the darkest parts of Cambodian history and culture. The contrast between the two sides of human nature is highlighted in this country where people who have so little are willing to share so much and volunteers donate their time and money to give these people a chance at a better future. Despite its dark past Cambodia is an amazing example of the good in human nature with positivity shining from both the local Khmer people and the volunteers who truly represent the best of humanity.

For more information about volunteering in Cambodia visit www.ivhq.com or www.projects-abroad.com.