6/17:
Today, we went to CPO in the morning and played with the kids and worked on some of the projects and as always the kids had huge smiles on their faces the whole day. Just seeing them smile makes me and the other volunteers melt with joy. Just before we left we all had a huge dance party and it was the best dance I've ever been to! The kids were laughing and smiling and so were we! Everyone was having so much fun and no one wanted it to end. The kids almost live by the quote "Don't cry because it's over smile because it happened" because when the dance party ended they were still smiling and so were we. During the afternoon we went to CHA. We played with the kids for awhile and also deloused their hair which was fun for them and us and they enjoyed the head rubs immensely. The facility where CHA is, is very different compared to CPO but still filled with smiles and joy. There were only about 20 kids but it was still so much fun to play with them and even though it was short we made it last and we left them with a sense of love and care.
6/18:
CPO is always filled with smiles and joy and always seems to find ways to inspire me and fill me up with joy. Whether it's Nyron giving me hugs, smiles, and laughter or Srey Na giving me picture that say "I Love AJ" they always find a way to make me feel special and happy.
We always knew that signing up for this was a trip to help teach them and give to them but you never expected to learn so much and be helped just as much as you are helping. What I am taking home with me on this trip is a whole new perspective on life, living and day by day tasks and opportunities. All that these kids give me is to much to even describe because it's a new experience.
As far as work goes, today we hoed and raked and cleared about a 15' by 15' square of grass so that the kids and directors have more room to plant morning glory and other various plants to eat so that they can have more portions and more space to have. We still had about a hour left to finish clearing the space but decided to wait until tomorrow morning and play with the kids and eat for awhile. Monday was a holiday in Cambodia so none of the kids had school and we wanted them all to play and do no work. In this case a regular kid would pounce on the chance to rest and play... Not these kids they constantly asked if they could hoe for us because we were sweaty and hot even after we said "no no it's a holiday it's a holiday!!" they still watched and asked.
The children's school is about a two minute walk into the slums where they do not have to pay to go but instead are rewarded for coming at all. When they first set up the school because it was free none of the kids would come because they didn't have to so they set up a system. Each kid that comes for the whole week gets 2 kilos of rice every Friday and that seemed to keep the kids coming back to school.
The kids always amaze me at there ability to see the light in every situation and always smile about. They say we inspire them but really we are the ones who are inspired.
6/19:
Aster playing with the kids for about 30 minutes Gena, Creek, Nicole and I went to finish hoeing the space for them this time we went in with a system so we could go fast. We would do it in rows Creek and I hoeing, Gena raking, and Nicole picking out the little pieces of grass after. After about and hour and a half we finished and the kids were there to see it immediately. They were all so thankful for the new space and it made the work and sweat well worth the while to see them and the director, Soman, so excited and happy. We played with them for awhile and handed out clothes to the kids today which once again made them so thankful and happy. After awhile we took a few of them to this tiny, tiny little store and we each took a buddy or two. I got 2 packs of these little chip like things for Nyron, 4 packs of little chocolate angry birds (they LOVE angry birds), 3 Khmer writing notebooks, and 8 angry bird pens for a few of the kids all which totaled up to be $2.50! The kids loved it all treated it like they got 1 million dollars. We went back to the orphanage and started to play a game of volleyball (which all the kids are scary good at!). I took Nyron off to the side and gave him 500 Riel and he ran down to the market and got a big juice bag of O.J. which he thoroughly enjoyed and shared with his 8 other siblings; Srey Mi, Srey Ti, Panat, Hein, and 4 older men who work there. To these kids the smallest thing to us is the world to them and it brightens my day to see them happy and wish I could do more to make them happy.0.
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