I went to Siem Reap in December but before I get on to reporting on the trip, could I please pass on my thanks to all of you in Melbourne who attended the dinners in Melbourne in October and those who helped me put it all together beforehand and on the nights. They were a great success again and we ended up raising just over $11,000 for the Imagine kids.
December in Siem Reap is in many ways the most comfortable time to go there. It is the coolest time of the year, so much so that the locals wear jackets in the evening. Our long time tuk tuk driver Ratah came rugged up in his jacket every evening to brave the 22 degrees at night. It’s still reached high 20s during the day but compared with summer it is very pleasant. There are also less tourists in town. It’s still busy but not as crazy as it gets after Christmas when the southern hemisphere tourists hit town.
I went at this time of the year mainly to catch up with Jon and Theary Ryder and their daughter Olivia who were visiting from the US. Jon, who these days is the Dean of Dental Medicine at the University of New England, brought with him a team from the University Dental School. They are setting up an arrangement with the Dental service at the Children’s hospital in Siem Reap which will provide support to the service. We will be posting more about this on our website separately.
It was great to have Jon, Theary and Olivia with me when we visited the kids but the downside of having Jon around was that he kept on seeing cavities and a lot of money was and will be spent on dentist visits as a result.
The kids are doing well. We have our usual share of not doing homework, and the odd one not going to all their classes at school but we try and sort all these out on these visits with some stern words! These days they are old enough and speak enough English to understand the message that they are being supported, they have a great opportunity and we expect them to go to school.
We have also engaged a new Maths tutor 4 days a week at the Imagine house. This is tutor number 3. Number 1 was not working out and we decided to change him because he lectured not tutored. He left the kids behind and they were no better off than not having a tutor because they were not getting the basics. This concept is hard to get across to teachers in Cambodia and I have spoken to all of them on the basis that we don’t care about speed, they are not to move to the next subject until they understand properly. Tutor number 2 unfortunately passed away suddenly.
In my last update I spoke about Va graduating as a chef from the Haven Restaurant and training school in Siem Reap. After his graduation he had a 3 month internship at the Park Hyatt Siem Reap and whilst I was there on this trip he was offered a fulltime contract as a chef there. This is wonderful news and means that another of our young people is on the path to self-sufficiency and a good life. We also had Channa graduate in Hospitality at PSE in Phnom Penh and she started as an administration trainee at Naga World Hotel in Phnom Penh in October. Part of that process was her first ever job interview which she passed with flying colours. We are all very proud of what Va and Channa have achieved.
The visit included most of the normal things that I do when I am there. A celebration party, a visit to the market to buy clothes and also a Sunday afternoon swimming at the local hotel pool. They were very worried that it would be too cold to swim but it clearly wasn’t. The dental team also took all the kids to Pizza Company where we took over half the top floor of the restaurant. Cambodians seem to love pizza so much!
Life continues on as normal for our kids and staff and of course that is really what we want for them. A level of stability and routine gives them the best chance to maximise their education and is also good for their own wellbeing.
Srey Mien surprised us one day by bringing home 3 puppies and we will keep one of them. One of her school friends brought 3 puppies to school to see if anyone wanted them so she thought it would be a good idea for us to have them…I did explain that asking first may well be the best plan the next time!
We have now launched the new website which is being updated from time to time with more current news. I will be going back in about 3 months from now and look forward to being there in the Indochinese summer again and around the Khmer New Year.
Peter Joyce
Director
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