When I would tell people I was going to Cambodia to do volunteer work and work with children I got several reactions, some people looked at me funny and questioned why I would go all the way across the world, not knowing anybody, to work in a country I hardly knew anything about.
There really was no clear way of answering this question except by saying that it just felt like something I needed to and nothing was going to prevent me from that whether it was the approval of my parents or the cost of the trip.
My parents didn’t take me very seriously when I told them what I was going to do, because although I’ve done plenty of volunteer work, I’ve never done anything like this. They were uncertain at first about me going to Cambodia. As time passed and they realized I was serious about it they started being more supportive as we learnt more about Cambodia itself. Some people I would talk to didn’t even know where Cambodia was; they would ask if it was in Africa. To be honest I knew very little of the country, I knew that there was a lot of poverty, but I didn’t know the full history of Cambodia until I was able to be on my EDventure.
After hours and hours of sitting on a plane or waiting at an airport I finally landed in Cambodia, I couldn’t believe I had finally made it after months of waiting for this trip and working so hard for it. Seeing everyone and meeting everyone was great, it seems like we bonded immediately and everyone just hit it off very well.
What sticks out to me is when a few of us were having a conversation with Jamie asking him where else he’s travelled with EDventure and asking questions like which country he has enjoyed the most. His answer was Cambodia, that he really loves the country, the people, and the culture. At first I thought he was just saying that because we were in Cambodia. Also, at our first meeting in the yoga room when we were learning more about the country and the people, he talked about how amazing the people in Cambodia are and how the children are so eager to learn. The way he talked about it so passionately with excitement I couldn’t wait to meet the children.
After spending a week with the students at the school and the children at the orphanage, I finally understood why Jamie talked about the people the way he did and why he cared so much. The children here are truly amazing and beautiful, they’re filled with curiosity and are so eager to learn more about you. I’ve never met such sweet, humble, and happy children. By their beautiful smiles and laughter, you would never be able to tell that they don’t have much.
To be honest, I don’t even know if these children care that they don’t have much, or hardly anything at all because they don’t cry, they don’t seem sad, they don’t beg, and they’re not bitter. They seem so grateful and appreciative of what they have and value the people they encounter. You can see the strong sense of community in Siem Reap by the positive interactions that the people have, the children at the orphanage get along so well and always seem to be in a great mood. One of the sweetest things was when I asked one of the little girls at Happy Sunshine how many brothers and sisters she had and her answer was 22.
What I noticed working at School was how much the children try and help each other out when one of them is asked to read in front of the class. If the kids are talking it’s not because they’re talking amongst each other, it’s that they’re trying to follow along with the reading or explaining things to each other. The kids here are so much more different from those back home, they don’t try and compete to see who gets the answer first, they do their best to help each other out. Winning or losing doesn’t matter to these kids, what matters to them is that they’re learning.
Now I understand why Jamie said how much he loved Cambodia and the wonderful people in this country. I’m still learning something new everyday from the people here. These kids have had such an amazing impact on me, if only there was a way to explain that to them.
Laura Ortiz
