Children Are Not Tourist Attractions

I was reading a very popular travel blog last night that had tips for traveling in Cambodia. One of the suggested "must dos" while in the country was to volunteer:

"Volunteer – One of the best ways you can give back is by helping the many orphans in the country. Many hostels and hotels will organize trips where you volunteer at orphanages for a few days to help with the children. It really does brighten their day to have someone to play with."

I think almost anyone who has worked or volunteered in Cambodia would tell you that this is extremely poor advice. 

Let's look at some stats:

The number of orphanages in Cambodia has doubled in the last decade.

There are currently an estimated 500 orphanages in Cambodia (the majority of which are privately run, poorly regulated and not officially registered).

Approximately 75% of Cambodian's "orphans" are not true orphans; they have at least one parent or close living relative.

(Original article can be found here)

Orphanages have become a lucrative business in Cambodia, especially in Siem Reap, a town with hoards of tourists who are encouraged to visit/volunteer/donate. But there are numerous reasons why short term volunteering stints, day visits and monetary donations are doing far more harm than good.

1. Orphanages rarely conduct any kind of criminal record check for volunteers or visitors.
Many orphanages welcome pretty much anyone and everyone to visit and/or volunteer. This is potentially very dangerous for the children, especially in a country rife with child sexual exploitation. 

2. Short-term visits violate international child privacy laws.
Children all over the world should have access to a safe and private home setting, even in an orphanage. Letting people off the street just walk in and interact with them is clearly in violation of this notion, and puts the children's safety and development at risk.

3. Studies show that children do better developmentally in a family environment rather than in an institution.
Again, a large percentage of children in orphanages have close living relatives. Families living in poverty are sometimes choose or are encouraged to give up their children "temporarily" with the promise of better care/education but it often becomes permanent. Worse yet, orphanages do not always encourage or facilitate contact with the children's families, severing ties and damaging relationships with them. Children are usually far better off living with family members, even if they are poor. Research shows that children must form an attachment to a caregiver to develop normally, a need that cannot be met in an institution such as an orphanage.

4. Spending a few days at an orphanage is not enough time to really help the kids in any way.
Kids need more than just a smiling face to play with and take pictures of them. They need to form proper relationships and to trust the people they are with, a process that takes time, certainly more than a few days. Better yet, they need someone to teach them English and other skills, such as proper hygiene. New people coming and going every few accomplishes next to nothing and can do major damage to a child's emotional well-being.

5. Monetary donations do not often reach or benefit the children.
Because most orphanages are so poorly regulated, it's likely that very little of the money you might donate (if any) will be used in a way that will benefit the children. It often ends up in the pockets of the people running the orphanages, many of whom are not at all qualified in the realm of child care/social work. You would be better off asking an orphanage what supplies they could use and then buying them what they need.

All of that being said, not all orphanages in Cambodia are bad and people should not necessarily be discouraged from volunteering their time. Anyone wanting to volunteer should just make sure to do plenty of research beforehand and make sure the orphanage is meeting certain criteria. It's also important to note that orphanages are not the only places you can volunteer in Cambodia. Volunteering in a school is always an option, and there are plenty of organizations relating to women and single mothers, which also has a direct impact on children. 

Simply put, no one in the Western world would find it appropriate to waltz into an orphanage in their own country for just a few days, so why would you do it in Cambodia?

For more information on this issue:

http://www.friends-international.org/resources/alternative-care/mythrealities_FINAL.pdf

http://www.thinkchildsafe.org/thinkbeforevisiting/

Unexpectedly Awesome

I woke up this morning without the slightest idea of how I was going to spend the day. There was no school (it's a holiday in Cambodia right now) and being that my time in Siem Reap is coming to an end I felt pressured to "do" something and make the most of my day. After trying and failing to come up with something more exciting to do, I settled on going for a bike ride. Although I was initially a bit disappointed with myself for not doing something more adventurous, the day ended up completely exceeding my expectations.

I ventured out to the "countryside", as people call it (only a few kilometers outside of the center of Siem Reap but a very rural area nonetheless) and came across a pagoda. I went inside to have a look and met a delightful old man named Chian. He spoke no English but he did speak French so luckily we were able to communicate. He explained to me that the monks were just about to go into the temple for lunch (whenever there is a holiday in Cambodia people prepare lots of food and offer it to the monks) and invited me to join, because after the monks finish the "non monks" are allowed to eat too.

Upon entering the temple Chian showed me the special way to pray before eating which entails kneeling in a certain way, holding your hands together and touching the floor three times. After we had all prayed the monks began to eat while Chian and I chatted, waiting for our turn (which came about 30 minutes later). At first I felt extremely guilty that I had nothing to offer the monks, but then I remembered the Goldfish (American fish-shaped crackers, for anyone who doesn't know) in my backpack that had arrived in my package from home just yesterday. I figured it was better than nothing and so my Goldfish were placed on the table alongside the rice, fish, soups and other Cambodian dishes, which I found quite funny.

After lunch the monks returned to their duties and Chian had to go back home. I wandered around the pagoda a little more and met another monk, Sony, who was very friendly and spoke excellent English. We got to talking and he informed me that he could tell fortunes. I asked if he would tell me mine and he obliged. All he needed was my birth date and off he went, writing down and circling various symbols I had never seen before; it was absolutely fascinating to watch. (For anyone who's curious I am apparently brave and will do well if I ever work in politics/government).

After leaving the pagoda I was tired from biking in the heat and decided to finish off the day sitting by a hotel pool, which I had all to myself, drinking a coconut and listening to my iPod. 

When traveling, there are times when you know exactly what you are going to see or do and you know it's going to be amazing. I found that to be the case when I saw the Eiffel Tower, experienced the Venice Carnival and explored the temples of Angkor Wat. Then there are times where you don't plan anything at all, when you don't even do anything that significant and yet those days often end up being just as memorable, if not more so, than the ones where you planned something major. That's what today was: unexpectedly awesome.

The countryside of Siem Reap

Making my offering (of Goldfish!) to a monk

In Cambodia it's monks, not ladies, first!

The cats were hungry too

Adorable 'pon pro' (young boy) in the temple

Monk eating

One of these foods is not like the others...

Chian and I in the temple

Sony predicting my fortune

Unlike anything I had ever seen before

A Birthday In Battambang

This past weekend three other teachers and I took advantage of our long weekend (we had Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday off school due to a holiday) and made a trip out to Battambang, a town just a few hours away. While its quiet streets were a nice change from Siem Reap it was a little too quiet; there really wasn't much to do there. Lucky for us, an 85 year old lady happened to be celebrating her birthday (probably the biggest party to hit Battambang in years) which we were lucky enough to get invited to!

We were walking around after dinner when we stumbled across a massive party being held on a blocked-off bit of road (where most Cambodian celebrations, like weddings and birthdays, are held). We peeked in curiously to catch a glimpse of the festivities. When the party-goers noticed us looking in they quickly invited us to join them, and join them we did. Within minutes we were surrounded by Cambodians who taught us the traditional dance they were all doing. We didn't plan on staying long but we were there until the very end (by which point the music had progressed from traditional Cambodian to Carly Rae Jepsen) drinking and dancing with some very lovely people.

I've said it before and I will say it again: the people of this country are without a doubt some of the most kind, generous and welcoming people I have ever met. Even though the city of Battambang didn't make that much of an impression on me, this Cambodian birthday party and its guests certainly did.

My dance partner

The venue

The 85 year old birthday girl!

Me with with some very fancy Cambodian women

Teenage party guests (and incredibly talented singers!)

Having a ball

Traditional dancing

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving has never been that significant a day to me, which is strange because as a dual citizen I normally celebrate it twice a year (the Canadian one in October and the American one in November). Although I don't count down the days to Thanksgiving the same way I do with Christmas, it is without a doubt a great chance to see family, eat copious amounts of delicious food and reflect on things you are thankful for. This year I won't be seeing my family (except over Skype) or eating copious amounts of delicious food but I have a lot to be thankful for.

I am thankful for my wonderful family (including a mother who wanted to send me a mini Christmas tree, and who I know would actually do it if I had a mailing address) and friends.

I am thankful that I come from a country like Canada, where I can drink water from the tap, where there is no risk of diseases like malaria and dengue, where there are no landmines and where the quality of life is (generally) very good.

I am thankful for all of the great people I have met on my trip so far, especially the staff at my guesthouse and (as much as they can drive me crazy!) the kids at school.

Most of all I am thankful that I have the opportunity to travel, to see foreign places and experience new cultures (even if that means no mashed potatoes today... small price to pay I guess).

Happy Thanksgiving from Cambodia :)

The Perfect Soldier

"The landmine is eternally prepared to take victims. In common parlance, it is the perfect soldier, the 'eternal sentry.' The war ends, the landmine goes on killing."
                  - Jody Williams

I don't want to put socks on. That was my first thought as I got dressed this morning. Although I didn't want to wear socks and shoes (something I haven't done since I left Canada) wearing sandals to visit an active landmine field didn't seem like the brightest idea, and that's exactly where I was headed. 

First I need to back up and explain how this trip even came about, because it's definitely not a tour you can just sign up for. As anyone reading this blog probably knows, I have been in Siem Reap, Cambodia for almost six weeks teaching English. The director of my school is a Khmer lady named Aly, and she happens to be childhood friends with a man named Aki Ra.

Aki Ra is a pioneer in the art of de-mining, or taking apart landmines, in Cambodia. Due to years of warfare, Cambodia remains one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. Landmines are incredibly dangerous because they can remain active years after being laid and as a result they continue to take the lives and limbs of Cambodian people. Aki Ra has dedicated his life to making his country a safer place and started his own NGO, Cambodian Self Help Demining (CSHD), where he and a team of 30 work tirelessly to rid the country of landmines. He has been honored and recognized all around the world, including being named a CNN Top 10 Hero. 

The irony in this story is that Aki Ra laid many of these mines himself. He was child solider of the Khmer Rouge, the same regime that took the lives of his parents, and he helped to lay many, many mines across his own country. (To read more about Aki Ra's  life story click here).

We first came to know about Aki Ra this past weekend when the other volunteer teachers and I visited the Cambodia Landmine Museum, of which he is the founder. (It's a fantastic museum that I will be writing more about later). Aly managed to get Aki Ra's phone number while we were there (they hadn't seen each other in years) and after speaking with him he kindly offered to take some of us teachers to the landmine field where he is currently working.

Today we (Aly, another volunteer teacher and I) actually got the chance to go with Aki Ra to the landmine field, about an hour and a half East of Siem Reap.

At first the whole thing seemed almost comical. We arrived at the base camp and met Aki Ra's team of good-humored workers. We put on camouflaged bullet-proof vests and SWAT team-esque helmets. We signed waivers that basically said CSHD would not be liable in the event of injury or death. But it didn't feel like anything bad would actually happen.

It began to feel more real when we actually entered the field, where you could see roped-off areas that had not yet been cleared and thus had the potential to explode if disturbed. But I don't think I would have fully understood the danger, the impact that these "perfect soldiers" can have, had I not seen one detonate.

We had been walking around the field for a good thirty minutes when someone discovered a mine. Aki Ra went over to inspect the scene while we waited in the distance. Once he deemed it safe to do so, we walked (very slowly and in the exact footsteps of another de-miner) over to inspect the landmine: A harmless looking device no wider than a CD and just a few inches below the dirt. It was harmless only in appearance; I had to keep reminding myself of what that little machine was capable of doing. The next step was to destroy it.

Before the mine could be destroyed all the de-miners in the field had to be rounded up for a roll call. When everyone had been accounted for, Aki Ra and a few others went about the process of somehow linking the mine to a little yellow box, some kind of detonator, while the rest of us waited some hundred meters away. Once it had been properly hooked up Aki Ra and the others retreated back to where we'd been waiting, and he began pushing buttons in this little detonator. As he was doing so, one of the de-miners came around and told us to kneel on the ground as he adjusted my helmet and vest. At this point I was definitely starting to feel nervous and all trivial worries of socks had long since been forgotten. Aki Ra kept pushing buttons but told us he would count to three before the mine was going to explode. 

A couple of incredibly tense minutes later the three second countdown came. Three, two, one... BOOM. An explosion much bigger and louder than I could have imagined.

I was in complete shock after it exploded. All I kept thinking was, that could have been a person. We were after all just mere two or three kilometres away from a residential area. Then I thought, it HAS been a person. Many of them. Children, the elderly and everybody in between. My mood changed significantly after it went off, and I spent most of the ride back thinking about the impact that mine might have had were it not for Aki Ra and his staff.

Albeit disturbing, this experience really allowed me to see first-hand the dangers that lie just inches below the ground all over this country, posing a constant threat to whole communities and villages. It was yet another reminder that although Cambodia can seem like a traveler's paradise, it is also a developing country with very serious challenges to overcome.

It could have been a person that set off that mine, but it wasn't. I feel like I actually saw Cambodia become a little bit safer today, thanks to Aki Ra and his incredibly courageous team of de-miners. It was powerful, sad and yet hopeful to witness. It was an experience I will not forget anytime soon.

Myself, Aki Ra, Amanda and other staff of CSHD

A seemingly normal patch of land...

A female de-miner hard at work (note the red tape)

One of the de-miners and I

Aki Ra with the newly discovered mine

The aftermath

The waiver I had to sign!

Just a few kilometers away from the field...

To learn more about Cambodian Self Help Demining or to make a donation, visit their website at http://www.cambodianselfhelpdemining.org/how-to-help

Same Same But Different

While it's important to try new things while traveling, I think that one of the funnest things you can do in a foreign country is an activity you have at home. Although it's the "same" activity in theory, it will likely be quite a bit different. I found this to be the case when I played laser tag in France, went to the movies in Belgium and as of this weekend, when I went rollerblading in Cambodia.  

In a lot of ways it felt familiar to a roller rink at home: there were families and teenagers on dates and pop music playing loudly. But it also wasn't the same at all: the skates were literally falling apart (it's a good thing I figure skated for 10 years or I probably wouldn't have been able to stand up), helmets were far from mandatory (even for kids), a group of Khmer teenage girls wanted to take pictures with me and add me on Facebook (I don't think any teenagers in Canada would give me the time of day) and the "rink" was outdoors (on the roof of a shopping mall). As they say here in Southeast Asia, it was "same same but different." My feet were in crazy amounts of pain but I still had a ridiculously good time.

The smelliest and most uncomfortable roller blades in the world

Helping Aly (the director of my school) skate

Sandra, Natalie and Christina (Aly's daughters) lacing up

Kris (another volunteer teacher) took a fall!

Srei sat (beautiful girls)

Taking a break