A loving commune-Khmer Independent Life Team (KILT)

I meet Bel through Koosh at the Golden Temple Hostel one morning. Bel is the director and man behind KILT,  a commune of people suffering with physical disability, mainly cause by landmine explosions, polio and somtimes other diseases.  KILT's aim is to improve the quality of life, work opportunities, and social integration of Khmer (Cambodians) with disabilities through vocational training, education and work in a sustainable manner.  

On Tuesday morning Bel opens the doors of his home to me. He picks me up on a bike. Bel lost a leg in a landmine explosion at the age of seven. He walks and moves proudly in a manner that does not draw attention to his physical disability. I hardly notice it as he drives me on the motobike through the backstreet neighbourhoods of Siem Reap. In fact I feel safer than I did on my ride to the Kulen mountain.

KILT had 30 members at one stage. They all lived together in a large house supporting each other, making jewellery and musical instrunments, participating in community projects and endavours and giving musical performances! The commune membership is down to 9 members at the moment. The floods of the monsoons season in Cambodia have caused the commune to relocate twice, partly causing people to disperse. The other reason is that if KILT does not always make enough money to support everyone. So they have to pursue their own endeavours.

As I enter the humble abode of Bel, I am greeted by his beautiful wife Chandra. She suffers from polio related disability but it is impossible to make this out. Their 2 month daughter sleeps serenly in a hammock. A few other members of the commune are in the house.

The main income for KILT is through the making and sale of jewellery. I see some beautiful pieces made from reused material, coconut and Cambodian stones. KILT is also a group of musicians. Bel and I get down to business. I have been very impressed by the sound of the Cambodian instrunment 'tro'. That day I have my first private tro lesson. Bel has been practising the tro for  a year. I think I have a long way to go. But I keep trying!

I am impressed by Bel. He comes across as a persuasive young businessman. For all it's gentility and goodness Cambodian society is prejudiced against people with disability. They are not treated as employable. Bel and KILT introduces another way of doing things. They are not the only project. There are hundreds if not more of similar charities and projects. But what impresses me about this one is that is is run by the people it benefits, it does not create dependent members but offers them a skill and alternative lifestyle and is led by quite a respectable young man.

As I leave KILT with a tro in my backpack, determined to learn how to play it, I hope that KILT grows stronger and stronger.

For more information on KILT:

http://kilt.weebly.com/index.html

Village Schools: Sopiep

There is not one teacher or child that I am more fond of than another but I think it is good to give you a brief glimpse of our work  villages schools in this last week of mine in Cambodia. Every day after the teaching at the Pagoda and having my time with each teacher, I join in a lesson at a village school: to help, to observe, to advise, to play.

On Monday I am with Sopiep , one of the three female teachers. Sopiep is gentle and stern at the same ime. She exudes maturity but when she laughs she chuckles like a happy child. Today it rains heavily at intervals in impressive downpours. So many students have not travelled to the school. This is one of the schools that is remote and when the weather is bad attendance suffers. Sopiep is slightly embarassed but soon she relaxes as we jest.

There are five cheerful girls in our first class. Today we learn the sound 'ch' as in  the word 'child'.  We look for words in Khmer that help the girls understand and reproduce the sound. The name of teacher Chaya (another of my teacher students) is the most obvious and easy one to remember. So we practice, we learn , we laugh. 

There are two classes each afternoon between 5-7 at each school. At 6 we exchange one small class for another for the last hour of teaching. It is now really dark and Sopiep is keen to let the children travel back home. Some of them have to go a long way on foot in the dark.

'Thank you teacher. Good night and good luck for you .See you tomorrow', they chant in harmony.

Maybe not tomorrow, but 'see you soon'. And I intend to keep this promise.

Back at the Pagoda School: Cambodian Child and Hope Association (CCHA)

I have missed my students and on Monday morning I wake up really eager to see them. I have revision notes and plans for more interactive exercises and conversations. I see my role here as one of a discrete teacher that can perhaps inspire and sustain hope. I also contribute to the training the students on the delivery of a new curriculum.  Most importantly I spend a lot of time with the young teachers under a tree going through their lesson plans, advising them on improving lesson planning according to their needs, answering their questions and discussing engagement of the students. I am very fond of these young teachers and I really savour the time I spend with them individually. I learn so much from them.  My contribution is just piece added to CCHA puzzle – the picture is already outlined. But I am hoping that in my company Phalla has had a chance to take a breath , a step back and make out this picture . Marvel at its sight in relief.

When Phalla meets me he clearly has a lot on his mind. Running a project that requires so much devotion and effort cannot be easy but Phalla perseveres. The SAFE Foundation has given him essential support and he is hoping that more volunteers will follow to help the project. He tells me how the CCHA relies on donations for basic supplies such as notebooks, pens and new books.

Like many projects of its kind, CCHA has no guaranteed and constant funding. As I have said there are many worthy causes and charities in Cambodia, but the village schools of CCHA are tucked away in the countryside and don’t benefit from the donations of passing tourists. My humble opinion is that is important not to turn the schools and sites to tourist sites for the sake of raising some additional funds. This could disturb this peaceful community and its grassroots project. Our impact here should be minimal.

So Phalla with the invaluable help of the SAFE Foundation and friends is trying his best. Kourash’s role in progressing this project has also been and remains pivotal, as person who lives in Siem Reap and has worked really closely with Phalla he has a proximity to the project that others cannot enjoy or offer at the moment. I think CCHA has done really well up to now.  I hope to inspire and encourage the young teachers, to help and empower Phalla. I hope that people with the right skills, experience and attitude can come  help in the future.

Here is a link if you want out more about the CCHA, I think it’s worth a read:

http://www.causes.com/causes/333190-cambodian-child-and-hope-association-ccaha-poor-children-orphans-school-cambodia/about?m=3ff0bfda

And as always here is a reminder of how to find out more about SAFE, their good work and how you can help:

http://thesafefoundation.co.uk/index.php/about/

http://thesafefoundation.co.uk/index.php/projects/siam-reap-cambodia/

Shadow puppets and celestial dancers

I was intrigued to find out about Khmer shadow puppetry. During my childhood the stories and comedy of shadow theatre offered me endless hours of entertainment in Greece. Karagiozis and the rest of his shadow theatre cast were no longer widely encountered in street theatre performances when I was growing up but there were still regular TV shows during the week, which I hardly missed. In Cambodian shadow puppet theatre I see the origins of the Greek Karagiozis. I don’t understand a word of Khmer but I am in stitches as the puppeteers do their slapstick comedy act hurting each other and making funny voices. I love this a bit too much.

I also get the opportunity to catch some Apsara dancing, the ballet of the celestial dancers. This is a form of traditional Khmer classical ballet. Beautiful female dancers offer a delicate dance in intricately ornamented costumes. The choreography is acted out not just by movement but also gentle facial expressions, eyelid batting and subtle neck tilts and shakes. The Khmer women and their movement are ethereal. Perhaps the most impressive of all their moves is the arch of their elastic fingers, with hands held in prayer and fingers almost freakishly bending backwards. Their hands remain pointed this way throughout their performance. I try holding this position for a minute and I get a cramp.

I have the best ending to the laziest day of the week. Above the restaurant of my hostel I discover a serene massage area. I have booked myself for a Thai massage. An hour of rubbing, realigning my spine and then I am off to sleep. Untangled and lighter…

Sunday riverside bliss

I am facing a week of intensive teaching, so I give myself the day off. I sleep in and have a lazy breakfast. The cycle along the river is a mistake as the temperature is much higher than I expected. It's muggy today. I return to the sheltered restaurant of my hostel by the Siem Reap river, where I type up blog entries, review last week’s teaching, roughly plan lessons and sip tea.

I am also the comfortable spectator of the Siem Reap rowing teams’ training in preparation for the Water Festival starting a day after my departure. I am told that I might catch some of the opening celebrations on my last Saturday here.  This rowing competition is the second biggest celebration in Cambodia after New Year in April.  Rowing teams from all over Cambodia compete against each other in the Siem Reap River. This is accompanied by festivities. The locals, monks and the monasteries are in preparation and there is already a festive atmosphere. The boats are decorated in colorful tribal patterns.

Later Stephane and I meet in town and sip numerous cooling fruit juices. Stephane also walked out of the pub street bar he suggested we meet on Saturday. Eventually, he discovered a small roof top bar run by a compatriot of his and ended up partying until 6 am.  He is in a state but still cheerful. We go to the bar for a ‘hair of the dog’ treatment for the monsieur.  The bar is ok with its best feature its mini skateboard park and the breeze it catches because of its location.





Roof top bar in Siem Reap town





Skater park



As we chat away, I am certain there can be no language barrier when people want to communicate. Stephane thinks that Phnom Penh is more authentic than Siem Reap, which has fast become a tourist destination. He tells me about his day at Angor Wat on Saturday and asking the driver to take him to ‘real’ Siem Reap. His heart was broken when he drove through the slums. As a traveler he does not think that he has seen the reality of this place.   I realise how fortunate I am, how differently I am acquainting myself with Cambodia. In a week I have seen more of the real Siem Reap and its countryside than many people traveling for months do. This is because of Phalla and my choice to venture out in the wider periphery of Siem Reap rather than just stick to its tourist centre. Knowing people here helps but hopping on a bicycle and being willing to wander in the streets also helps. 

After a couple of hours Stephané is collapsing dilapidated after the heavy night. He needs more food, a nap and a shower before the last night of partying in Siem Reap. I remain to be convinced. Not that I don’t enjoy a good night out but I have other plans for my evening.  

Tight hugs and goodbyes to Stephane. Au revoir! And 'good luck for you'.

But different ...

I missed Stephane:  it's 730 pm by the time I leave my hostel. I hop on my yellow bicycle and head to the centre anyway. This is warm evening and the cycle cools me down nicely.

A smiley cyclist slowly overtakes me. He turns to say hallo and I respond. The back of his different reads' but different...'. I am compelled to speak to him and say:  'Of you course you are different, you are Barrang'. He laughs out loud , slows down to cycle with me and asks: 'What is Barrang?'.

I know this accent, I know these features. I explain the meaning of Barrang and then ask him where he is from.

'Greece' he replies enhusiastically.

I respond :

'Den mou kaneis plaka etsi;, which means 'you are not joking are you ?' in Greek. The man almost falls from his bike, staring at me incredulously.

Yiannis is from Serres , near where I am from. He is here working on the location , seeting and production of a film. He has been here for two months loving it and he will be off in a couple of months. He tells me that in the past 24 hours he has met the only two Greeks he has seen in Cambodia.We are both Greek girls from who have or still lived in the UK.  Like me he was convinced that Cambodia is not a Greek people destination at all.

We exchange contact details and agree to meet for a coffee Monday morning.

What are the chances?

Tipparat and Richard

I head to Le Grande Cafe, a calm spot on this busy street, looking forward to some writing and wind down time. The place is ideal for this and has free wi fi connection. I sit next to happy couple enjoying their dinner. And so I end up doing no writing but have the pleasure of meeting Tipparat and Richard. Tipparat is from Thailand and Richard is... well Richard is... a citizen of the world. They live between Prague and a small town in Thailand. You see they both have their own business bases as well as each other. Richard runs a large software company with some important and eponymous clients around the world. This man has been to close 100 countries at different times for shorter and longer periods. We talk about a lot of places, but India and Lebanon stick to my mind as ones he is particularly fond of, particularly Lebanon. Richard's country list is impressive but at the same time I don't envy the rythyms of his life. I would rather visit a smaller number of countries in a different way. Life is short, I want to go to many places but it is impossible to be everywhere at the same time. I want to add experiences and not just names to my list. Richard is a very interesting man and we have a very pleasant conversation.

Tipparat is bubbly, full of life and energy. She is a young farmer from Thailand, strong and business minded. Soon I see hundreds of pictures of her beautiful farm, its produce, her angelic 5 year old daughter, Marisa, her mother, Buddhist celebrations at her village. She prefers Cambodia to Thailand. Like a British couple I spoke to earlier, she thinks that Cambodians are much friendlier. I however am taken by Tipparat’s Thai friendliness. What an individual! I have a blast with her and she gets me a bit drunk on the beer she buys me. We are online so we exchange contact details there and then. Richard is almost falling asleep as we two chat away. It’s been a long day for those two, so we soon part.

In my mailbox, I find a message from Stephane inviting me to meet him at a bar on Pub street. Pub Street is full of loud bars and is pedestrianised in the evenings. Take away the Khmer writing and faces and it could be in any tacky resort in the world. Reluctantly, I set out to meet him saying to myself that I should  not reject anything before I visit it once. I am 2 minutes away. Again I am late but I am thinking that friendly Stephane will probably have hooked up with other people and I will find him there drinking merrily. But the bar is unbearable and really loud, like a Saturday night on

St Mary Street

in Cardiff. I don’t even look for Stephane properly. I just turn and go back to Le Grande Café, check some emails and have a long night cycle ride along the river. The night is warm and starry. I think I have had my socializing for the day, my eyelids feel heavy, my derriere hurts from the bumpy motorcycle ride and I am ready for bed.