Locked in a tiny room with over 20 children in 35 degree
heat, they speak little English, I speak no Khmer. Like all children, they require a lot of
entertainment or their attention wanders and they start irritating each
other. This would be many people’s worst nightmare.
Not only did I survive two weeks of this, but I loved it so much, I am already
investigating the possibility of repeating the experience. And once again paying for the privilege of
being exhausted every day, being fed mediocre food, and living in very average
accommodation!
So without personal references I relied on the internet for
my investigations. In preparation I
listed out my non-negotiable requirements:
- · An organization that said it was ethical
- · Close enough to home to minimise travel expenses
- · Reasonable accommodation (I am way past backpacking!!)
- · Allowed stays of two weeks
- · Contributed to the local economy
I
ended up with two candidates and I approached both. One was super-organised and efficient, the
other chaotic and disorganised. The
super-organised was too efficient for me. I felt slightly
uncomfortable and concerned that my contribution would go into the efficient
infra-structure rather than improving the well-being of the local
community.
So
I went with disorganised. And yes, it
remained chaotic throughout my stay. Lack
of communication was the biggest problem.
This was a small family affair, run by Dad who was the entrepreneur and
wanted to expand into multiple locations, Mum who was actually trying to
separate herself from the business and make her own life, and daughter, who
definitely wanted to make her own life and was moving countries in an effort to
do so! The family dynamics were
fascinating.
There
were a few downsides. Like when they
almost forgot to pick me up from the bus station. And there was the morning we woke up to find
that there was no milk or bread for breakfast, and we returned from an
exhausting day at the school to find that not only was there still no milk or
bread, but we were out of drinking water
as well!! Although this could be
resolved easily at the local shop, it highlighted the lack of
communication. Everyone thought someone
else was doing the shopping!
The
upside was that in such a small organization, I felt closely involved in what was
happening. My suggestions were listened
to. I didn’t feel like an outsider,
some-one who was only there for the short-term. I could make a difference and I believe that I
did. This wasn’t a super-organisation
that had a set way of doing things.
Volunteers were an essential and vital part.
We
worked in a village the government had recently relocated from the banks of the
Mekong River to a newly built development on the outskirts of town. I really loved working with the village
children. We had two classes a day, made
up of children aged from 14 to 2 years.
It was a challenge to keep them all engaged and attentive. Those who were already keen to learn were
easier to reach, but I didn’t want to lose sight of those who just occupied the
chair. We wanted them to come each day
and we wanted to them to benefit from our efforts.
Our
school house was one room on stilts, with no windows. We had a back door to no-where for
ventilation. Unfortunately it let in
more sun than breeze. We had a leaky
roof and a very rickety floor. No
electricity and no desks. So the
challenge was to find activities that made learning fun, but didn’t include computers
and did include sitting quietly on a chair!
I am tone deaf with little sense of rhythm, so usually avoid singing in
public. But when you are desperate, you
will do anything! At least I made the
children laugh, and my fellow volunteers nearly fell through the rickety floor
boards!
My
two weeks came to an end all too quickly.
I think three weeks is the optimum time for volunteering. One
week to settle in, one week of enjoyment, and one week were exhaustion sets
in! I’m looking forward to next
time. I’m going to my second choice
‘super-organised’ for comparison purposes!
