Cambodia. It just grabs your heart

I recently spent some time in the fascinating and tragic country of Cambodia. It's hard to find the words to describe or even imagine the trauma this country has been through in the last thirty years.
In the last 30 years, over half the population has been wiped out by the genocide of the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime.
The unimaginable hardships that the victims and survivors alike have had to endure are extraordinary. And the landmines.
I traveled with only the minimal of clothes and used my main luggage to take children’s clothes which I donated to some very poor village children. I was also able to purchase school supplies which were handed out as well. These kids were so grateful. It was as if some alien had dropped out of the sky and given them unexpected wealth.

The experiences of giving out clothes and book pens and paper were mind blowing. I just can't explain how this experience affected me. I was reduced to tears on more than one occasion. Often these were tears of absolute joy. The next trip I intend to take a bigger vehicle so I can store more goods to give away.
I also had toothbrushes kindly donated by Bill and Linda Hay from South City Dental on Kahikatea Drive which I gave to the mums I saw in the villages I stopped at. At least that way the Mums would make the kids brush their teeth. More often than not these tooth brushes were the only form of dental care these kids were ever going to see.
I also spent some time in an orphanage I sponsor. This orphanage is run by one lady who somehow finds money to feed and cloth around 40 kids at any given time. We were able to paint the inside of the building and arrange for mosquito nets to be installed. The next project is fix all of the windows to keep the monsoon rains out.

I had (mostly girls) coming up to me and rubbing my stomach. When I questioned my Cambodian friend, he told me it was because they thought I must have been super wealthy because I had fat on my tummy. Damn. I’m off to do some more sit-ups. We just don’t know how lucky we are living in New Zealand.

There was no visible signs of delinquent behavior, no social issues like boy racers graffiti or Teen pregnancy. On the contrary, I saw the Khmer people as incredibly friendly and giving. Their culture is based around gratitude and having an open heart. There is no hate. The grievances for the atrocities which they lived under are long forgiven.
I witnessed some extraordinary giving in this country. Individuals have given so much with even the smallest amounts of resources or government help.

We met a man who had set up a restaurant that was managed and run by street kids. The kids would come in and get trained on how to be a chief or waiter so they could then get employment.
You just can't underestimate what one person can do.
I gave blood at a children’s hospital run by a Swiss doctor whose only funding was from donations. Yet he was saving lives. It was an incredible feeling to know that by giving blood that day saved a child’s life.

I donated money to a landmine hospital. This hospital received $170,000 funding last year and with that money have gone into villages and helped landmine survivors with rehabilitation. They set up a hospital where victims could come and get artificial limbs attached. I saw some eye popping homemade limbs made from wood metal and wire. Without this hospitals help these victims couldn’t feed their families and stepping on a landmine meant the whole family starved. As well, kids were frequent victims as scrap metal dealers paid them to collect landmines.
My son had an accident in America last year that required a four day stay in hospital and a small operation. The bill come to a staggering $74,000 US dollars. (yes he had insurance…phew) Compare the two countries for how far the dollar goes.

Something’s going awfully wrong.

Most will have read about Angelina Jolie in the women’s weekly magazines. Let me tell you the real story. Angelina Jolie filmed the movie Tomb Raider in Cambodia a couple of years ago now. She got paid $15 million US dollars for her part. What is not widely known is that she left the whole lot, 100%, in Cambodia and set up an organisation to clear landmines. Before she started there were an estimated 10 million landmines in Cambodia. Her organisation has reduced this to around 5 million landmines. Extraordinary.

My overriding experience of Cambodia was one of massive hardship and lack of money yet the country was incredibly wealthy. Wealthy in Family and Community. The Khmer people genuinely cared for each other.

I intend to do more volunteer work in Cambodia later this year. Once in Cambodia the country gets hold of you and you realise the power of giving. You realise that giving is one of the most amazing things anyone can do in life. I would urge every New Zealander to consider visiting this amazing country. It will be life changing.