Cambodia Pictures....finally

Here are some pictures of Cambodia...finally. They ended up in a bit of a funny order but we'll just work with them the way they are.

Can't quite remember the name of this form of transportation but we think it is rototom. They have a specific route that they travel and are the cheapest form of transport. You can see the obvious disparity in wealth with the large van driving up beside.

In 1975, Cambodia came under the rule of the Khmer Rouge which was a very oppressive regime that lead a genocide. Between 1/4 to 1/3 of the entire population was killed. This is a picture taken in the Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh. This building (you can see it better in the picture below) was a school that was converted to a prison/interrogation center/torture center during the Khmer Rouge regime. People the Khmer Rouge thought were threats (ie. educated, government officials, etc) were brought here. Only 7 people got out alive. The museum was a difficult place to visit. It is horrible that something like this happened. The country continues to recover even to this day. It would be safe to say that every person in Cambodia is still effected in some way.

Voila!! Meet our host family. From left to right: Naree (24 years old), Ming Kin (mom 46 years), Om Poan (dad 47 years), Vesna (19 years), Sopannut (17 years), Sopanni (16 years). This family has impacted our life forever and we are grateful for their welcome towards us.
Disparity. One side of the river is a gated community and the other side is a slum.
A slum community not far from the one we lived in.
Primary mode of transportation (along with bicycles and walking) for the poor. This is a motodop and was the way that we travelled around each day.
We often saw truck loads of people like this. Cambodia is primarily Buddist and it was common to see lots of monks around.
A new way of washing clothes.... After one load the Western softies (ourselves that is) ended up with sore arms and sometimes blisters from trying to squeeze out all the water.
Whenever Ben was around, the Khmer word "Tom tom" was said frequently. Tom Tom means big big. This picture can maybe help explain why:) This is Ben with our host family dad.
This was our cozy little room. We always tried to believe the mosquito net would keep out anything we didn't want in our bed until...the rat made it through. It was comforting for the first three weeks.
The downstairs area of the house. All of the cooking and eating happened down here. Actually most everything happened down here because it got really hot upstairs during the day with the corrugated iron combined with temperatures of 35 degrees +. The picture below is another perspective of the same. Notice three of the seven friendly puppies (each with their own large family of fleas) we lived with, with corresponding pee patches on the dirt floor.
Simplicity. Using what they have. This is one of the walls downstairs.
Dances were common. They were amused at the Western way of dancing. It is a bit scary that we were representing Western ways of dancing...sorry everyone:)
Supper (or Tea for the Aussies). For supper we would all get a bowl of rice and then the bowls in the middle had the part that we would put on the rice. In Cambodia it would be considered rude to spoon a whole bunch of the middle stuff onto your rice so we took one spoonful and put it on our rice and ate that and then when back for more. Yep...in the West we call that double dipping. Took a few days and then we just didn't notice it anymore.
A market near our house.
Our showering facility. We were fortunate that this little stall had a door and was enclosed for privacy. The cistern at the back was full of water and then we just used the bucket to pour it over our heads. It's amazing how refreshing cold water can be in a climate such as Cambodia's.
The toilet room. Once again, we were fortunate that this was an enclosed space. We were a bit sad the day that we learned that we actually weren't supposed to be wearing shoes in there. We ended up buying a cheap pair of flip flops for use only in the bathroom.
This is a picture of Chenda, the physiotherapist in The Little Conquerors (TLC) program. TLC is a program of home visiting and a center stimulation/mother's group that runs through the organization we were working with. Here Chenda is visiting Ravi in his home to encourage his grandma (his main caregiver) and see if there are any other ways she can help him to reach his full potential. It was great to see the way the other kids help care for Ravi and play with them. Often in Cambodia disability is looked down upon and the kids are ostracized.
This is a picture of our neighborhood after a very heavy but quick rain.
Another picture of our community. We didn't get a picture of our house from the outside:(
The children were so welcoming. We had lots of fun with them and even learned a lot of language from them. We also learned about simplicity in play and the value of lots of relationships among the neighborhood kids.
Not quite sure the purpose of the talcum powder. Apparently it has something to do with leading up to Khmer New Year. Anyway, it was fun...and a bit burny on the face with time.
Simplicity. Our little friend Sra-na with her home-made toy.
We love this picture!! Our neighbours Hua and Kamal showing off their muscles for the camera :)
This is Om Koy. He works with the TLC program also, making adaptive equipment for the kids. This is a toy for the kids made out of PVC pipe and motor bike handles. Creative!
Om Koy's workshop. Sorry it's so blurry but the part Ben loves that there are so few tools and gadgets and yet he was able to make amazing adaptive equipment with his creative mind. Highlights the times we think we need more stuff - when really it is more thought and creativity required to be content.
These are two of the kids at Sunrise School. Sunrise School is a school where children with disabilities can go because the public schools will not accept them. The hope with these children is that they will eventually be able to integrate into the public system. Visiting here was a definite highlight for us.
Our friends...somehow, even though we are all so different in so many ways, our humanness unites us.
This is Sopanni a few days before we left. He gave us a little kids squeaky toy. Ben had seen his brother Sopannut get it out and play with it during our time there. They had it all wrapped up in the top drawer and was obviously a precious possession for them. We will cherish it.
Our host dad did a lot of home renovations. He was particularly proud of this painting. Beauty in the slum.
Simplicity. The picture speaks for itself.