Saving (and confusing) Cambodian Children

Sus'a'dai from Cambodia

Hope everyone is OK. We are currently in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and have been for just over a week. Saigon was a bit of a bizarre place all things considered but very interesting. We did the usual tourist stuff; visited the American war museum which (disturbing and shocking but very interesting at the same time), the traditional medicine museum, went around the reunification palace (straight out of a 1960's James Bond film, well worth the visit), had an argument with an Rickshaw driver who took us to the wrong place and then wanted payment, lost our cash cards in an ATM and had to stay an extra day to get them returned etc, etc, so the routine stuff.

It''s a funny place Vietnam, couldn't quite get to grips with it, everything is moving at a million miles and hour but no one seems to be getting anywhere.

So we arrived in Cambodia last Tuesday. We had heard about an orphanage that needed some volunteers to help teach English to the kids so we thought we would offer our dulcet Boltonian throats. its called the S.C.A.O. (saving poor children in Asia organisation). We originally intended to stay a week, but are now going to stop for two. Its a fantastic place and I urge anyone to visit the website to see what they are trying to achieve. www.savechildreninasia.org There is also a second orphanage just up the road where we have also been helping out called the New Chance for Children Orphanage (formally the Cambodian Pitiful Children's Orphanage - we have helped him change the name!)

There are 19 kids living here from ages of 4-5 up to 19-20. Basically, we teach English to the kids from the orphanage and from the local village in four classes a day starting at 8:00am and finishing around 7-8pm in the evening. Sometime we lead the classes and other times we assist the local teachers (mostly the older kids from the orphanage). As well as this, we help out around the home, and help advertise the orphanage to other people in the city who maybe interested in volunteering. We are paying a donation to stop here and they provide us and the other volunteers with three square meals a day. As well as teaching English, Urvy has brought pancake day to Cambodia (very well received) and I have been coaching football and converting new Man City fans in the process (as if life isn't hard enough for them). Most of the time they don't have a clue what we are saying, but we are ingraining a good northern accent on them anyway.

If any of you kind hearted souls would like to make a donation to the orphanage it would make a massive difference to a people in a country which has really seen some indescribable horrors but is trying to get back on its feet. All the details are on the website. As we have spent most of our time at the orphanage we haven't seen too much of Phnom Penh as yet, but will be having a look around when we finish here. Its Khmer new year next week so we are staying around for that before making our next move, probably to Siem Riep to visit Angkor Wat (back on the temple trail).

Take care and love to everyone,

Pete & Urvy XXX