Chasing Amy-Lou

Takeo Province, Cambodia;

It was a bit of a slower day today. Not many children came to Happyland which was a puzzlement as the sun was shining and the roads were dry (I burnt my face after ten minutes of sitting out at the wifi cafe…typical). However, the quietness was kind of a nice reprieve. We took some of the children outside and got them playing sports and practicing skipping. We did a bit of football and attempted some basketball. We let them climb on railings and run around in the sunshine. It was fun. And hearing their delighted screams and seeing their smiling faces made us warm and happy.

The rooms in Cambodian houses can feel very dark, especially the rooms in Happyland; it’s expensive to run electricity so we can’t keep the lights on (not that they provide much illumination anyway) and the windows don’t let in much natural sunlight. The last few days had been tough in terms of morale and energy for us – all the volunteers, while trying to maintain upbeat, have, at times, felt zapped and drained; we also felt as though we were lacking in supplements somewhat, especially protein as we were only really eating bread, rice and veg. It was very, very warm, and mentally as well as physically the volunteering and the chores had been tiring – we’d had to quickly adapt to a Cambodian way of living in a very short time. And as it had been raining quite a lot (from Monday to Wednesday) we’d had to stay inside or under the protective covers and roofing that adorned the side of the house which had resulted in a severe lack of light and Vitamin D – serotonin had been on the decrease. So being able to get outside and play with the children in the light of the sunshine was very much welcomed. And I think it even boosted our moods a little.

Because of the lack of real routine, structure, and the lack of discipline implementation, it had also been hard for us as a group to stick to rules and create any kind of order in the house, especially as there was so many of us. At times it felt as though the same people were doing the same tasks (the cleaning, the washing up etc), with others not pulling their weight. As aware as I am that this is a fact of life and this kind of slacking off happens in any large group or organisation, I felt very frustrated at the lack of initiative and productiveness from other members of the group. Being the oldest one there though I also felt a lot more mature and (without wanting to sound condescending), I felt I had more of a sense of responsibility. But it wasn’t my place to create order and instill discipline; I wasn’t in charge, I had no authority, and this was supposed to be a “happy land” – my nagging wasn’t going to solve anything. A more diplomatic approach, or a rostering system was probably needed…but again, it wasn’t my place…and as I’ve said previously…I was only here for a week and Rome wasn’t built in a day. Although at times I bloody well wished it had been.

Aside from these little indescrepsncies though, and once we’d gained some energy back through outside play, the group seemed to be gelling quite well, and I felt that had we all been committed to spending a month or so at Happyland that we could’ve made some real progress in the running and structure of the place – and, most importantly, if we’d been a constant group of 6 for a full month, the kids would’ve benefitted from seeing the same faces and would’ve had some continuity in their play and education; Swansea could’ve taken some much deserved rest, and the remainder of us could take it in turns to have rest days too – something that’s very important in this line of work.

As it stands, Swansea hadn’t had a proper break for over a year. This we found astounding. Any job, even ones in which you get weekends off, requires some form of real break. Swansea breathed and ate and slept and shit in the same place he worked. His mind was always on the job and even though he was obviously committed, was very much involved with the organisation, and loved the work he did, I really didn’t know how he managed. And some of us felt he needed some time away.

Speaking of rest then, because we were so many (there were ten volunteers in total), Swansea had seized the day, and had gone to Takeo and wasn’t due to return until the following lunchtime. Which meant as a collective we were in charge…and I had been chosen as the person to replace Swansea and lead the basics English class (because I would be the best at it, apparently); something I was apprehensive about but was willing to give a good go.

The basics English class started at 4pm. And with the help of the other volunteers (which was very much appreciated and needed), I managed to get the children to concentrate and complete tasks for a full 30 minutes. The class was hard – today there were around ten kids in attendance, but all the kids are at different levels – there’s a couple who understand English and are so far advanced that the classes are simply getting too easy for them, then there’s the ones who struggle a little, who need extra encouragement, and whose English speaking isn’t as good as say, their spelling. And because we weren’t a real school, it was difficult to cater to their individual needs, especially when there was no structured curriculum. That’s why it was beneficial to have some of the other volunteers sit alongside the kids to help them with the work I was teaching. Gold Coast, Melbourne, Italy and Iceland all helped me to complete the class in a successful fashion. The subject we concentrated on was ‘animals’ and I got the kids to draw some animals on pieces of paper, to spell the names of the animals, and then one by one I asked them to come up to the front and shout out the spellings for the rest of the class. It was a joy and a pleasure. And by the end of the 30 minutes I could tell we all felt a sense of satisfaction at how well it had gone.

After the class, a couple of the older children arrived, and instead of carrying on with practicing grammar or having conversations, they asked us if we wanted to go and play basketball with them at their school. We jumped at the chance, and while the other volunteers stayed behind, myself, Roma and Toulouse accompanied three of the girls on the back of their bikes and went to whip their arses at this popular sport. However, we didn’t whip their arses at this popular sport, as Roma and I were terrible, and the girls and Toulouse were very, very impressive – they had us running in circles while they skilfully and easily stole the ball from us and made slam-dunk after slam-dunk. Nevertheless, it was a real pleasure to play, and we had some great banter and got to immerse ourselves in how teenagers in Cambodia like to spend their recreational time. And as we sped back to Happyland on the back of one of the girl’s scooters, I felt very, very lucky and very privileged to be involved in such beautiful lives.