Thailand/Cambodia Trip: Part Two

Debi Weir, Manager of local Charities Moray School Bank and R-evolution for Good, depicts her amazing journey to Thailand and on to Cambodia to see the work of International Charity AKUN.

In part one in Dec/Jan issue of Lifestyle, Debi described how Julie, Past President of Speyside Rotary, and herself planned a trip to Cambodia to visit the AKUN charity that the Rotary previously sponsored. Debi and Julie travelled to Cambodia via Thailand where they had some amazing, never to be forgotten experiences, before then continuing the journey to Cambodia…………….

Arriving safely in Siem Reap we were cordially welcomed by Mr Nueang who drives the tuk tuk for the hotel. He kindly agreed to spend the day with us the next day and take us around the temples of Angkor Wat. After a relaxing evening exploring and experiencing Halloween, Cambodian style we set off for a day of exploration. Angkor Wat was a spectacle that must be seen, the craftmanship, detail and storytelling in the soul of the buildings is phenomenal, as a self-professed non-sightseer, I really thought I would be bored as I don’t do looking at buildings! But I was just mesmerised by the beauty of the building and the work that went into the creation. We were guided by a young man called Kim, who was a qualified teacher, but was working as a tour guide because it paid more. We were honoured to have met him and for him to share his story with us, as well as imparting his wealth of knowledge on Angkor Wat and Cambodian history. He came from the countryside, his family are not wealthy, and he has worked many jobs to get his education, he was a real inspiration. We continued our tour of the temples and the one that really sparked my attention was the temple of the tree, famously seen in many Hollywood blockbusters, but to see it with my own eyes was magical. The trees have grown on the temples and nature has made its mark on the man-made structures, it is just beautiful to see nature and spirituality blend together in harmony. It was an unforgettable experience –rounded nicely by the hospitality of Mr Nueang who looked after us for the day, he was a lovely young man, working hard to give his family an education.

It was then time to take the journey to the capital Phnom Penh to begin our journey of learning the work of AKUN, a small charity set up to improve the lives of those worldwide in desperate situations and personal crisis by providing shelter, food, education and hope.

We met with Linda Franks and Shari Kruger, trustees of the charity to look at the program for the next few days, which was to begin with a visit to a local orphanage, ran by the catholic church. There were no photo’s allowed at the orphanage, to ensure the safety of the children.

The Cambodian government have removed the opportunity to adopt in the country as people were adopting children to traffic them, so the children have no way of finding a loving family, it was a very sad moment, playing ball with thirty one beautiful children under seven , laughing and giggling, and then leaving with the knowledge that they will stay within the system due to the corruption at large in Cambodia. AKUN visits the orphanage to hear from the Sister’s what is needed and will then go and buy the items they need, as they rely on providence and won’t accept financial donations. The work they do to support these children is resplendent beyond words.

The next day we bought items for the orphanage, and we also bought mats, hammocks and mosquito nets to give to homeless people before getting ready to meet the students for dinner. AKUN meet their students annually to celebrate their achievements, so we had a wonderful dinner with the current and past students, including Set Raksa, the student we had sponsored to complete her Community Development degree. She is now working in Phnom Penh and is getting married in 2023. We also met with Vicheyka who is studying History, Julie and myself agreed to sponsor Vicheyka for the last two years of her course.. Noun Minea is studying Civil Engineering and is still looking for a family (or families) to sponsor him, as his course costs £820 per year.

We ended the evening on a really testing note, driving round the streets and giving out mats, hammocks, nets, clothes, toiletries etc to those living on the streets of the city. It was an experience that I found hard-hitting, as we met some truly lovely but vulnerable people that we could only give a temporary moment of hope. We met mothers and babies which I found hard to comprehend, they don’t have a safe place to shelter, and live a life of vulnerability. It breaks my heart that I couldn’t do more than we did that evening.

The next day we went to Chum Kiri to see the fourteen years of support AKUN has given to this small remote rural community. From small beginnings it has grown to be a extremely large and supportive community. Firstly, we met with Father Giovanni and the ladies’ group, who meet to create crafts and school uniforms to sell and make money. AKUN has helped them by buying sewing machines to allow the ladies to create their small business. The ladies are a strong and supportive peer group, who gather together and support one another. Many of them have not left the area, so we agreed to fundraise to take them on a trip to Siem Reap to the temples. So far, we have raised £300 of our £800 target and we have brought home some Cambodian wares to sell and raise money. It was an amazing experience to see the work that the ladies do, and it was an privilege to meet them, they all made the effort to come and meet us, which was delightful.

Father Giovanni took us to visit the small schools in Trapeang Skun, Trapeang Reang and Kos La, which was enchanting, the young people who are teaching have come from Chum Kiri, through the work of AKUN and are now spreading education further and further across the rural communities. Each school was led by someone who had been involved originally in Chum Kiri. In Trapeang Skun a young student, Visal, who has been involved in Chum Kiri since he was a little boy, is cycling 10 miles after school to deliver a daily homework club with primary aged children, but the amazing part of this is he is also teaching them English, which is giving them an opportunity to work, as English will open many doors for them. He is about to sit his exams to finish school and will hopefully be sponsored by AKUN to go to nursing college, he plans to be a nurse and come back to the area and look after the local people, he was such an inspiration, especially when the children in his homework class could sing ‘twinkle twinkle little star’ to us in English, he is going to change the world.

While visiting Kos La, we were taken on a stunning two hour walk by our two small tour guides, Vanat and his little brother. They took us on a breath-taking tour of the rice fields and the local countryside of Kos La, as well as introducing us to the local flora and fauna, they were one of my highlights of our trip, as they introduced us to their wonderful playground, and we communicated regardless of the barrier of language, they made me smile from ear to ear.

One of the main programs of AKUN is the Sunday Feeding Program, where children from miles around come to take part in youth activities and they eat together, a local porridge type soup called ‘Bobo’. The children firstly participate, they get to become youth leaders, then Scouts and they then can move on to be sponsored through education. Many of the AKUN students have gone through the program, attending on Sunday’s since they were small.

This program has now grown and is delivered in three separate communities rurally around the Chum Kiri area, growing the number of children taking part and accessing education. It was an honour to participate and to serve the children their ‘Bobo’.

It was a whirlwind trip, where we took part in so many different programs, meeting many inspirational people. I am very grateful to AKUN for their work in supporting these communities, it was a pleasure to meet each and every person. If you are interested in learning more about the work of this amazing small international charity, go to www.supportakun.org

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