Biosand filters, preschool construction, coconut milk: Cambodia Service Year team report

Today was our 5^th workday. Our workdays are full of fun and exciting experiences and memories.

 Throughout our workdays we have had the opportunity to install bio-sand filter systems in the homes of the villagers. These systems are so beneficial and useful to these families. These systems will provide over a hundred years of clean drinking water for these families. So far we have installed 40 filters and will install a total of 50 filters! That is quite the accomplishment! It is so rewarding to see these families and see how incredibly grateful they are. Yesterday we installed a filter in a home and the family was so welcoming and grateful. They were so excited to have us in their home. The father of the home climbed a tree and picked coconuts for us to drink. They cut up pineapple for us and picked some unidentifiable fruits for us to try. After we drank the coconut milk they even chopped the coconuts in half so we could eat the coconut. And to top it off we got to hear from the grandfather in the home about his experiences during the Khmer Rouge Regime. It was such a good experience to know how appreciative and grateful these families are, and to know that all our hard work is really making a difference in the every day lives of these people.

One of our main projects at the Chung Ruk village is the construction of the preschool.  Over the last couple of days we have spent lots of time pouring cement the Cambodian way (by hand), passing buckets of concrete through assembly lines, painting the walls, and painting a mural of the world on the rain water globe all with a Cambodian child in each hand.  We also finished the fence surrounding the school.  

Every second of our workdays that aren’t filled with carrying buckets, juggling paint brushes, or wiping sweat from our drenched bodies is spent interacting with the most adorable kids this world has to offer.  Every morning we are greeted with bouquets of little purple flowers and bright smiling faces.  It is crazy how little we can speak to each other and yet how much we can communicate!  We play lots of duck duck goose and tickle tag!

 Every day a group of students also spends time at the Sustainable Cambodia campus in town teaching the lessons that we have prepared.  During our lesson we had the kids form shapes with wiki sticks on laminated mats.  It was so fun to watch them explore something new.  They are so adorable and happy to learn! 

 Our time here is flying by! We have had some life changing experiences and will forever cherish the people we’ve met and the things we have learned! 

Written by Aubree and Aimee

Guatemala Update

Guatemala Updates from Friday June 22 and Saturday June 23rd.

• Our entire team worked side by side with students at Ak`Tenamit working on four different agricultural projects.
• The Vocational Committee began teaching.  The first day they got to know each other through various games.
• Several members of our team spent the afternoon painting a girls dormitory a beautiful, bright orange (naranja).
• Others worked in a newly constructed computer room sanding countertops.
• Saturday our team traveled to Livingston where we spent a portion of our day hiking and swimming in The Seven Alters.  Afterwards we shopped and bargained for souveneirs.

Written By:  Kaila Balch

Guatemala Update

¡Hola amigos! Sorry about the delay with the posts, there is very little internet access here in the jungle. On the 19th, we traveled all day, but there were a lot of delays. We got on our first plane leaving Salt Lake about thirty minutes late and had to run to get to our next plane. Even with all of the delays, we were able to get to Guatemala City safe and sound. All of the lines became massive with our huge group of forty people, but we were all able to finally get through. Bianca, our super helper from Ak´Tenamit, came to guide us to the hostel for pizza to spend the night.

Thailand Fundraiser Success

 A special thanks to all those who participated and made the mini golf extravaganza possible! The results are in and the event was a complete success! Hot dogs were enjoyed, smiles were shared, and money was donated! 

Activities and hours of fun included mini golf, face painting, 
bouncy house, carnival games, and plenty 
of hot dogs, cotton candy, and many other 
snacks! 






This will be a great benefit the students of Phang Na, Thailand and we are excited to get over there and get to work! Thanks again for all those who supported us and made this such a great event!

Friends and Family Says Farewell to Peak Sneng

Today we had to say goodbye to all of the sweet kids and villagers in Peak Sneng for the year.  We had a wonderful time playing with the kids, teaching English, helping the medical clinic, giving cows to people for the microenterprise group, sewing, teaching music lessons, visiting people in their homes, and working to "make the old school new again" as the principal said to us in the farewell speech.

Microenterprise Success for Friends and Family

One of the key projects during our time in Peak Sengh was providing the opportunity for a family to better their lives through micro-lending. This year, 15 families applied for the livestock program where they could choose to be loaned a flock of chickens, a pen of pigs or a female cow. The loan is for three years and in that time, the family needs to pay back the monetary amount of the chickens or pigs or, with the cows, either the cost of the cow or a calf that is born during the loan period. Each family had to spend four afternoons in classes learning about loans, interest on the loan, repayment of the loan and how to feed, shelter and vaccinate their animals. They also had to attend the health and hygeine lessons that followed each class. As you can see from the pictures below, the classes were very well attended. All 15 families this year chose cows!

On the last day of classes, each family had to choose a group of five familes to enter into a co-op together. Each group agreed to meet once a month and work together to make sure that each family was having a successful experience with the livestock program. The co-op was also to ensure that everyone was paying off their interest by working a 1/2 day each month at the school. The group then chose a president, vice president and secretary. Once the groups were formed, everyone was read the language in their loan agreements and then it was time to sign them. Most of the attendees can't write so we had them provide their "signature"with a thumb print.

Once all the training classes were done we were able to spend some time with the villagers discussing their memories of living through the Pol Pot regime in the late 1970's. While many of the community are too young the three villagers below lived through the horrors of that time. Quietly, they shared their thought, feelings and emotions of losing loved ones, working in the rice camps and being forced to be a soldier in the Khmer Rouge army. It was a great lesson in humility for all the Youthlinc volunteers.

After the carnival and closing ceremonies were complete, we presented the families with their cows. They were so excited and thankful! According to the villagers, all the cows are healthy and strong and each family left with smiles on their faces and their cows on a rope behind them.

Cambodia Opening Ceremonies

Chung Ruk Opening Ceremony

Today we had opening ceremonies! We had to drive an hour and a half to get to the village, Choung Rouk first. When we first walked in, the entire village was waiting and they all applauded. After we all sat down, the school kids sang their national anthem for us. There were lots of speeches, and then we got to perform. We sang our national anthem, danced the boot-scoot-boogie, and sang Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. 

Cambodia 2012 Killing Fields and Tuolsleng School

Killing Fields and Tuolsleng School

This is the Cambodia Youthlinc team!  On our visit to the Killing Fields we were able to learn about the infamous Khmer Rouge and the genocide they conducted on the cambodian people 30 years ago.  Pol Pot came to power and recruited young boys to help him create an agrarian communist country.  His agrarian communist country would contain only the uneducated villagers.  Doctors, teachers, people who wore glasses, had soft hands, spoke two languages, etc. were taken and brutally murdered.  Our group came not knowing the gravity of what had happened, experienced a flood of emotions, and left with the knowledge that we are all here on a mission to help the victims of this inhuman event. 

This is the Children's Tree that soldiers would smash the heads of infants against while the mothers were forced to watch.  The mothers were then raped and killed as well.  

  These skulls are in a monument that stands 17 stories high- each filled with bones of males, females, and children.  

End of Year Real Life Party!

Our end-of-year Real Life party was such a blast. It was so fun to get together with our best friends for one last time (until next year, of course!). We had tons of prizes, treats, pictures, and an amazing slideshow put together by Ella! On top of all of this, every Real Lifer got their very own specialized award and tie-dyed t-shirt! 

Prizes!

Friends and Family Project update

Today was another great day in Peak Sneng and the team has been working hard on a number of projects in and around the school including;

• scraping the paint off the walls
• repainting the classrooms
• teaching English and Mondo art projects
• mortaring around the outside of the compost and fire pit
• doing interviews with the families in the village to address questions about hygiene, nutrition, childcare and overall health of the family
• installing water filters
• teaching sewing lessons
• ..and many more

 

We also started holding our micro-enterprise training sessions with almost 20 local families in attendance to participate in the livestock program. Once they complete the program, they'll be able to choose from a flock of chickens, a pen of pigs or a female cow.

Friends and Family Team Out and About

The team had all day Sunday to get out and explore Angkor Wat.  There were many ancient temples to see, elephants to ride, monkeys to feed, and so much history to learn.  Everyone had a great time exploring these ancient ruins, meeting monks, and taking lots of pictures, although pictures will never be able to do this place justice.

Some fun facts:

The Bayon Temple has over 200 faces.
The Ta Prohm Temple is home of the Tomb Raider movie.
Most of the Angkor Wat temples were built between the 10th and 13th centuries.
Angkor Wat is built to represent the Hindu ideas of how the universe is shaped and functions.
While built as Hindu temples they are all now used as Buddist.

Every night we have a blast jumping in a tuk-tuk, getting dropped off on Pub Street to eat and then head to shopping at the Night Market.  Everybody also loves to grab a massage (fish or feet) and ice cream at the Blue Pumpkin is the most favorite.

Guatemala Team 2012 Ready For Departure!

It’s finally here!  After eight months of planning, 40 members of the 2012 Guatemala Team are ready to depart.  The team packed 37 bags and totes filled with educational supplies, hygiene kits and other medical supplies, eye-glasses, cultural and art supplies, clothing, vocational supplies and tools needed for construction projects.  The team was full of smiles on packing day and is very excited for the adventures that await them in their upcoming journey.  Continue to follow the blog (as local weather and technology permits) for further updates regarding Team Guatemala.

Thailand Team Golf Extravaganza Fundraiser!

Swing by THIS Saturday and join the fun with the Thailand Team's Mini Golf Extravaganza and Hot Dogs! 

Where: Cascade Golf Course

1313 East 800 North Orem, Utah

When: THIS Saturday, the 23rd from 4:00-8:00

Only $5 per person or $20 family pass for 6! Proceeds will benefit the children in Phang Na, Thailand with school supplies, building supplies, and a sustainable fish pond. 

Feel free to bring donations for the school and the orphanage! All donations are appreciated!

School supplies:

Pencils

Colored Pencils

Pencil Sharpeners

Notebooks

Markers

Erasers

Glue sticks

Scissors (child safe)

Orphanage Supplies:

Any children DVD's

Bottles of Shampoo and shower cream

Baby Powder

Bed Sheets and Pillowcases

Vegetable Seeds

Cambodia Team Arrives in Singapore!

We have arrived in Singapore! What seems like this morning, we were all saying goodbye at the Salt Lake airport and three flights later, it's the middle of the night here in this empty, colossal airport. Our first stop was in LA (pictured above) then onto Tokyo, Japan on a double decker plane (pictured below) and now we pass the time enjoying the butterfly garden and koi fish pond that are featured in this airport. 

So that was Janey and now it's Jory! I got a lot of sleep on the plane, which was a blast (as much as sleeping can be). It's always nice to be woken up by flight attendants asking if you want to eat beef or chicken or whatever. Jacob, who was sitting near me, was so groggy he ordered the Japanese speciality, which he found out was utterly disgusting. He barely ate any of it, which was funny to me. Were kind of all struggling to get proper nourishment here, because I skipped meals because I managed to sleep the majority of the flight. The Singapore airport though is super nice and you will get to hear more about it!

Janey, here! I'm lucky to say I was the first off each flight and the first to experience each airport bathroom. Tokyo was the most exciting because the toilets were electronic with buttons and instructions to further your bathroom experience. For those who get embarrassed, there is a flushing noise feature to mask any personal sounds that you my be insecure about. Water cleansing features are also available for those who desire it. Singapore is known as one of the cleanest countries, which I noticed in the bathroom here as well because there is a touch screen asking users to rate the bathroom's cleanliness on a scale of smiley faces. 

Back to Jory. For me, originally getting on the flight to Los Angeles was hard because I was worried that I didn't know any of the people going. Three flights and all the layovers involved, all those reservations are gone. I feel much more comfortable with all the people and I'm super excited to spend the next week or so with them in Cambodia. We have played lots of games and even the small conversations I've had when I was conscious on the plane were entertaining. The plane also had an awesome TV, which I watched The Big Bang Theory and The New Girl for a few hours. So funny. So if your child was as freaked out as me about going with this mysterious group, I'm sure they feel the same way I do! Next up, Cambodia. 

Due to extreme exhaustion, Jory and I have been known to fall asleep on just about any flat surface that the airport gives us. The cold marble floor of the LAX was for less comfortable than the carpet of the dark Tokyo airport. However, all these naps are far better than a cramped up airplane seat. I was lucky to have a window seat the whole way, so I got comfortable and watched my favorite movie, School Of Rock, before falling into a deep, cramped sleep once again.