……and so did all 6 bags of school materails!
\nIt took 21 hours and we were so exhausted to finally arrive in our
\nhotel, but we’re all safe and sound along with the bags for the school.<\/p>\n
All of our weight allowance (Singapore Airlines kindly allowed us
\n100kg baggage allowance) was taken up with materials for the school;
\nwe brought a few personal items and medicines for ourselves in our
\nhand luggage,and the final weight at check-in was………99kg!!<\/p>\n
The bags were ticketed right through to Siem Reap (what a relief that
\nwas!) and so we were saved from hauling our luggage at HCM City in
\nViet Nam as we changed to a Vietnam Airlines flight to Siem Reap.<\/p>\n
Things have changed so much for the better in Siem Reap since we were
\nhere just last year. A brand new terminal building has been
\nconstructed, the envy we would think of many cities, and gone is the
\nairport melee of former years. The road from the airport to the town
\nnow has street lights and the road from the airport to Angkor Wat is
\nbeing widened and re-surfaced. Elecetricity is being brought to Angkor
\nWat. A roadside trench is currently being dug (by hand!) right
\nalongside both roads and the electrical cables laid – all of that by
\nthe manual labour of many workers – no machinery at all.<\/p>\n
Our arrival at Khvein village was quite an event. It’s monsoon season
\nand the “road” (a sandy track) is completely flooded from the monsoon
\nrains, and after wending our way to the school we parked on safe
\nground. The soil and gravel (roadbase) we laid last year has given the
\nschool a firm ground for a playground alongside the school – it shows
\nthat our work last year was right to do. The library we equipped last
\nyear is well used and so we are now getting another mobile bookcase
\nmade as an added resource for the teachers.<\/p>\n
All of the pens, pencils, erasers, stickers, chalk, etc etc we brought
\nwith us has now been sorted on the tables in the library. How exciting
\nit was for us all (Mr Hon [school director], Phath, M & M) to unpack
\neach bag and discover that not one item was broken!!! This despite it
\nbeing on 3 flights – amazing!!<\/p>\n
Today, Tuesday, all new students at the school will be measured for
\ntheir new unioforms.<\/p>\n
How happy we have all been to be re-united, to hear the children in
\neach class show us their school work, to hear them read to us, and to
\nsee their progress.<\/p>\n
Two new teachers have started at the school, both young and very well-
\npresented, one male, Mr Borin, and one female. Both of them will be a
\ngreat asset to the school.<\/p>\n
We have met the two boys who we’ve befriended over the years – they
\nare now at High School. Both of them are amongst the poorest of the
\nvillage.<\/p>\n
G..,, from a family of six brothers and sisters, is still the smiling,
\nfriendly lad he has always been and is growing well. What a hug he
\ngave us!<\/p>\n
K……….. looks sad after the death of his father since we last saw
\nhim. He remains in his hut with his mother; their situation is dire –
\nwe cannot even provide them with a well as their hut is “squatting” on
\nsomeone else’s land. If we dug a well, they would soon be evicted –
\nthe land would be more of an asset.<\/p>\n
Then there is V………., a 17 years old boy who has returned this
\nschool year to the primary school. He cannot go to High School (some
\ndistance away) because he hasn’t got a bicycle!! So he remains in
\ngrade 6. We have asked Mr Hon to try to get him enrolled in the High
\nSchool – we’ll give him a bike.<\/p>\n
Such is life in abject poverty – it’s heart-wrenching to witness it.<\/p>\n
Martin and Margaret<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Note: For safety reasons, children’s names have not been shown.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ……and so did all 6 bags of school materails! It took 21 hours and we were so exhausted to finally arrive in our hotel, but we’re all safe and sound along with the bags for the school. All of our…<\/p>\n