Changing Jobs supports the work of

World Vision

In Cambodia

Water sanitation project - Cycle Cambodia

In 2014, I was one of a group of World Vision sponsors who volunteered to raise money for a water sanitation project in the region of Chi Kreng,

where my sponsor child, Chen, lives.

Then, we travelled to Cambodia as part of Cycle Cambodia to see where this work was needed.

FYI, biking, not really my thing!!

Cycling was hard going from about 10am each day. By then, the humidity was at a level I had never experienced before. And I will admit there were a couple of days when I appreciated a push on my back from one of the super fit guides accompanying us!

The first road we cycled on was pitted with rubble. Headway was slow as we bumped and picked our way through rocks.

Most roads were better.

Every place we stopped had its beauty

In the landscape, the simple fragile construction, the bamboo scaffolds, the colour, the temples, the smiling locals, children who lined village roads to slap our hands as we rode on by.

The food was amazing.

We saw a country that had survived the genocide of the Khmer Rouge.

We saw photos of some of the people who did not survive.

I have never been quieter in my life

Than in the first few days there, as I just tried to take it all in.

The cities were choked. Traffic was theatre.

Swelling 10 to 20 vehicles abreast – walls of vehicles took it in turns to cross uncontrolled intersections. No traffic lights. Just a mass understanding of how things would work. The ebb and flow of it was quite spectacular.

Sights of whole families balanced on motorcycles in the crowded hub of Phnom Penh, contrasted incongruously with large showrooms where chandeliers hung and Range Rovers drove on by.

As I watched people balancing baskets with produce on their heads and slung from carrying poles, I wondered who could afford the chandeliers.

Power lines were clumped up in snake like nests. In the cities the noise was constant.

Village life

Rurally, it was dry, dusty (and to my eye, beautiful).

Villagers joyfully shared their music, dance and laughter, and made us feel so welcome!

We visited a village where the locals (under World Vision’s guidance) had established their own community bank. A young girl was turning out gents’ shirts on a treadle sewing machine with a humble smile, as her little sister sat nearby beside an old rice sack (pic below). The village elder invited us to return.

I got to meet my sponsor child, Chen

Near the end of our stay there, I got to meet Chen.

This was of course, the highlight of my trip.

It was a little difficult to communicate with each other, even with an interpreter.

Still, we shared a meal and had a go at playing knuckle bones in a circle on the floor, with some others who had gathered for the visit.

I think Chen’s favourite game is cricket, but he smiled as he gave this tricky game a go.

Supporting World Vision

World Vision enter an area with a plan to empower people to speak and provide for themselves.

And with that plan, an intention to exit from the area within a set number of years. So, their time there must count.

We got to see first-hand their collaborative style and work they are doing with entire communities.

And how benefits flow on to the children who live there.

Here’s their latest video from Chi Kreng.