# 12: "..Education is Light, lack of it is Darkness.."

 After my first full week of teaching Ethics and Philosophy to the children, staff and House Parents at CCT, I am filled with awe at the amazing spirit of the Khmer people. 

 Without exception, every person I have dealt with so far is helpful, kind, thoughtful, gentle and hungry for knowledge. From the kids & staff at CCT to the kids on the street, the shopkeepers, waitresses & Tuk-Tuk drivers, it seems everyone is trying to learn as much as they can. From questions about Australia, to 'exotic' animals from faraway places, to efforts to improve their English, their curiosity is seemingly endless and their enthusiasm for the Ethics program is truly heart warming.

My adults class have asked if we can make the lessons ½hr longer, apparently 1hr is not enough and even some of the other NGOs are expressing interest in adopting our program..
 I now have a wonderful Khmer Trainee Teacher, Chantha, who's at Uni here in Battambang, studying Teaching & English. She knocked back a scholarship so she could continue to volunteer at the Youth Centre to do classes with the kids there, 5 days a week. She's been acting as a translator for me so far and because she already knows the kids, she's a great help.
The aim is to have her teaching her own Ethics & Philosophy classes as soon as possible and then to start training another candidate and then another and another etc etc..Now Chantha will actually receive a good wage for her work. I'm so happy for her!

Chantha

Here are just some of 'my' kids from the Youth Centre - this is CCT's project to help some of Battambang's 'street kids' get a square meal a day and, at the very least, an introduction to a formal education.

These beautiful children are in my Kindergarten class -
For their own safety, they shall remain nameless....

  (I'm obviously still having trouble formatting these photos..gggrrr)

   

             

                                                 

 The kids always give me the proper Khmer greeting, little hands together, head bow and, in their very best English: " Good Morning Teacher".
Then i get " Hallo Day" delivered with their beautiful, big smiles, lovely giggles and lots of hugs.

I guess it's pretty obvious why I consider this to be my own, very special version of Paradise...

On Thursday night Nat (CCT's Medical Coordinator), Phil & Louise (Volunteer accountants) and I went to a performance by the kids at the much talked about Phare Ponleu Selpak - http://www.phareps.org/

PPS is a Cambodian developed organisation which is helping underprivileged kids to break the cycle of poverty by giving them a supplementary education in music, dance, art and circus performance that will enable them to become professional performers. CCT has about 1/2 doz kids attending classes here.

The show is reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil and their acrobatic feats are absolutely extraordinary!

The 'Big Top'

Unicycle Juggling

 Unfortunately my camera died halfway through the performance so I can't show you the girl who lay on her chest on a table with her chin resting delicately on the surface, curled her legs back over her head until her feet were flat on the table in front of her face then, with her left foot, picked up a bow with an arrow already fitted in place, lifted it up about 1/2 metre, drew back the string with her right foot and shot the arrow through a balloon that was a few metres away!!

 Or the awesome 'Toppling Tower': after one boy pulled off a high somersault to land on another boy's shoulders, a third acrobat jumped from knee to shoulder, knee to shoulder to land gracefully atop the 2nd boy's shoulders. Then, when the stage was filled with jumping, tumbling, spinning  6-packs (eye-candy ladies), the Tower began to slowly tip forward. Remaining as rigid as a pole, the trio reached nearly 45° before each of the boys turned the fall into a perfectly executed tumble, followed by 'hands-free' cartwheels and backflips while the audience were still gasping.

 I'll try to get some of Phil's pics to add here when i see him next.

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I did get shots of some of the Artwork that's been done by the students:

Khmer Man

Khmer Kids catching fish

 Soaking up the Khmer culture, learning a little more Khmer every day and teaching the most receptive students any teacher could hope to have, my journey continues to be an enormously exciting, delightful and very rewarding experience..

BRING ON WEEK 2 !!

# 11: “ Kind words are the music of the world. ” - F. W. Faber

Confession - The following post is a Total Cheat !

Today I received a beautiful email from a very dear friend, who has always been an inspiration to me and I'd like to share it with you.

 Having read my "Sermon from the Garden" rant, in my last post, she thought I might like to read what the Dalai Lama (HHDL) has to say on the subject in his new book: 

   Beyond Religion: Ethics for a whole world 

 In respect to her wishes, rather than naming her here, I shall call her 'DF'-Dear Friend...

DF: 

 In this book, He states that secularism and religion are often seen as two opposing and mutually incompatible positions.

He says that it is important to distinguish between criticisms directed at religion itself and those directed at the institutions of religion, which are two separate things.

 Close to the heart of all the great faith traditions is the aim of promoting humanity’s most positive qualities and nurturing such values as kindness, compassion, forgiveness, patience and personal integrity.

Of course, as you have seen in Cambodia, the institutions of religion have a lot to answer for.

However, there are some children in your care who may still be drawn to religion itself and for whom prayer may give comfort

Here is one of my favourite excerpts from the book.

HHDL:

 Although humans can manage without religion, they cannot manage without inner values.

So my argument for the independence of ethics from religion is quite simple.

As I see it, spirituality has two dimensions.

The first dimension, that of basic spiritual well-being—by which I mean inner mental and emotional strength and balance—does not depend on religion, but comes from our innate human nature as beings with a natural disposition toward compassion, kindness, and caring for others.

The second dimension is what may be considered religion  based spirituality, which is acquired from our upbringing and culture and is tied to particular beliefs and practices.

The difference between the two is something like the difference between water and tea.

Ethics and inner values without religious content are like water, something we need every day for health and survival.

Ethics and inner values based in a religious context are more like tea.

The tea we drink is mostly composed of water, but it also contains some other ingredients—tea leaves, spices, sugar, herbs etc.—and this makes it more nutritious and sustaining and something we want everyday.

While we can live without tea, we can’t live without water.

Likewise we are born free of religion but we are not born free of the need of compassion.

More fundamental than religion, therefore, is our basic human spirituality.

We have an underlying human disposition toward love, kindness and affection, irrespective of whether we have a religious framework or not.

When we nurture this most fundamental human resource—when we set about cultivating those inner values which we all appreciate in others—then we start to live spiritually.

The challenge, therefore, is to find a way of grounding ethics and supporting the cultivation of inner values that is in keeping with the scientific age, while not neglecting the deeper needs of the human spirit, which, for many people, religion answers.

DF: It might be fun to have a cuppa or hot chocolate with your students to bring this analogy to the forefront.

They may decide that hot water is enough for them and they are happy with that. 

However, they may decide that tea is more fulfilling for them ( a choice I’ve made). 

They must remember, however, that to make tea, you must have water.

Otherwise, there is no basis....just fancy smelling tea leaves!

It doesn’t provide any sustenance whatsoever.

From your blogs, I can sense how angry you feel about the tea leaves the Cambodian people have been given! 

When it comes to using their brains and examining religious institutions to belong to, it is important to make sure that the ethical basis of the institution is intact.

In other words, they must think for themselves and make sure the tea has water in it!

Do the spiritual leaders of the institution actually practice what they preach?

If we are encouraging people to think for themselves, we could ask them to go and find the evidence/proof for themselves based on their own research and inner experience....

There is scientific proof that practices such as meditation and prayer can be of immense benefit to people.

IF THEY HOLD WATER! and the motivation behind them is ethical.

  

Thank you 'DF' for your wisdom and insight - feel like a trip to Cambodia??

# 10: "..My brain and my heart are my temples. My Philosophy is kindness.." - Dalai Lama

 My Sermon from the Garden...

So, About Religion....


While I can accept that the human brain seems to be wired to develop and practice a system of spiritual belief and I respect the choices of those who wish to practice their own chosen religion, I find it increasingly difficult to accept or respect the role that religious organisations play in our world and the influence they, collectively, wield.
   Within 1km of my little cabin, on a road running along the Sangkae River, between all the bamboo and corrugated iron, one room shanties that have no running water, no electricity, usually no windows at all, definitely no glass, and absolutely no protection from the mosquitoes that carry malaria and dengue fever, I've seen a Mosque, a Buddhist Pagoda..or 10, a 'magnificent' Catholic Church complex and today I took a different route home from town and spotted a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall.

The front fence/wall..

 The Catholic Church is a whole complex of buildings, 
pavilions, class rooms and tree lined paths, built on several acres of beautiful, lush gardens.

There's the obligatory Bell Tower..

and then, of course, there's this priestly abode..

with it's impressive 'backyard...

           Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall

It offends me that every one of these religious organisations, with their access to extraordinary wealth, is allowed to feed off the ignorance and poverty of people like the Khmer, in search of new souls to convert.

I'm beginning to think they should only be allowed to enter an underdeveloped country to do charitable work, and that it should be done incognito. If they really do believe what they preach, they don't need to advertise their presence, they don't need to build monuments to their own vanity, they don't need to 'save the souls' of these people before they've addressed the needs of their bodies, they just need to offer help when and where it's needed.

At present, over 60% of the Khmer population are under 20 yrs of age !
As a rule, they are not well educated and are, therefore, extremely vulnerable to the proselytizing of religious "missionaries".

In an interview aired on a Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN) program called "Where God Weeps", Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, Vicar Apostolic of Phnom Penh made the following statement:

"..We start with the youth. The youth are very effective missionaries: 
Because my friend goes to church, I too would like to go to church, even if I do not understand what the church is about'¹...I think in Cambodia, during the Khmer Rouge's four-year reign of terror under Pol Pot, everything was destroyed - culture and all forms of religion including Buddhism² and Catholicism. Then under the 10 yrs of post-Khmer Rouge, Vietnamese occupation, again no form of religion was permitted.
 Over the past 20 years, the Cambodians have started rebuilding their traditions as well as their religious practices and now, I think, the people are more open than before. This is very beneficial, especially for the Catholic Church³.
The people have accepted us very well because we have a kindergarten..."

 ¹ After all, who needs to understand when Blind Faith is what we're really asking you for...

 ² Now, clearly Buddhism was not destroyed, there are Pagodas and monks everywhere you look, there are shrines in every home - even in the poorest shanties and the Khmer still follow their traditions with a fervour the catholic Church must truly envy!

 ³ If by "open" you mean "impressionable", then yes, they are and that's what worries me. Of course this is beneficial for the C.Church, they are after all, the authority on 'virgin' soil...

- and yes, if you bribe the poor by providing a kindergarten for the children of your new parishioners, they will come to you. If you tell them that their Naraka is false and that a wonderful place called 'Heaven' awaits but only IF if they get baptised AND have their children christened AND attend Sunday Services, they'll do that too.

In my 'humble' opinion, what the Khmer need more than anything else is education. Let them decide their own beliefs once they have some solid knowledge upon which to base those beliefs.

If your particular version of religion is everything you claim it to be, there should be no need for bribery or cajoling or coercion, the people will come to you because you speak to their own beliefs...

# 9: "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." - Albert Einstein

Sitting here on the porch of my little log cabin, enjoying the tranquil setting and the gradually 'cooling' evening (it's 10.30pm & only 28°). Time to indulge in some much needed introspection. It's been a hectic few days: compiling lesson plans, riding all over Battambang looking for various supplies, seeing the logistical operation Daisy, Erin & Jedtha had to organise to get the kids out to their respective villages for the weekend and, best of all, spending time with some truly inspirational children: 

As Pchum Ben is considered to be a festive holiday, it was decided that the kids who were staying behind in BB should have some fun too. So yesterday we took all the kids, who either don't have any family to visit or don't want to visit them, to the 'Fun Park' and you know what ? WE HAD BUCKETS OF FUN !

"C" at the Fun Park

Cheang, at 17 has only been at school since he was 14 and studies so hard his command of English is already exceptional. All he wants is to be able to go to Australia where "..you can study whatever you want...and be whatever you want to be, even if you are poor and have no family.."

"P" - helping  to organise the younger boys

"P" is 18 and although he is pretty well illiterate, as I mentioned in an earlier post, he's a truly gifted pianist and artist. He's kind, gentle and thoughtful and can dance up a storm - not to mention he's drop-dead gorgeous and he really doesn't seem to know it.

"J"

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Little "J" came to CCT as a 3yr old, the size of a 9mnth old baby due to serious neglect and malnutrition. He's still tiny, I assumed he was about 2 when he's actually 4, cute as a button, really affectionate and bursting with energy, you can't help but smile as soon as you see his beaming little face.As the boys turned up the music, Jake started dancing, spinning and jumping so much, he kept falling over laughing.

"H" - eyeing all the girls...or maybe the skating rink..

"H", what a character ! I didn't get any photos of him skating but it was hilarious - he can't skate, but is way too cool to allow himself to look clumsy so every time he fell over, which was every couple of minutes, he'd do this kind of graceful slide down to the ground where he'd strike a pose like it was all part of the plan.

 This country does 'cute'  with an almost obsessive compulsion.

Just check out these rides:

Whales -The cutest Dodgem Cars in the World !

The girls on the cutest merry-go-round: sea horses, butterflies, frogs..


                                                    

and Bunnies !!

cute lizards - little Geckos, 'Ching-chok':

even the cutest bananas:

Don't know what these poor birds are...I will call them Peli-Stor-tures - heads bumping on the wire of a much-too-small-cage:

And after a night of shannanigans, we followed up with a party at the Main House today: loads of tasty food, laughing children, loud music and dancing teenage boys - who were certainly not trying to impress the teenage girls...

"D" may have eaten too much.. 

Always time for hugs.. 

Daisy, Sinet & Erin - & little "J" looking for another hug..

 Let's dance...

Pretty in Pink..

 Yep.. always surrounded by girls...

The boys became suddenly shy and stopped dancing when they saw the camera

# 8: Pchum Ben..

I decided this little background piece deserved a post of it's own..

Today was the final day of Pchum Ben, a 15 day long religious festival to honour the Ancestors..for up to 7 generations.

 CCT arranged to send all the kids who do have family members, back to their villages for this special holiday.
 Since these are the families who were deemed to be either a threat to their children or just incapable of looking after them in the first place, usually because of alcohol &/or drug abuse &/or mental illness, or just plain meanness, we had to send each group with a member of staff who will stay with them at all times. Some of the families found this very insulting, one of the boys saw it as a reflection on  his 'manhood', on his ability to look after himself - he's only 15.
 CCT explained to them that it's either this or the family can come into Battambang for a supervised visit. These children are now our responsibility and we will not put them at risk... ever. Given that option, the recalcitrant families came round and our 'man-child' accepted that these rules are only there because we love him too much to let anything happen to him, even if he can take care of himself.

 The festival itself sounds like a harmless, even praiseworthy ritual until you realise just what it really means to the desperately poor, superstition-laden Khmer people. They scrimp and save all year, sometimes even at the expense of feeding themselves and their children, so that they'll have an 'acceptable' amount of money and food to give to the ghosts of their ancestors (via the monks, of course.....), believing this 'good deed' will ease their own time in Naraka as well as that of these long dead spirits/ghosts. More or less equated to hell or purgatory, one's time in Naraka is determined by the accumulation of Karma - once the karmic debt is paid, it's reincarnation time.

 If they are unable or unwilling to make these 'gifts' to their ancestors, the Khmer believe they will suffer terrible consequences and everything bad that happens in the coming year will be put down to this 'failing'.
 Apparently, last year, one of the CCT boys managed to get enough work to save US$300 and gave it all to the monks in the belief that it would bring him good luck in the coming year - to put this in some perspective, the average teacher's salary is $45/mnth...
He then worked hard, studied hard and, when he did well at school, put it down to the gift of that hard-earned $300, rather than as a result of his own efforts.

 One of the Khmer staff at CCT, an educated, intelligent man, swears he was once grabbed by evil spirits and dragged into a cupboard and he won't cross the river bridges at night because he's honestly afraid of the water demons...

 I have my work cut out for me trying to encourage critical thinking rather than blind acceptance in these children, let alone the Khmer staff and House Parents who are raising them, without suggesting that their fundamental, cultural beliefs are ridiculous or that every adult they've ever known and respected, has either lied to them about the existence of evil spirits and demons or has just been plain stupid ! 

 I definitely don't want to repeat the mistakes made by centuries of colonial masters, all of whom tried to 'remake' the Khmer into replicas of themselves: from the introduction of Theravada Buddhism by Sri Lankan monks in the 13th century,through 600 yrs of being fought over by the Thai and Vietnamese,(who attempted to force the Khmer to adopt Vietnamese customs) and culminating in becoming a French protectorate for 100 yrs, until 1953, when they finally gained their independence, it seems everyone has tried to change the identity of the Khmer people

Then, of course, there was Pol Pot..ask any Khmer how long Pol Pot ruled Cambodia and they'll tell you "..3 yrs, 8 months and 20 days.."
- It's the one (and often only) piece of Khmer history they all know.
He tried to remake his own countrymen by going on a genocidal rampage through the ranks of the educated, leaving only the very poor and the very rich (who could afford to either bribe there way out of persecution or flee the country).

While I don't want to change the Khmer identities of the children I'll be teaching, I do intend to address these indoctrinated habits of superstition and to encourage them to look for real evidence to support these beliefs, rather than automatically accepting them all because it's what their elders have 'always' believed.

 On a purely selfish note, there is one aspect of Pchum Ben that I love:
THE FOOD !! Everybody cooks as much as they can and I have feasted non-stop for 2 days, thanks to my delightful neighbour, Jendar.

Forgot to snap my breakfast: Khmer noodles with 'wafer thin' slices of buffalo, served with  the ever-present chili sauce...delicious!

But here's lunch: 

Dumplings made with rice flour 'pastry',  filled and then steamed in banana leaves - picked from my garden the day before and soaked overnight. Some were filled with curried rice, some with assorted veges and some with sesame chili couscous (loved those ones)

Finishing with Dumplings filled with couscous and apricots...

I'm guessing Dumplings are someone's favourite as that's what they do on this holiday.

Who knew you could get the monks to make house-calls. Seeing how much money he had in his satchel, I guess there's enough incentive...

This is the tomb in our front yard - and Jendar's extended family.

 

# 7: "Be the change that you wish to see in the World.." - Mahatma Ghandi

Cambodia is such an incredible place !
With over 30% of the population living in abject poverty and a further 40% only a little better off, but still living on less than $2/day, it's hard to understand what they have to smile about, but smile they do. Everywhere I go I'm greeted by smiling faces, always ready to help in anyway they can - I think they find my "pigeon" Khmer kinda funny !

I've already met some amazing people:
Baz, an Aussie pharmacist working for a large pharmaceutical company based in Perth, who keeps CCT supplied with essential drugs for the kids ( and staff ) and makes regular visits on his own time to offer his invaluable help and much needed advice. He's also a laugh a minute..

Nick, another Aussie based in Phnom Penh, who is the Marketing Manager for SISHA - Anti Human Traffickers and Exploitation, who are doing a very difficult job here and are about to embark on a joint enterprise with CCT to build a Unit in Battambang that will include a refuge for abused women, an investigative arm of  the law, including forensic medical investigation and legal advice. Under the current system, police have to pay for any investigations they do OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKET!! Understandably, not much is investigated (which goes a long way to explaining why the chronic abuse in unregistered 'orphanages' can continue, unchecked, even when it is reported...) 

While we were in Phnom Penh, we met with Nick, at a new cafe he recommended called the Piano so he and Tara could discuss these plans. Combined with a piano store and music school it immediately had Tara thinking ( she never stops looking for, and pursuing, opportunities for CCT). There is a young boy at CCT who, though illiterate, is a gifted pianist    ( and artist). Tara mentioned him to Nick, who then introduced her to the owner of The Piano (the only Khmer person in Cambodia with a PhD in Music). He agreed to accept Pearun as a student.

What a great opportunity for him. Tara had been looking into the possibility of sending him to a music school in Singapore but was loath to send him away from Cambodia. Now he can stay here, study Music and Art and continue his academic studies!

 Natalie arrived last night. She's a nurse who is a much needed, 'permanent' addition to the CCT team and will be able to constantly monitor the health needs of the kids.

 There's also a lovely British couple, Phil and Louise, who are here for a couple of months, as volunteers, through AFID, assessing the needs of CCT and applying their expertise as accountants wherever it can be utilized.

 As for me, I'm gradually finding my feet.

My Little Log Cabin 

at the bottom of the garden

So far my days have involved learning where all the various CCT enterprises are, meeting staff and kids, getting WiFi and phone sorted, shopping for supplies etc. All interspersed with lots of cafe visits for 'snacks': spring rolls, curries, stirfries, omelettes ( I really could become a permanent resident here just for the food..) and it's so cheap I won't have to cook! Then there's the fruit shakes *sound of me drooling*. My favourite so far is pineapple & ginger.. although strawberry & coconut with ice cream runs a pretty close 2nd, and bucketloads of COFFEE - so glad the Cambodians have finally discovered the benefits of having real, strong, honest-to-goodness coffee, instead of the Vietnamese stuff, which tastes kinda like a cup of dirt made with dish water and is served with condensed milk- which only makes it taste like really sweet dirt in dish water..

The staff are all, not surprisingly, kind, thoughtful & generous people.  

        Erin Kirby                                                            Daisy Gibbs

                                   

 

   
  Erin,CCT's Operations Manager, has ridden me all around BB on her little moto, showing me were to find our bank, ATMs, Post Office, swimming pool (definitely be using that - often) all the best cafes & bars (hhmmm..probably use those even more often than the pool..) She's an absolute gem. 
 Tara has promised to introduce  me to the best masseuse in town. At $6/hr I might pop in there once or twice a week..    

My little cabin was built in the garden of a bigger house, where Daisy,the ever-cheerful Sponsorship Coordinator for CCT, lives and the visiting volunteers also stay. Daisy has been so welcoming from day 1, I already feel like I've known her for years. She also 'motoed' me around and, most importantly, showed me where to find the one shop in BB that stocks 'western food' - coffee, cereal, cheese, REAL MILK, nutella, peanut butter and real butter - though they don't have bread..
 Cambodians only seem to make sweet, white, breadlike, roll-thingies made without salt.. 
I cannot live without carbs..
There's only so much rice I can eat in a day.
Ergo, I WILL get used to their bread !

.
 Until I get my Cambodian licence and can drive or ride, I have a bicycle. Finally getting some much needed exercise and it's a great way to learn my way around - although I stayed out riding around town for so long yesterday, that it was dark by the time i headed home and I rode straight past my house...3 times. Ended up going about 2km further along the road on that 3rd pass, before I was sure I'd gone too far and turned around..again. Fortunately Daisy had organised my sim card earlier in the day, so I sent out a mayday and she came to save me. She wasn't even laughing..too much..There are no street lights once you leave the centre of town (and not many there) so, in all fairness to myself, finding anything at night's a challenge -  my bike has a "Bart Simpson" style light - so it runs off my awesome 'peddle-power' ( stop laughing Al)
 Luckily, it's completely flat around BB so even I can rise to the challenge !

My current favourite lunch. 

At The White Rose: 

Strawberry&Coconut fruit shake,

omelette and breadlike roll-thingies...$2.75

And, of course, my exercise machine...

Well the temperature has dropped below 30 at last, so I guess it's time for sleep. Another delightfully busy day tomorrow...