I'm really not good at this (writing)! It seems like i'm spending my last days thinking less and less about writing and simply more time trying to remember every move these kids are making. In the last 3 days .. let's see.
The Dump.
Oh my gosh. Thank goodness for that organization working in the dump. They are helping so many people every day. We arrived at the dump and all i saw was sadness. As we walked closer and closer to the doors of the dump, we were walking near those family. Those houses, made practically out of sticks, had entire families in them. Like, Dad, mom and 2-3-4 kids. I can still feel the guilt in my heart while all those eyes were looking at us. We, first, went to talk to the french people (from the organization) who talked about the "ropes" of what they do everyday. As you will see in the pictures (if you are interested in going to see them) more and more mothers are going to the place to get food for them and their children. Thank goodness more families are coming around. We found out that a Japanese company bought the dump and are closing it to move it out of town. Good for certain things. bad for the question: "Where are all these families going to go?" Anyways, we found out too that this organization founded a school too where, they now have 6, 500 students (all taken from the dump) How crazy is that ? So that was an experience.
The waterpark , the next day.
To my surprise , there actually was one. Well, a cambodian water-park. There was a pool, a kid area and 4 bigger slides. At first , I was enjoying looking at the kids having fun but then, I found the big slides. There's pictures of us going down them.. SO fun. lol I went until my legs were tired of climbing the VERY steep stairs. Ever heard the expression : Use what you got? Well, after a bit of fun, We had a Baptism right in the pool. That was fun. Nothing says "blessed" more than water full of pee. lol. No, I'm kidding. The kids were really happy to finally get baptized by a real pastor. Fun day.
Marshmallow and DanceDay.
We went to the school at night, that day, to eat Grilled Egg (yes, you heard right) and Marshmallows. Afterwards, we gave the Directors of each orphanages a bag full of Toothbrushes (we had enough for ALL THE KIDS), Tooth paste and Medical Supplies. They were so thankful and they would like to thank everyone so much for donating. They were really touched, really. So much so... that we danced for hours after that. My first "clubbing" in months. :)
Toul Sleng Prison (S.21)
Oh boy. That was hard. We visited the actual prison where everything happened. The Phnom Penh High school that was turned into a High-Security detention and torture prison. Khmer Rouge. Thousands of people lost their lives for , what I feel is, nothing. I mean, to think that people can do such things to their own kind. I won't tell you the entire story, but I do encourage you to read on it. The facilities are left intact... except that they added signs and pictures and display cases. Along the way of our discoveries , we met this man. He was along with 3 students and was explaining his memories. His MEMORIES? yes, He is one of the FOUR survivors of Toul Sleng. How amazing is that. It was the first time that he came back to face the prison again. I guess he wanted to find his peace. We had our Cambodian friend with us and she was able to translate all the stories that he was telling. He was explaining how they tortured him and questioned everyone at the interrogation "room" and how terrifying it was every night when they called out the names of the people they were going to bring to the killing fields the next day. He showed us his cell. The place he stayed for four months before the Khmer Rouge was overpowered by the Viets. He lost his entire family (wife and kids) in that place. I fell apart when I told him how sorry I was that he had to go through that. It was really hard.
The Give Aways
We gave away all the toys today! Oh my! that was a treat. The kids were excited. Actually, I think we were more excited than them.. Because everything came from you all. We took so many pictures of them getting the stuff.
We gave So much to the school for EVERYONE to enjoy and each got their medication and supplies but the toys... ahh the toys..
It was great. It was funny too cause we had to explain some of the toys.. Like playdo. They had no idea what it was. But i made my little demonstration and then they were making elephants and magostines (best fruit EVER btw) etc..
So anyways.. THANK YOU GUYS SOO MUCH FOR DONATING TO THE KIDS.
thats all. We leave tomorrow 11h40pm. :(
pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/isabellaamodei/sets/72157613358074035/
