Day Four - 6th April 2007

I’m in the back of a tuk-tuk typing, with the evening smog in my face and I’m almost home. Swinging by the Russian Market to visit a friend and bring her kids some promised treats first, then off to the airport. Cars are okay, but a tuk-tuk is almost as comfortable and you can still see everything (and smell it, and hear it....)

Now it’s dusk and the sky is streaked with grey clouds against a blur of faded blue. The friend was out, but I got permission to handover ice-creams and was told several times about an upcoming birthday and presents and who was doing what - Riverkids began in a lot of ways through adoption, and meeting other adopted families wth complex kids thriving has been one of the most encouraging drives for me and Jim.


Right. After the North Korean dinner which was as bizarre as anticipated, down to the synchronized pop and electric violin - plus the dish that was either duck or dog, and no-one could quite tell - I came back and finished up the financial budgets and reports. This morning I got all the receipts signed and paid, and Sophon drew up a ‘shopping list’ of what we’ll need to pilot the Stage 1 Family House, move to Stage 2 for Children’s House One and start Children’s House Two.

Basically, what we’ve done is structure the different projects so they all co-ordinate really well together to reach the same community of 40-80 families, and instead of doing it in one big bang, ta-dah!, we’re starting with a single room in the slum. Then adding another room, another place, one more staff, another person - growing it in four Stages over about 9 months to full capacity, and making sure it’s funded solidly for two years so that all the teething problems are ironed out and donors get a chance to really see what a difference they’ve made. Rolling it out in stages means the community (remember we’re trying to reach people who DON’T want to be helped, who are actively trafficking or basically yobbish) gets used to us, we can figure out who’s who in the community and build ties with them so that by the time parents are involved in the later Stages, the Riverkids Houses are familiar friendly places.

Also, doing it modular and structured makes rolling out a new one straightforward because you can draw on the processes and experiences from earlier ones. Like how Ikea furniture starts to make sense after the third couch falls apart because you’ve lost the little flat wrench thingy. Um. Not the best analogy in the world!

This morning, I was woken up by my mother and her friend who were ridiculously chipper about the sunshine, birds etc. and had obviously slept better. I showed them my roughed out presentation and got some feedback, then my mum and I went to see Sok Lyna who runs the project we used to work on in 2006. It was lovely to see the kids again and I’m really glad my mum got to meet Lyna because she helped so much in bringing my kids together again.

Then we went with Sophon to visit my kids’ birthfamily, and that was great. The two kids are so cute and full of energy - their half-brother threw a sulk *exactly* like his big brother does, and the littlest does the same peals of giggles as my littlest. So we showed photos and chatted and sorted out some medical stuff and talked about school again - their oldest does not want to start school because he just adores his mum and the thought of spending the whole day at kindergarten terrifies him. Maybe we can find a half-day one nearby. Lots of - it used to be very awkward and sharp-edged, but I am down to my bones glad we’re connected because the children thrive and things are better. Wish I could go back six years and say to myself “It will work! Don’t worry so much!” Of course I’d also say “Buy Google!”

Then it was time to pack my mum and her friend off to Siem Reap after some coffee (Seriously, the Pavillion rocked. A quiet coffee by the poolside made every problem magically vanish for half an hour) and go for lunch with Sophon and the Children’s House One’s teacher and housemother. I didn’t recognise them at first because they’d gotten dressed up a bit - I must make sure to bring nicer shoes and a proper dress with me next trip - and looked lovely. We had the cheesiest pizza I could order and stuffed ourselves by the bay windows at Pizza Company. To me, it’s just a regular Pizza Hut and the true gems in Phnom Penh are all those beautiful old colonials with french restaurants tucked inside, but then I remember when Ponderosa opened in Singapore and being taken to the salad bar as a kid and just marvelling at how new everything was. It’s good food, decently priced and really comfortable for a long lunch.


The housemother so far seems like a real find - the teacher we knew was experienced from her background at the state school, but the housemother was on a trial-basis. She’s from the same slum area and fairly strict but also really interested in the kids. I need to find out more about her personal story to figure out what might have shaped those abilities. She keeps them in check without hitting them or yelling, this sort of sharp matron voice when they’re naughty and she’s not very ‘huggy’ but she’s always asking one of them about school, tying hair or checking a cut - always involved. I really like her so far.

She was telling us about one little girl who should get counselling now. We won’t have that for another 4-6 months, and from the sounds of it, this little girl’s really traumatized from some family deaths and exposure to abuse. Then I asked what we needed to get for the school and after they suggested painting the room, more books, perhaps some posters - it was kinda neat because I had to prompt them to ask for more. Railings the teacher said suddenly (the room has a sort of loft area we’re going to make into a library) so the children don’t fall.


... and now I’m back in Singapore two days later! I came home and just slept-slept-slept, waking up for Easter services and food only. The last afternoon, we just went over our to-do lists and I walked Sophon through blogging, so expect more updates from him soon! Then it was just a few last errands and I was at the airport with a fascinating book on urban planning in Cambodia (seriously well-written. I’ll post a review when I’ve finished) and then staggering off the plane to see all my kids and Jim waiting for me with big smiles and hugs.