Hello Cambodia!

At the airport, a watchful eye witnessed two dozen (and a little more) young souls enter the gates of the departure hall at Changi Airport with a heart slightly unwell. Just a few moments ago, they were waving at their family members fanatically, with the knowledge that they were to depart for 16 days on a trip where they were told to expect the unexpected, and to be prepared to venture into uncharted territory.

ISLE (International Service Learning Elective) Cambodia, consisting of 27 enthusiastic J1 RJC students, has already spent 7 days in Phnom Penh thus far. RJC has worked with RiverKids last year as well as this year, and we are looking to extend our services with sincerity. We have rented the whole second storey of a kind local’s house for the duration of the trip. This is in close proximity to the 3 project sites we are working at, namely BLUM, STEVEN’s House and FAMILY House which comprises a kindergarten, a classroom for the get ready girls, another for English and the main office (which is always illuminated by the radiating presence of the ever-smiling (megawatt version) Mr Sophon).


Shortly after we arrived, we started our lessons, which included art, music, photography, dance and juggling. There were also plans for mural painting, job research, family portrait and a photo-documentary of the lives of a few students living in the local communities supported by RiverKids. Thus far, these were executed rather successfully, and exceeded most expectations.

We were, collectively, touched by the unhesitating and warm welcome given to us by the children, not to mention the hospitality of the owners of the house we will be living in throughout the trip. The children were constantly capering around the place with bright eyes and equally bright smiles. These did not take place only during lessons, but also out of lessons, and even when we were back in the house, as the kids would wave cheerily to us when we met them on the roads; draw us insistently into their own games; and even look through the gaps in the fence of the compound we were staying in to check if we were there, and if so, they would wave and call out to us. Of course, all of these was accompanied by the now-familiar call of “ ‘cher!”

This trip is the culmination of nearly one year’s worth of hard work, long meeting sessions, careful planning, numerous fund-raising activities, and a multitude of other preparatory activities. From the recce trip done earlier, three main messages were identified as the core values that we aim to inculcate through our interactions:
1. The kids should believe in themselves
2. They should work hard and never give up.
3. They should support each other.

Apart from these, the strengthening of family ties was also established as one of our fundamental objectives. We hope to achieve this objective by showcasing the kids’ talents during the talent show cum cultural exchange which we will be co-organizing with Riverkids on the 3rd of December. Parents would be invited and it would be a finale that we are definitely looking forward to in the coming weeks. Hopefully the parents will realize the full potential of their children, and make a concerted effort to support them in any way possible so that in the years to come, they will achieve that potential.

All in all, the aforementioned events, even the very Service-Learning trip we are on now, would not have been possible without our kind hosts and our ever-ready network of social workers and Riverkids staff. And for that we are eternally grateful! We look forward to implementing our planned activities, and hopefully they will be just as, if not even more successful, than the ones already held. So do keep posted for updates, and we hope to see you soon!

Written by
Yinan, Daniel, Lena, Kok and Tonghui
ISLE (Cambodia) 2008
Raffles Junior College