Three days in Phnom Penh: Karly Franz

Day 1
The first day I was a bit nervous because I didn’t know what to expect or what I would encounter. I had many questions- would the community accept me? Would I really be able to help? I am 17 years old and a high school student volunteering at Riverkids for the first time.

I am considering the medical field for study after graduation so I was keen on working with the nurse to see if this would be a path for me to explore. After arriving by tuk-tuk, I first saw the smiling face of Soklee, one of the Volunteer Coordinators at Riverkids. She welcomed us and spent time explaining more about Riverkids Project and her involvement with the organization. She gave me a tour of the classrooms and I had the opportunity to observe the kids during lessons. My immediate impression was how intelligent the kids were. They were reciting their ABC’s like professionals and could imitate exactly what the English teacher said after hearing the sentence once! Later I was introduced to the director, Sophon, who went over the mission of Riverkids Project and reviewed our agenda for the next few days. I started to relax as I saw that it would be easy to integrate into this ‘family’ right away.

Around mid-morning, I accompanied the nurse during her visit in which she checked up on newborn babies and pregnant women in the neighborhood. The nurse had a patient approach and seemed well accepted by the community. I was warmed by the smiles and gentle gestures of greeting offered upon entering each house. To go through the community, we had to maneuver narrow corridors and even narrower walking planks through which I could see the strewn garbage from many crowded households. Some families had four walls to enclose their living space but others only had two; they were exposed to the elements year round. This gave me a perspective into the families’ lives and I began to appreciate the Riverkids mission even more as I saw the impact through their work.

I was impressed that these nurse visits were a free service offered to the community. The nurse presented valuable information in the form of picture cards that showed indications of an emergency such as premature contractions or preeclampsia. The picture cards also demonstrated procedures in caring for a new born. I was told that the women did not go to the hospital to give birth so this is the only information they had to alert them to the signs of impending complications.

In the afternoon, I visited the Blum site where I aided the nurse in a demonstration to the children on hand washing (which was being taught so the children would not contract H1N1) in preventing contagion. Once again I noticed how sharp these kids were, picking up the vocabulary associated with proper hygiene. Incredible memory!


Day 2
The day commenced early and my first task was to assist the nurse with a nutritional program. The kids were so cute and sweet and eagerly took in all that we taught them on health and nutrition (which consisted of the basic food groups). I was impressed with the way that the staff was always on their toes when teaching the children and coming up with creative approaches to maintain the kids’ attention and interest. I truly saw how the children enjoyed the class because the staff was able to make learning fun. There was a lot of information to retain and, even though the kids didn’t take notes, they remembered the important points presented.


Day 3

Today we arrived early for the excursion to the water park. The air was charged with excitement. Around 40 of us piled into the tuk-tuks with Soklee coordinating the procedure by assigning older kids to the younger ones. There was a range in ages from 7-17 and all had fun. Even with the language barrier were able to communicate and laugh over the silliest things at the water park. Everyone was so open and I felt a kinship with the other teenaged girls, being a teen myself. We swam, splashed, went down the water slide dozens of times, laughed and overall had an amazing time. At the end of the day when we returned to Riverkids, we felt exhausted, yet euphoric. Saying goodbye to everyone was especially difficult as they were all truly wonderful people to meet. I wish I could have stayed longer and I hope to return again.

This short trip taught me that we all have something to offer and that we each have a responsibility to each other. The staff taught me the importance of working together in improving the lives of the kids and their families. The kids taught me that everyone deserves to be accepted and given the chance to learn and improve oneself.