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Angkor Chum diary - June 4th 2001
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  The
trip started early as usual, meeting our Save the Children and Siem Reap
Education Office friends outside the hotel. But today was a bit different,
in that we were to be taking motorcycles. Although the destination
was much physically closer to Siem Reap than Anlong Veng, the roads are much
worse. In fact Sarath had traveled waist deep in water in the rainy
season, the first time he visited Angkor Chum.
Last
November we
had agreed to start new programs around Angkor Chum, and this was the first
chance we'd had to visit. We started in the trusty Land Cruisers, to the
outskirts of Siem Reap near to Puok (see the map). Turning due North, we
managed to get about 5 kilometers before the roads basically disintegrated -
and this was the dry season! At that point we all needed to "mount
up". Sarath had managed to get hold of a serious dirt bike, and
thought that Mick should be his passenger / victim. Everyone else was
on a moped of some description - including the local police chief who
decided we needed an armed escort up to Angkor Chum, a further 15 kilometers
or so. The farms along the road looked relatively prosperous, with
fields in good condition, even if the people looked poor. This entire
area was one of the last active battlefields with the Khmer Rouge, even
after the fighting stopped around Along Veng. Still, the mines have
mostly gone, and whilst most of the people are still ex-Khmer Rouge, there
are quite a few "immigrants", and the area is peaceful and calm. The road
was long and straight, with small canals on either side, but the houses were
very spread out which makes it very difficult to efficiently organize
schooling - hence the need for both "core schools" and "cluster / mini"
schools" - more on that below.
It turned
out to be a lot of fun, even though we
often dismounted to get across the muddy ruts in the road. Still, it only
took just over an hour of riding to travel to the core school on the
outskirts of Angkor Chum. Our first view of it was from across the
fields - a brand new facility built in just the last few months. We were
totally unprepared for what happened next - other than the fact that Sarath
(in what we all called "his Martian helmet") fell of his bike which amused
us all but damaged his dignity at least a little bit, something tough to
achieve!
As we
walked into school, two hundred children lined the walkway, and waved and
clapped. As if that was not enough, the same number of parents and
grandparents were waiting for us by the new school buildings, and all the
local dignitaries. It was gratifying yet embarrassing, especially for our
children who are (rightly) not used to be treated as VIP's.
After a
welcome refreshment of fresh coconut milk, it was time to hear the parents,
the local government, and the chairman of the community association - a monk
- on the school's progress. Mick once more annoyed the family by using his
standard speech for this trip - it seemed no one wanted to hear that "it was
nice to see the smiles on the children's faces, but it was even nicer to see
the smiles on the adults faces". That is, no one except our Cambodian
friends who could not agree more. In fact, to be
serious on the point, it has been very instructive to all of us to see how a
primary school can be a clear focus of development for the entire community.
Too often in the so-called developed countries, we take education so much
for granted that it hardly figures on anyone's radar screen. Here it is
different - education is believed by everyone to be the key to an entire
community's future.
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For the record,
the participants in the meeting were:
- Chhim Ton - District Governor
- Nam Thong Sy - Deputy Director PEO
- Phall Suon Sary - Chief of the District Education
Office (DEO - Angkor Chum)
- Keo Sa Ngath - Chief of DEO (Varin)
- Chuok Ham - Chief of Char Chhuk Commune
- Eam Man - Monk
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The local people
had insisted on calling this the "Yates Family School", and despite the
great welcome, also insisted that we come back for the "official opening" in
2002. So, that will be our plan - probably in April. The school
has three buildings - two 5 room classroom blocks, and an administration /
library block. Even so, it is being outgrown as I write. Just as
in the other schools, once it is in operation, more and more children make
the effort to walk to classes. Word of mouth, ambition to learn and perhaps
a modicum of parental pressure are wonderful motivators. |
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 With
some emotion, our group had to leave, to make our next appointment with the
Angkor Chum District Government. They had kindly offered us lunch. Some of
the village girls had put on their best dresses and jewelry to wait at the
table at eth District Office - again, we felt genuinely honoured and
more than a little embarrassed. Conversation at the table was a bit
thin, as our Cambodian is almost non-existent, and English is not a local
skill. Nevertheless, we left the best of friends, with promises to
return.
We headed
towards Beng, a small community on the Varin road. There a very small grass
hut school in bad repair had been replaced with a new, two classroom "mini
school", and it may one day become a core facility. It was already
being used by almost a hundred children. The kids in the school were not yet
in uniform, as the school had only just got underway - and we even heard
that the local people had debated whether to await opening the school until
we arrived. Fortunately, they had been persuaded otherwise.
A lively
conversation ensued with the parents and grandparents, all gracefully and
patiently sitting on the floor outside the school . We especially
loved kidding around with the Leader of the Village, a most dashing man in a
wonderful trilby hat (see the
Angkor Chum Photo
Gallery). By now it was mid afternoon, and the rain clouds were beginning to
appear in patches. But the Beng people insisted we visit another
village, where we had no direct involvement, to meet the community. So that
is what we did, heading on the bikes across paddy fields to the east. We
never did figure out the name of the village, but they did have a small
school built a little while ago, we think by one of the UN agencies.
They were in need of furniture and books, so the PEO and Save the Children
Norway agreed to see how they could help in 2002.
It was a
wonderful detour, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, even though there
was no direct involvement from us, the people were warm, friendly, talkative
and happy to have guests. It was nice to see such a crystal clear expression
of the family values of the Cambodian people.
Second,
we met Myra. She was 101 years old, and had obviously survived all the
troubles of the Country - she had seen it all. Yet she had a wicked sense of
humour, and was more independent than many we see at home. Myra was
accompanied by two of her Grand Daughters, one of her Great Grand Daughters
and her Daughter - Myra's Great Great Grand Daughter. In all of our
travels, we had never met that many generations of one family in one place -
it was truly a memorable event. Again, please see the
Angkor Chum Photo
Gallery. |
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All good things
must end, and the weather was definitely getting a bit uppity. So we
said our farewells. and headed home. We promised to send some of our
pictures, as most of the villagers had no photos of their own. The road
somehow seemed easier going back, and we were very quiet on the bikes, as we
each reflected on the day. There is so much to do, yet today we all
felt - Save, PEO and our family - that things were improving, step by step.
As we rode to
where the Land Cruisers waited for us, the sky got darker, but no rain came.
In fact, it only started once we were saying our goodbyes to our Cambodian
hosts - and even then, the weather was kind enough to let us take a few
group pictures for all to enjoy later. It even held back whilst we had a
celebratory can of Tiger, our traditional farewell toast.
Another trip,
another menu of food for thought. |
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Slide
Presentation to King Edward's School, Bath
- November 2002
Anlong
Veng & Trapang Prasat photos - March 3 2003
Angkor
Chum & Varin photos - March 4 2003
Svay
Leu photos - March 5 2003
Siem
Reap / Artisans d'Angkor - February 20 2004
Anlong
Veng & Trapang Prasat
- February 21 2004
Dangrek
Mountains & Preah Vihear
Temple - February
22 2004
Kulen
District & Koh Ker Temple - February 23 2004
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© yates family 2005
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