Change of Plan; Visiting the Lighthouse Orphanage, Phnom Penh

Intent on being a true tourist, I set out the day before yesterday to explore the royal palace and a temple or two in Phnom Penh. As usual in Asia, things didnt go as planned.

I arrived just outside the royal palace to find it closed for the next hour and 45 minutes for lunch (who needs two hours for lunch??) and I also was shocked to discover that all tourist places in the area were the same. Standing at the side of the road clutching my map of the city and looking completely lost, a tuk tuk driver sees an opportunity and comes over. He offers to take me for a tour of the city where he will explain all the historical buildings and show me all aspects of the city outside of the tourist areas. Intrigued but slightly cautious, I got on. Driving on, I was thinking about how much damage I would do to myself if, in case of kidnapping, I needed to throw myself from a moving tuk tuk (which doesnt actually move that fast), and whether I would bring or leave the slightly bulky handbag. Truly though, I had no need to worry. The driver was lovely and showed me parliament buildings and the street of embassies and then went on to show me the slums of the city and the local market areas where absolutely no tourists were about.

As we were driving along, I commented on his great level on English, and he told me that he teaches English on a Friday and Saturday to children in an orphanage in the city. He talked about them for a while, and about how he himself was a orphan and he was taught English in his orphanage with his siblings. He asked me whether I would like to visit the orphanage and see how it all works. I knew myself that the hope was that I would volunteer my services as an English teacher. I was a little wary at first, as I suppose being western you have these images of Asian orphanages as dreary awful places. I was threatened oe or twice as a kid with being put in an orphanage if I was really bold, and from simply watching 'Annie' my idea of orphanages was not a pleasant one.

Still, I figured life should be seen from all angles as much as possible, and what's the point in ignoring the reality of a city just because of my high western ideals. So, off I went. I knew that a donation would be expected, but when I asked the driver he said that a donation of a bag of rice would be a good idea as the 89 children in the orphanage can eat 50 kilos of rice a day over their three meals. Armed with my bag of rice, I arrived. I am glad to say it was nothing like what I expected. The buildings could do with some extensions, but they have a good playground donated by the Israeli Embassy, and a few good sized classrooms and a music room. They have a large dining area, and a vegetable patch (that is unfortunately a little sparse in vegetables) The bedrooms were pretty cramped I have to say, but the children overall were really friendly and full of smiles.

The man who showed me around told me about how the orphanage is run on donations and volunteers. They get no help from the government, but are in need of new rooms for sleeping, and some money to get some seeds for planting and clothes for the children. They cater for children between the ages of 5 and 18, and teach them two subjects; English and IT. He says these are the best subjects for the children to get jobs from after leaving the orphanage at 18. He explained about how some get scholarships and some manage to find jobs, but I saw myself that things do not look too hopeful for the children as they enter the adult world. Its easy to notice the drug problems in Cambodia, with I myself getting approached three times with offers of every drug going for about 10 dollars a bag. Apparently its a popular western pastime here.It wouldn't take much to push children into this sort of life.

I left feeling not depressed or sad, but I did feel lucky and privileged. I ended up not seeing the Royal Palace in the end as I spent the following day pretty sick from a bout of dehydration (all my own fault I know). Being sick in any way in this heat is a killer, let alone being sick because of the heat. So I have now arrived in Ho Ci Minh city in south Vietnam, but I will leave all that madness for another blog.

Sawatdiikha.

ps. If anyone wants to know any more about the orphanage I visited, the name is Lighthouse Orphanage in Phnom Penh.