The first was a 23 year-old young man named Net, who was a tuk-tuk driver. The other two were a six year-old girl (Comleen – who spoke a bit of six languages) and her 16 year-old friend (Hip) on a supply/souvenir boat at the floating village on Tonle Sap Lake. Everything here floats (schools, homes, gardens, pig stys) as the lake expands and contracts during the rainy and dry seasons. Comleen and Hip were so warm and generous with their time, touring us through the boat, showing us their many animals and fish farm. They touched our hearts. We were really struck by their gentleness and graciousness and wanted to do something special for them, but because of time constraints we couldn’t at that time.

                 Net                                                                                                                                       Hip & Comleen

But five months later, in the spring of 2004, we returned to Southeast Asia and wanted to return to Siem Reap and do something nice for the two kids. We returned to the floating village on Tonle Sap Lake and were able to find them and, with an escort, took them into town for a nice lunch and bought them some shoes and clothes. We learned more about each of them and their families. Relative to others on the lake, Comleen and her family are fairly well off. Though she was six years old, she had not yet started school – the reason being that she had not yet learned to swim. We never found out if that was the school’s or her parents’ requirement. Hip was a friend of Comleen’s brother and was living and working on the boat. He and his two brothers are orphans and live with their elderly grandmother in what can only be described as a “shack” on stilts along the Tonle Sap River. It is just 1 room with a back porch for a kitchen and has no running water, electricity or bathroom.

Click to enlarge

       
Home of grandmother and three orphan boys

We had remained in contact with Net via email and telephone and invited him to be our guest to travel to Ho chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. It was a wonderful trip made even more interesting by also experiencing it through Net’s eyes. Among many firsts for him – it was his first time out of Cambodia, his first airplane ride, his first real shower, his first time using hot water, his first stay in a real hotel, as well as his first taste of chocolate and milkshakes. One morning as I was going to shower, Net was leaving the bathroom and asked what the Old Spice deodorant was for. I demonstrated that it was for using under your arms. He said "oh, I thought it was to put on your face." We both laughed a lot as he showed me how he had applied it to his face.

         
Net's father, mother  –  Net  –  Net's brothers

After leaving Saigon, we returned to Thailand via Siem Reap, where Net left us and we continued on to Phuket, Thailand. While lounging on the beach and thinking how blessed and fortunate we are and how important English is to Siem Reap’s tourism-based economy, I started thinking about returning there to teach English. Four months later, I flew off to Bangkok to live for a month and take an intensive TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course and then headed to Siem Reap to begin teaching one term at a private school, SITC (coincidentally the same school where we had sponsored Net). Not known as an early morning person, getting up at 5 am to leave the house at 5:30 to teach a 6 am class was a challenging experience. It is difficult to be inspired or inspiring at that hour. But there are numerous classes at that hour as many of the students also attend public school at 7 am and others have to start work. With my last class over at 8 pm, it was a taxing experience with numerous trips to and from school and numerous showers due to the high humidity. It was an incredible experience full of frustration, joy and friendships. But what wonderful people; Cambodians are amongst the nicest people we’ve ever met. They are full of life, warmth, humor, music, generosity and happiness. During this term I also met Hip’s younger brother, Soeun, who was 15 and who worked in construction (often 6 and sometimes 7 days/week) for 75 cents/day.

       
Soeun

 I soon learned that Hip’s older brother (Hun) was sick, but language difficulties prevented my understanding of whether he was in the hospital or in and out of the hospital. Net was busy with tourists and unavailable to help with translation. Larry visited in December and while we were having lunch with Hip and Net, we determined that Hun was indeed in the hospital and suggested that we go there to meet Hun and the boys’ grandmother. As Hip led us through the hospital grounds, it soon became obvious from the signs that we were heading for one of the tuberculosis wards. As we entered the wooden building Hun was sitting on his bed. Words cannot describe our reaction of shock and sadness. Here was a 20 year-old boy with flesh barely clinging to the very evident bones of his body. He weighed 28 kilos (62 pounds) and without exaggeration, he literally looked like a holocaust victim or an Ethiopian famine victim ready to die. Hip hadn’t told us because he didn’t know the word, tuberculosis. In fact, most Cambodians do not know names of illnesses or diseases; they just know that someone is sick or that someone died because he or she was sick. Because of poverty and inadequate medical care, people get sick and die. No need for
a diagnosis. Cambodia is a country that is 97% Buddhist and it seems to me that they have an entirely different outlook on death. I have attended one funeral and never saw a tear shed. 

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