Schoolies Alternative Cambodia Rotary NTSDE 2019

Liz, Kate and Tania - three names of three amazing people!  Along with a range of additional staff and volunteers that see Green Gecko as the family unit that it is.  Green Gecko provides whole of family support.  They support a total of 32 families - the families of the original kids that Tania and Rem helped.  Fourteen years after it began, Green Gecko has seen the original Gecko kids grow up, graduate from High School, enter University and get married and begin families of their own.  The parents have learned new skills and are now in a position to financially and emotionally become the backbones of their families once more.  This project is innovative in that it does not take new children into the program - it supports the same families all the way through.  The anticipation is that the current model will reach the end of its life cycle within the next few years.  That doesn't mean it won't exist - it means it won't exist in its current form....

Not quite sure of what to expect, our team spent 2 days building houses for 2 families in the Domkeyrom Village just outside of Siem Reap.  We worked with the families, other members of the community, the monks from Wat Damnak and the local builders to provide a roof over the families' heads.  The families were identified as being in urgent need of a house by the monks at Life and Hope and the local Village Chief.    The morning of the first day was fairly quiet as the foundations were laid for what would be the future home for our families.  The first few hours of the build would be a test of character for our team. I think sometimes we expect perfection, when perfection is not the goal.  The quiet morning on the building site reminded me of this.  This whole experience is not about me!  The experience is about the ultimate goal - providing a house, or a shelter, for a family that would not otherwise be able to afford such a luxury...

Ahrun sousdei.......that is Good morning in Khmer. Four of the monks from Wat Damnak provided our group with a Khmer language lesson on Monday.  They gave us greetings and how to ask someone for their name.  We also learned how to respond to the greetings and how to respond when asked for our name.  Whilst the content wasn't huge, it took us all a while to get to know how to get our tongues around some of the sounds.  Lots of laughter was had by all as we practised an introductory dialogue - from the first hello, to finding out their name and providing our names. As some of these Monks are travelling with us to house building tomorrow, they have promised to 'test us' on what we have learned. Markets!!  Time to hit the market!  After an early lunch our team hit the Old Market with a shopping list.  Our aim? To buy products from the wish list at Green Gecko.  Shampoo, soap, toothpaste, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, wash ...