House Building
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. I use the word 'luxury', perhaps as an odd choice of word. In my culture, a house is not a luxury, it is a given or an unspoken expectation. We expect to grow up in a house that has multiple rooms, perhaps with each child having their own bedroom. With a few options for leisure time - maybe a lounge room, a family room, or maybe even a home theatre room. A well developed kitchen with refrigeration to store items beyond today. Hot and cold running water so I can take a shower whenever I choose - or a long, hot bath, if that's what I fancy. To have a toilet, or maybe 2, to ensure my risk of disease is lowered and I am comfortable when completing my daily ablutions. Air conditioning for when the temperature reaches above 35 degrees and heating for those chilly winter mornings and evenings. Electricity to allow me to use lights and to watch TV or Netflix. The more I think about it, the more I realise these are 'luxuries'. They are not things I NEED to live, they are things I LIKE or WANT to live.
Back to our team - once the foundations were prepared and the frame erected it was our turn to join in. By the end of day 1, the floors were down in part of House 1 and the frame was up in House 2. It was interesting to see the different strategies used in erecting the 2 houses. House number 1 saw the individual uprights being put in place, followed by the horizontal timber supports and the gabled roof being added last. House 2 saw the construction of the frames, including the gabled roof on the ground and the team having to lift the entire frame sections onto the concrete base plates. Each section of frame was then held in place with props till all frames were in place and the horizontal supports could be added. So - after a quiet start, the afternoon was a bit of a frenzy of activity.
Day 2 saw us hit the ground running. As soon as we arrived on the site, we were straight up into the houses, nailing down the floor boards. With that complete it was onto the walls. Whilst we worked with the building team to put the walls on, some of the monks and the remaining building staff worked on the roof and the 'eaves'. We knew we were getting close to the end of the build when a number of cars and motos arrived, including the head of the Village and other 'dignitaries'. The local families began to have washes and change into their good clothes.
Our team was privileged to be part of the ceremony to hand the house over to one of the families. The Village Head thanked our team for the generous donation and the work we had completed on the houses.
Let's hear from some of the team:
"The first couple of days in Cambodia in Siem Reap have been some of the best of our lives, with new experiences such as Khmer cuisine, building houses and meeting the beautiful Cambodian people. Although it has been extremely hot and humid, we have enjoyed every second of the trip so far and are looking forward to the rest of our adventure."
- Hayley and Bella
"So proud of both the NT and Victorian students for displaying such hard working ethic over the last few days whilst assisting to build two new homes in rural Domreykon Village in Po Pol Commune. Such a rewarding experience to begin our massive social and cultural development across Cambodia. A huge thanks to the Rotary Club of Kerang and Lime Pagoda!"
- Vanessa
"Motorbikes are everywhere and I'm here for it!"
- Sharolyn
"Hanging with the kids was really fun! Meeting new people was amazing! Building houses was great fun!"
- Nirvana
"On the Tuesday and Wednesday we went to a small community and helped in the construction of two houses. This included hauling timber, nailing in floor boards and tin walls and for some of us, climbing like a monkey. We didn't do this feat by ourselves as we were accompanied by monks and local carpenters who made the experience that much more enjoyable. All in all it was tiring and exhausting, but it was all worth it when we saw the gratitude from the family that were accepting the house"
- Joel and Jesse
"Today was our second day of helping to build houses in a rural village outside of Siem Reap. I was looking forward to seeing the locals again, particularly the children. Their smiling faces and giggles are two of the precious memories that I will always have of Cambodia. I also loved the way the people worked together, with the monks helping with the building and the women preparing the food. Peeling tree bananas in preparation for the delicious dessert was another way we could contribute, in addition to the house building. It was an honour to be invited to partake in the blessing ceremony for one of the houses. It really emphasised the fact that while these people don't have the material lifestyle that westerners do, they have a greater sense of community and connectedness to each other."
- Louise
"After only 3 days in Cambodia, the experience has already proven itself to be invaluable. Building houses in rural villages has been an eye opener as we have witnessed so many people content with what we consider "simple living". Their happiness and gratitude for life's little things is amazing. A mere cut-off piece of wood from the work site gave the children hours of fun and games. The experience has made us realise how privileged and lucky we truely are."
- Zazney, Jessie, Tahlia and Emily
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. I use the word 'luxury', perhaps as an odd choice of word. In my culture, a house is not a luxury, it is a given or an unspoken expectation. We expect to grow up in a house that has multiple rooms, perhaps with each child having their own bedroom. With a few options for leisure time - maybe a lounge room, a family room, or maybe even a home theatre room. A well developed kitchen with refrigeration to store items beyond today. Hot and cold running water so I can take a shower whenever I choose - or a long, hot bath, if that's what I fancy. To have a toilet, or maybe 2, to ensure my risk of disease is lowered and I am comfortable when completing my daily ablutions. Air conditioning for when the temperature reaches above 35 degrees and heating for those chilly winter mornings and evenings. Electricity to allow me to use lights and to watch TV or Netflix. The more I think about it, the more I realise these are 'luxuries'. They are not things I NEED to live, they are things I LIKE or WANT to live.
Back to our team - once the foundations were prepared and the frame erected it was our turn to join in. By the end of day 1, the floors were down in part of House 1 and the frame was up in House 2. It was interesting to see the different strategies used in erecting the 2 houses. House number 1 saw the individual uprights being put in place, followed by the horizontal timber supports and the gabled roof being added last. House 2 saw the construction of the frames, including the gabled roof on the ground and the team having to lift the entire frame sections onto the concrete base plates. Each section of frame was then held in place with props till all frames were in place and the horizontal supports could be added. So - after a quiet start, the afternoon was a bit of a frenzy of activity.
Day 2 saw us hit the ground running. As soon as we arrived on the site, we were straight up into the houses, nailing down the floor boards. With that complete it was onto the walls. Whilst we worked with the building team to put the walls on, some of the monks and the remaining building staff worked on the roof and the 'eaves'. We knew we were getting close to the end of the build when a number of cars and motos arrived, including the head of the Village and other 'dignitaries'. The local families began to have washes and change into their good clothes.
Our team was privileged to be part of the ceremony to hand the house over to one of the families. The Village Head thanked our team for the generous donation and the work we had completed on the houses.
Let's hear from some of the team:
"The first couple of days in Cambodia in Siem Reap have been some of the best of our lives, with new experiences such as Khmer cuisine, building houses and meeting the beautiful Cambodian people. Although it has been extremely hot and humid, we have enjoyed every second of the trip so far and are looking forward to the rest of our adventure."
- Hayley and Bella
"So proud of both the NT and Victorian students for displaying such hard working ethic over the last few days whilst assisting to build two new homes in rural Domreykon Village in Po Pol Commune. Such a rewarding experience to begin our massive social and cultural development across Cambodia. A huge thanks to the Rotary Club of Kerang and Lime Pagoda!"
- Vanessa
"Motorbikes are everywhere and I'm here for it!"
- Sharolyn
"Hanging with the kids was really fun! Meeting new people was amazing! Building houses was great fun!"
- Nirvana
"On the Tuesday and Wednesday we went to a small community and helped in the construction of two houses. This included hauling timber, nailing in floor boards and tin walls and for some of us, climbing like a monkey. We didn't do this feat by ourselves as we were accompanied by monks and local carpenters who made the experience that much more enjoyable. All in all it was tiring and exhausting, but it was all worth it when we saw the gratitude from the family that were accepting the house"
- Joel and Jesse
"Today was our second day of helping to build houses in a rural village outside of Siem Reap. I was looking forward to seeing the locals again, particularly the children. Their smiling faces and giggles are two of the precious memories that I will always have of Cambodia. I also loved the way the people worked together, with the monks helping with the building and the women preparing the food. Peeling tree bananas in preparation for the delicious dessert was another way we could contribute, in addition to the house building. It was an honour to be invited to partake in the blessing ceremony for one of the houses. It really emphasised the fact that while these people don't have the material lifestyle that westerners do, they have a greater sense of community and connectedness to each other."
- Louise
"After only 3 days in Cambodia, the experience has already proven itself to be invaluable. Building houses in rural villages has been an eye opener as we have witnessed so many people content with what we consider "simple living". Their happiness and gratitude for life's little things is amazing. A mere cut-off piece of wood from the work site gave the children hours of fun and games. The experience has made us realise how privileged and lucky we truely are."
- Zazney, Jessie, Tahlia and Emily
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