Kerang Rotary Schoolies Alternative 2018

Tabitha Foundation has been supporting Cambodians since the mid 1990’s.  Janne Ritskes and her team have developed a great program providing savings plans, the chance to develop sustainable financial resources, clean drinking water and the opportunity to have a home - ironically, all the things we take for granted in the West.  When families have nothing, life ahead can seem hopeless.  Tabitha helps families and communities to develop hope and a future with purpose. Today we had the opportunity to provide one thing we take for granted, a house, to 8 families in Kandal Province (about 2 hours out of Phnom Penh).  This day accounted for the largest part of our fundraising efforts. The following are the thoughts of some of our team members: An early start for all the team members to be on the way to our area for house building, 2 hours on the bus and we finally reached our destination, we were divided into 4 groups and each group had to do the floors and walls on ...

It is not possible to visit Cambodia without visiting the Killing Fields and Genocide Museum.  This country has been impacted on by wars and unrest over many years since the 1960’s.  We in the west hear about the Khmer Rouge terrors of the 1970’s, however, the effects of war go far beyond that 4 year period. Civil war raged through the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and even crept into the 90’s.  Some would venture that even today there is still some unrest present.  The end result is a country where a large percentage of the population suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, the base religion of the country is rebuilding, the family unit is being re-defined (or re-discovered), development is EVERYWHERE and the extremes between rich and poor are right there “in your face”.  Contrast and contradiction are 2 words I would use to describe this place. We “stepped into” the 4 years in the 70’s today by visiting S21 or Tuol Sleng (the genocide museum) and Cheung Ek (the Ki...

Sometimes in Cambodia, things don’t always go as planned.  In fact that could be said a lot about travel, particularly in South East Asia.  Our challenges for Sunday demonstrated this clearly. Firstly, the boat that we usually book to travel from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh was not operating due to low tourist numbers.  How to get too Phnom Penh??  Using local contacts we decided the only option available was to take a charter bus. The bus was booked (large enough to hold all of us plus or luggage) and plans made to visit the floating village at Kamppong Khleang.  We bid a fond farewell to Siem Reap at 8am and headed off to Kampong Khleang.  Thank you to Borey and Chan for organising our floating village river tour.  Borey’s family has built a boat to carry 40 people and we cruised for about 40 minutes to the inland lake on the Tonle Sap. Last time I did this trip, we left from the boat shed near the large Pagoda.  This time, being the end of the w...

A full day today visiting one of the most spiritual places in this country.  Angkor Wat. Over to Jamie..... Saturday commenced with an early start of 5am after all group members opted to see sun rise over Angkor Wat. Waking so early, a collective of tired and weary faces could be observed. In spite of this however, the before dawn start was worthwhile, with the clear skies making for what was truly a beautiful sight. Following the Sunrise, our outgoing and friendly tour guide spent the rest of the day leading us on our exploration of Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples Bayon, Baphun, Elephant Terrace, and Taprohm - educating us on the rich history which such monuments and relics embody. The warm and humid conditions experienced during our visit to the temples, in combination with the physical toll associated with the rigourous days of work prior, lead the health of a few members of our team to decline, with said members days unfortunately overshadowed by a lingering state...

It wouldn’t be Cambodia (or South East Asia in fact) if we didn’t help to prop up the economy!!!! Yes.....SHOPPING and other “touristy” bits.  Siem Reap has it all....markets, street stalls, fish foot massages, ice cream rolls made in front of you and almost anything elicit you can think of!!!  With the exception of the elicit items, we have managed to support the local economy.  Here’s a taste.... After finishing 3 whole days of hot, hard work, a day off to test our bartering skills at the local market couldn’t have come at a better time. The local market was busy and alive all day long. You can find absolutely anything you’re looking for, whether it be fresh produce and other foods, clothes, shoes, accessories and anything in between, and believe us, merchants will try to sell you all of it! They are very friendly, but also very persistent people! One lady lured us in by letting us know she had fans inside her stall... little did we know we’d spend $100 between us! ...