A Helpful Day of Giving in Cambodia

Today, we had a really big day!

First, we went moutain biking. It was amazing. The dirt we were biking on was very red. It was red because of the volcanic soil, but interestingly enough, it was transported to that place so they could make it into a road. I loved biking because we got a lot of exercise and we were all very sweaty when we ended. All of our faces were bright red. Dad said that our faces were so red, they were actually purple.

  

Mom told me she was talking to Brayden on the bike ride about how different it would be to live there where Brayden and I would bike to school every day and get our water at the local market and have to bring it back to the house by bicycle, 30 minutes away.

When we were biking in Bali, I didn’t really like it as much as this time, becase there were so many cars and mopeds everywhere and the downhills there made me scared because they were a lot steeper than my driveway. I even decided to get on the back of Mommy’s bike for a while, until I felt better.  Did you know I can barely ride down my driveway at home without stopping halfway and walking it down, but I’m working on it? Dad said that he was very proud of me for not being scared after what had happend in Bali. I felt proud of myself too.

After our bike ride, we met three Buddhist Monks at a school to talk about a water filter system they give to some of the villagers. Our family donated 17 water filters and money, so 17 families will have clean water and to support their well water project! The school the monks help support is called the Cambodian Buddhism School for Vulnerable Children. The school has 200 students.

We walked from the car to the school and hundreds of kids were lined up and were clapping for us when we walked in. It made me feel good. I was really happy. It was really cool.

When the monks told them about the water filters, they first did a test to see if the water had arsenic in it (arsenic is something very bad that can cause birth defects and cancer). While they were waiting for the water test results, we took a look around the school and when we came back the monks told us that there was no arsenic!  I felt so happy and relieved inside.

After that they had a raffle to see who got the water filters. Some older women got some and a pregnant woman also got one. Those families were so happy, but I felt sad about the other families that did not get a water filter. I wish we could have donated more water filters. We told them that we were going to continue to be a part of this program, so hopefully we will get to donate more water filters when we get back to the United States. Last but not least, we gave money to the kids. It was so sweet to see how happy they were and Brayden and I loved it so very much too. I felt really proud to be helping these kids and their families. It was also really cute, because when we gave the kids money they would put their hands together at their heart and say ‘thank you’.

  

 

   

When we got back into the car, we all agreed that we had a new favorite day of the trip helping out the villagers and the school children!!!  We drove across town to go to a different village and a different school to teach and donate some books and money.  Brayden will write about that. It was an awesome day and here is a video of both projects!!!