ANDYBROUWER.CO.UK
CAMBODIA
TALES 2001
Sunrise
and a ray of hope
It was 8.30am
and I was waiting for Rosanna White in the early morning
sunshine, sheltered in the shade of a palm tree in front of the
Independence Monument. Rosanna is the volunteer co-ordinator for
the Sunrise Children's Village, a Phnom Penh orphanage with a
high profile, due in no small part to the extraordinary efforts
of its founder and patron, Geraldine Cox. Described by some as
'larger than life', Geraldine was on one of her regular trips
abroad seeking out funds to keep the orphanage afloat and the day
to day administration was in the capable hands of Rosanna. I'd
been in e-mail contact with both of them for a few months before
my trip and they'd kindly invited me to visit the orphanage,
temporarily located in Takhmau, some fifteen kilometres south of
Phnom Penh.
Geraldine's high profile
- she's written a book, there's an award-winning documentary
about her life and a feature film in the offing - and her
tireless work go towards providing a home for around fifty
disadvantaged Cambodian children between the ages of 3 and 18.
Most are orphans, all have sad tales to tell, but the orphanage
provides them with love, food and shelter as well as regular
schooling and extra English, computer, sewing, music and dance
classes, designed to give them the chance of a brighter future.
Its a worthy cause which many Australians support with individual
and corporate sponsorship. However, as Rosanna explained on our
drive out to Takhmau, a great deal of extra funding, as much as
$600,000, is needed to fulfil the Sunrise dream envisioned when
Prime Minister Hun Sen donated ten hectares of rent-free land to
the orphanage. It's certainly an ambitious project and the
publicity created by the support of some very famous Hollywood
names is currently giving it real momentum, while Geraldine's
powers of persuasion continue to play their part in making the
dream come true.
A toot of the
horn and the gates of a non-descript villa opened up as we were
welcomed in by Sopheun, the orphanage's housemother. Rosanna
received an update on the latest batch of cuts and bruises,
tantrums and colds (and the theft of a bicycle) since her last
visit a couple of days earlier before giving me a guided tour of
the tidy, but cramped house and grounds. On the ground floor were
the girls dormitories (the boys sleep upstairs), with hammocks
and mattresses taking up most of the space and a few of the girls
busily drawing pictures with coloured crayons. Outside, the more
boisterous boys were playing games of tag and marbles and I
joined in a game of football with Chanry and Sin Long, two eight
year olds, who were obviously best of friends and who hammed it
up for my camera. I also showed my skills, or lack of them, with
another group who were playing 'tot sey' (foot shuttlecock).
Nearby was the
well-stocked computer room, where Phalla, the computer teacher,
was fixing a pc on his day off with the help of a couple of the
older teenagers. He showed me how the recent rains had flooded
the room and damaged the wooden computer stands and was very keen
to hear about my website devoted to my travels in Cambodia.
Outside, I met Sok An, the head cook, who was preparing
vegetables for the children's lunch with some of the older girls
under an awning in the concrete yard, when Sary and her
wheelchair (she's the only disabled child in the orphanage)
whizzed past and came to a halt at the water tap, where she began
washing some clothes. Rosanna explained that Sary, a polio
sufferer, is now learning to walk with the aid of callipers and a
brace and is fiercely independent, but an absolute sweetie.
Upstairs, we
visited the volunteers room, which also houses the medicine
cabinet and is where Geraldine, the patron, sleeps when she's in
town. Next door, the dance and music practice was already in full
swing. The children are working hard in preparation for a once in
a lifetime visit to Australia for an arts festival, and
rehearsals form a key part of each day for those lucky enough to
be going. The orphanage is home to about fifty children and over
half of them will be making the trip to Adelaide in March 2002.
Today was a Sunday, so no school meant extra practice sessions
for the dancers and musicians. In a cramped room, I grabbed a
seat to watch the dance teacher, Monitha, guiding a group of the
youngest girls - six to eight year olds - through their
traditional Khmer dance routine. They were delightful and were
followed by the youngest boys who danced and banged their coconut
shells in harmony as Srey Mao (right), the youngest of the girls
with a smile and a nature guaranteed to melt any heart, sat on my
knee to watch her friends perform.
At the back
of the room, some of the children were playing traditional Khmer
instruments to accompany the dances and were being tutored by
70-something year old Mr Chea and his daughter Thierry, both
outstanding musicians in their own right. Next on the dance floor
were the teenage girls and particularly 17 year old Srey Mich,
the orphanage's leading dancer who glided across the floor with
grace and poise in abundance. Following them, as the tempo
increased, were a mixed group of four boys and four girls who
moved in well-rehearsed unison and who rounded off a thoroughly
enjoyable hour watching the children perform. In fact, I enjoyed
it so much I forgot to take any photos until near the end. I was
mightily impressed. This wasn't a performance staged for visiting
guests but a daily practice session, yet the timing and elegance
of all the dancers, whatever their age, was a joy to watch.
They'd worn their normal clothes for the practice, so I'm sure
they'll look even more professional when they wear their
hand-sewn costumes for the real thing.
I had another quick
kick-about in the courtyard with Chanry and Sin Long as Rosanna
did her final rounds of the villa with most of the children
giving her a goodbye hug. Then it was back in the 4WD and out
into the busy back streets of Takhmau and our return to Phnom
Penh. My visit to the orphanage had been a brief but thoroughly
enjoyable one. The children I met were happy, the level of
laughter and their playful nature made that abundantly clear, but
their temporary premises are simply too small. Its a stop-gap
until the Sunrise Children's Village and the dreams of Geraldine,
Rosanna and the children themselves become a reality. I sincerely
hope that's sooner rather than later.
Here's links to the rest of my Cambodia
Tales.
Cambodia Tales
Cambodia Tales 2
November 2001 marked my 7th trip to
Cambodia since my first-ever visit in 1994. It's a country
that has a special magic all of its own and which draws me
back every year to venture out into the Cambodian countryside
in search of new adventures, ancient temples and to catch up
with the friends I've made from previous visits. Each trip is
full of laughter, smiles and a host of fresh experiences and
my latest expedition was no exception.
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