Day 9 (Yi Ting & Amu)

Day 9: 17/12/09
Today was our last day at Kravnah!. We would probably return to Pursat by afternoon. Today’s breakfast was also prepared by our host. I doubt it would be as tasty if we had prepared it.


After a scrumptious breakfast, we set off energetically on our last round of visits to the schools in the vicinity, giving the students the items that we had brought for them. The genuine smile that lit up on their precious little faces when we distributed food to them was priceless. A particular incident that touched us immensely was the sight of the children keeping the little portions of food that we gave them for their siblings without eating it first. It brought out a flurry of emotions in most of us. It was surprising that they showed that amount of concern towards their siblings even at that tender age.


Besides the preschool programme , SC is also involved in other aspects of education as listed in the picture below:


Via these programmes, SC reaches out and provides education to the kids and villagers in the rural areas where the majority do not have easy access to government schools and other educational facilities . Sadly, most often, even if they do, they lack the financial resources to attend school. Sometimes due to a lack of resources the lessons are conducted at “basement” of a villager’s house, with just basic resources, consisting of a whiteboard and chairs. The enthusiasm shown by the children, was infectious and we had a fun time interacting with them.


The road to the last school had surprises awaiting us, firstly there were many trees by the “roadside” which poked us mercilessly as we made our way through. We reached the last school and met with a pleasant surprise- there were young coconuts filled with cool refreshing juice. A boon, given the sweltering heat we were under.


We literally took the path less travelled to the next location, a plantation. The road was too narrow for the van and we had to get down and walk to the plantation that we were visiting. There were vast fields filled with neat rows of various vegetables and fruits. The lack of proper roads posed a major hindrance for the farmer, for he was unable to transport the tonnes of fresh produce out quickly. He thus has to rely on manual carrying or transportation via bicycle to the main road, quite a distance away before loading them onto a truck. It was inefficient. However, it was pleasing to note that he has benefitted substantially from the SC programmes, and now has many fields with a variety of produce and thus earns much more as compared to before. Seeing, for oneself, the actual benefit that the villagers get from SC programmes brings joy to the heart and adds meaning and voice to the aim of SC and their projects.

Before heading back to Pursat, we detoured to a mountain nearby to climb it,


On the way up to the mountain, our dear Royston Loo kicked his leg against a rock and suffered a deep gash on his left toe. Ironically, he beamed and said, “ Hey, I shed blood sweat and tears for the land of Kampuchea.”That marked the end of our rural escapade and everyone was glad to return to the guesthouse. I believe we really appreciate the running tap water and spotless toilet that we had at the guesthouse. (: