Turkey: Savanah Turns 27

Today I turn 27. Time goes by so quickly. I can't say I have any profound knowledge or interesting revelations about life and all its mysteries, but I am so incredibly thankful and humbled by the kindness and grace poured into my life through relationships.

I am glad to be getting older. I think the years keep producing a better version of myself, and there is a lot of life still to be lived and memories to be made. As I reflect though, I have had many highlights over the years. Here are a few that come to mind in celebration of living a wonderful 27 years!


0-1 Born into an amazing family and the most loving parents. Got my name: Savanah Hope Verbeek.

2. My first memory: my dad saving me as I choked on a penny. Dad's are pretty handy at saving kids.

3. My baby brother was born. I wanted his name to be Brady, but I'm glad he's Cody. I remember the day he was born. I woke up to grandma Verbeek my parents bed. I was excited to be a big sister.

4. My baby sister was born! Life wouldn't have been soo colorful without my little sis around. Kassia, my little assia. I remember The first time I heard her cry in the hospital- it was funny sounding and we all laughed. She has brought us all so much joy.

5. I met my first friends, Brandon and Chelaine through the backyard fence. I also had a hand-me-down Pauple (so?) backpack ( a strange, alien looking teddybear thing) that was my pride and joy.

6. I learned to ride a two-wheeler. Showed my dad what I had learned after he got home from nightshift, in the dark street of our crescent at midnight. I waited up for him waaaay past bedtime.

7. We moved into a new house that my dad built with his bare hands. He is my hero. I got to go to a new school and ride the bus with my cousin Marissa.

8. My mom became my best friend. I thought I had no friends in grade three, but I always had her.

9. I got my first acoustic guitar, named "the paddle". I developed my first inappropriate crush on my guitar teacher Kevin.

10. I had my appendix out and was showered with sympathy. I also had my own little mini me who would follow me around and drive me nuts.... But secretly I loved it.

11. My family went to BC for the first time with our cousins, Jerrett and Craig. One of my favorite family vacays of all time!

12. I had my first kiss from the neighbor boy! Although it was much more like an experiment. Afterwards he scrunched up his face like he had kissed a frog so I threw leaves at him. So not like the movies! Also, my sister wrote me a secret note in my diary telling me she looked up to me. Her notes are always so thoughtful.

13. I got my horse Raven and had many equestrian adventures. The day I brought him home is one of my favorite memories. My mom also painted my bedroom this year. She spent a few weeks hand painting an amazing garden scene and made my room look like it was from a magazine. That room was my pride!

14. Our family went to Mexico and had an amazing time. It was there I realized I wanted to become a teacher. 14 was also the year I cruised around with my cousin and best friend Brianne, who got her license, and rocked 99 Red Balloons with the windows down in freezing weather.

15. Unknowingly, I met my future husband in the high school music program. 15 was also the year my brother tricked me into thinking he was nice. One day, when I was studying hard, he surprised me with Pringles, which turned out to be farts in a can.

16. Sweet 16. My Mom and Dad bought me an emerald guitar (my birthstone color) and I started to get into music. I also remember a beautiful letter my mom wrote. I am so lucky.

17. Experienced first love. Sigh. Also incredible friendships. I will never forget the Albino Rhino cake from Brianne and Josh, or the sea monkeys.

18. I'm pretty sure this is the year my dad stopped tucking me in after he got home from night shift. It's not the fact he stopped, but the fact that for 18years he made sure her tucked his kids into bed each night, even if he wasn't home for bedtime. This year I also started university, and the art of taking the long way round.

19. Started a band and dating my love Steve! Also became really close with my cherished friend Kessia, an answer to a lifetime of prayers.

20. I moved out on my own into a basement suite with random Asian roommates. I never had to borrow money or move back home. Yay I'm an adult! Also, I believe this is the year my brother introduced us to his love Tessia, who has become a beloved part of our family.

21. Steve and I travelled to Mexico to visit an orphanage and I worked with special needs kids. I also took a step back from school and my parents were supportive. They believed in me and knew I'd go back. I couldn't have done it without their faith in me.

22. I got engaged! I also spent the year in my favorite apartment on Jasper ave, learning about myself and growing with my family. My sister and I became closer and we made great memories.

23. The year I walked down the aisle, holding the arms of my parents who have given me an amazing life. I was welcomed by the most incredible family, a mom and dad in-law who are like second parents to me and love me just as I am.

24. An amazing year of traveling to England, and enjoying life with a supportive husband who helped me go back to school and achieve my dreams. Also a great year for music with Nathan Carroll, who has been a mentor and helped develop me as a musician and songwriter. Steve and I are so grateful for Nathan and Heidi, and their lovely kids.

25. Steve and I celebrated gaining two new in-laws, Andrew and Chanda, adding lots of love and fun to our family. Steve and I also took a second honeymoon to the Dominican. My little sister bought a house and got engaged, which made me very proud.

26. I finally graduated! My first niece was born (sweet Katelynn). I also celebrated two weddings as the maid of honor for Kessia (woot woot Vegas!) and Kassia's (woot Dominican!) I also gained a sister in law, Michelle. I began my traveling adventure with Steve, to see the world and how other people do life. It has been amazing.

27. My favorite part so far has been waking up and knowing that back home, people are thinking of me and sending their love. I am so blessed!

Also... The surprise hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia at sunrise wasn't to shabby either...


Thank you to all the people in my life that have challenged me, cared for me, and given such a rich life. Thank you to God who has had his hands in it all. 27 is going to be an amazing year!

Istanbul: The Sights

We jumped on the tram and headed to our first destination and number one tourist attraction, the Blue Mosque. Built between 1606-1616, it was created to rival the Aya Sofia (below) in grandeur and beauty. When we walked inside we were awestruck. Beautiful hand painted tiles donned calligraphy art and lined every surface of the mosque. Chandelier-like lights hung low, fanning out above our heads casting a soft glow. To one side Muslim believers prayed in a roped-off area, and soon it was time to leave as the haunting call to prayer was broadcast over the loudspeakers and people filed in to worship.

After we visited the mosque, we headed across the street to the incredible Aya Sofia (also known as the Hagia Sofia). Built between 527-65, it was considered the most magnificent church in Christendom until the city was taken over by Mehmet The Conqueror who converted it into a mosque. It is a brilliant display of two religious takes on aesthetic beauty. Converted into a museum in the 30's, you can see walls where gorgeous Christian mosaics have been plastered over with intricate hand painted tiles (Islam does not use graven images in holy places, rather detailed design work and delicate calligraphy taken from the Koran are used). It was interesting to see religious expressions on display, not in competition but coexisting, bringing mystery and character to the building. I think that's why it is loved by so many.

After that we visited the basilica cistern, a beautifully preserved cistern created by the Romans to supply water to a roman palace. It is a mysterious place filled with strange fish and two beautiful stones with carved medusa heads from antiquity. No one knows how or why the heads were put down there, but some theories suggest it is to scare away evil spirits.

Two of our other Istanbul faves: the Topkapi Palace and the Dolmabache Palace.

The Topkapi Palace was a magnificent palace constructed around 1453 that was inhabited by Ottoman Sultans until they later moved to more European style palaces like the Dolmabahce. I loved the intricate tiles in the Topkapi and the amazing artifacts on display. We saw the staff of Moses.....or so the legend has it! We also enjoyed walking through the sultans harem, a huge dormitory used to house all his ladies. Quite something!

The Dolmabahce my personal favorite however, because it still contains most of the original fixtures and furniture. It was taken over by Turkey's first president when he exiled the royal family and turned the country into a republic , and it later became a museum. It was an amazing blend of wealth, elegance, and beauty.

Istanbul is an amazing city that could take a lifetime to explore. By the end of our four days there our feet were aching from ten hour days. We then hopped on a bus and are now exploring Cappadocia. More on this amazing place to come!

Blue Mosque:

Hagia Sophia:

Basilica:

Topkapi palace:

Dolmabache palace:

Turkey: Istanbul

Our plane was taxiing to the terminal and I really had to pee. There is something about peeing on planes that freaks me out. I will wait as long as I humanly can.

By the time I found a washroom in the airport and got moving, the visa line was ridiculously long. We waited a total of two hours to get our visas and get through emigration. When we finally got through customs and connected to the net we discovered our accommodation had fallen through, and we needed to find something else. I was tired and annoyed; our first day in Istanbul was loooooong. I was cursing our decision to leave Asia, the land of cheap and relaxed.

When we finally booked a room, we laughed when we walked up to the door; It was broken, full of rust and spray painted with the name of the hostel. There were no windows, no signage and we thought we were at the back door when a staff came to let us in. The inside was a dilapidated cave-like building with a long living room area that you had to duck to get through. Our room fit only the bed. It was clean though, and the shower was hot. We collapsed on the bed and were asleep by 8:30.

We woke early the next day, ready to explore (my mood was much improved!) We started walking down our road when we witnessed two older men shouting at each other in a cloud of blue cigarette smoke. One was a salesman, the other a customer. Hands were flying and the discussion became louder and more rapid. Steve and I exchanged glances and looked at our feet, giving them a polite amount of space so we could skulk away, when one slapped the other on the back and smiled. We witnessed this type of conversation a few more times until we realized that the Turks are just very passionate people! They speak with caps lock on. It has become an inside joke for us to give them English overdubs:

"HOW ARE YOU?"
"IS YOUR MOTHER WELL"
"HOW MUCH FOR THIS SWEATER?"

It's all in good fun.

We had a fabulous time exploring Istanbul. The mix of religions and ethnicities (Kurds, Iranian, Turkish, Eastern European) is fascinating, and the food that comes out of it is amazing! We tried to stick to hawker food, and ate an amazing variety of donairs, turkish pizza, turkish delights, and all sorts of yogurt enhanced food that we can't pronounce. It's been my favorite food of the trip so far!

We saw a good many sights in Istanbul (which I will post separately). Some of our favorite things though have just been people watching. We passed through a feminist protest where the riot police were set up with full gear and water cannons (no pics of that one, since we hurried out of there!) and overheard some interesting opinions on the roles of women. As a woman it's been interesting to have to make conscious decisions about "modest clothing", but I haven't found it to be oppressive or negative. It's been a great learning experience and I appreciate knowing how I can show respect in new lands.

Although Istanbul started out a little rocky, we are falling in love with Turkey, the land of amazing scenery, history, and culture.

In the next post I will give a quick rundown of what we saw in the city. It was a very packed 4 days!

Kuala Lumpur: a quick trip

We were sad to leave Rescue, but excited to keep adventuring. Next stop: Kuala Lumpur before heading to Turkey.

KL is a big city. It is the heart of Malaysian pride: a strong economy and infrastructure. We only had two days to explore, so we made the most of them. We visited the Batu Temple ( in the pouring rain) the petronas and KL towers, and the world's 6th largest shopping mall ( west Ed is 13th now, but still way better than this one).

We rode the tram around the city ( we are professional transit users now) and saw the sights. The one thing that we found the most dazzling: the thousands of perfectly lined palm trees. Malaysia is the worlds #1 supplier of palm oil.

It was a cool two days despite the heat. Our favorite part was taking pictures at the towers. Just beautiful!

After that it was a 7 hour flight to Abu Dhabi where we spent a painful 10 hour layover in an uncomfortable air port chair. There was no room in the hotel ( for a cool 240 American) and we couldn't leave because Canadians can't get visas on arrival there. The worst part was the airport chairs all had arms so you could t lay across them. I was glad to leave!

We are in Turkey now, enjoying the marvelous sights and tastes.

More on that later!


Batu caves:

KL tower (lookout point):

Twin towers:

Cambodia: Place of Rescue (stories)

Life is hard to capture in words. It blinks; the writer tries to fill in the gaps, group experiences into organized paragraphs and create syntax and order out of random chaos. A story must have a central thread. Life must have meaning.

I'm not trying to open this blog with an introduction to an essay on existentialism. Rather, our time at Rescue makes me wish my writing was better. Trying to capture a moment in words is difficult, especially when there are plenty of moments; I find myself getting lazy, sliding in adjectives and adverbs to do the hard work instead of chewing on a sentence that will actually take me back there.

Oh well.

I promised stories.

The Birthday Party:

Trakuan spent the day bent over the oven. Damp tendrils of hair clung to her face. She was making pies. We were amazed she could stand to be near any more heat-- the temperature was almost in the 40's, and we were dizzy with heatstroke.

It was her friend's birthday, one of the house mums; a mother to 10 boys. Trakuan wanted to celebrate her. A secret party was to be held at 9:30. Pies and gifts and friends. We were invited to come along.

At 9:15 a gaggle of teenagers crowded in Vidiya's house. They put candles in the pie and filled balloons to the bursting point. The kids spoke in loud whispers as we filed out of Vidiya's and around the corner. We arrived at the door; one of the Mum's sons went inside to make sure she was decent and could receive visitors. "Ready?" The kids hissed through the door. "No!" He said. We waited. More excited whispers. A head popped through the door again. "Ready?" "No." Sigh. Some of the kids started to get antsy and began shoving each other. The candle flame burned low. Finally, the door opened. The house mum was thrust through the door and after a delayed moment balloons were popped and a loud happy birthday was sung. The house mum put her hands over her heart and caught her breath; she thought her sons had forgot her birthday. She was really touched.

We all went into the house and the boys spread out the eating mats. In Cambodia, people eat on the floor. We sat in a circle as Trakuan handed out food and the mum opened her gift: a beautiful dress. She ran into her room to try it on. "Everyone, look at our beautiful mom!" One of her sons yelled as she came back into the circle in a dress that fit beautifully.

We ate happily as we talked. The boys made fun of Steve, who had a habit of saying "oooooh" when responding to something he couldn't quite understand from some of the boy's English. They all chorused "oooooh" together and then made howling dog sounds and broke out laughing. Steve joined in and would begin howling everytime he caught himself saying it again. It was good fun, but it's started me in a bad habit-- I howl in my head whenever I hear him doing it.

After dinner we rolled up the mat and the boys cleared the dishes. I looked around the room at the bunk beds neatly stacked against the walls, and glimpsed the sight of some younger boys, fast asleep and unaware of our being there.

We said good night and the house mum thanked everyone. Her boys lined up to hug her, putting their arms around her affectionately. What a beautiful family. What a beautiful act of love and community. What a beautiful place of rescue.


Movie Night

Vidiya was leaving that Sunday. After a year teaching at Rescue it was time to go home so the organization funding her could assess her health and make sure she wasn't burning out. If all went well she hoped to come back for a year, but it wasn't guaranteed.

She threw a BBQ for the older students. We sat outside her house under the decorations the students made, hanging candle holders cut from pop cans strung above our heads. They cooked fish on the BBQ and we visited. Although uninvited, tiny kids wormed their way over to where we were sitting and demanded our attention. They climbed on us like we were human jungle gyms. They demanded pictures and were fascinated with their images on the screen. We finally had to put the camera away because they were fighting eachother for their turn in the spotlight which ended with lots of tears. It's hard to explain the concept of "turn taking" when you don't speak the language!

When dinner was ready we gathered on the floor at Vidiya's and ate. It was a feast of papaya salad, a cambodian spicy salad, fried rice, fish and chicken. It was great to watch the kids joke with their teacher. They were truly blessed by her.

After dinner one of the kids brought out a guitar and played for us. A few of the boys sang some Cambodian songs and a few church songs. One of the boys began to sing amazing grace when another poked him in the ribs and said " teacher Vidiya's said that song is for dead white people." We all laughed. They passed the guitar to us and we shared a few songs; a few we wrote, and a few worship songs. The kids were very sweet and excited to learn new English words to sing along to.

After we played for a bit we packed back into the house to watch a movie: Iron Man 2. We used a projector from the school and put it up on the wall. The kids pulled out their favorite treat, black jellies. It was an odd desert. It was kept in a large cooler and the kids would ladle out the moist strips of licorice-like gummies, and then pour sweetened condensed milk over it. It was eaten with a spoon like cereal. It was not our favorite, but the kids loved it!

The movie was a hit. It was cute to watch the reaction of the kids as their brains translated the English jokes. After a delay some of the kids would burst out laughing. Some rapid translating would happen and the laughing began again. Laugher is such a gift. We went to bed feeling light.

Music!

The day after Vidiya's party, we went to her house to hang out. A few boys were there using her kitchen--she would often let them practice their cooking in her house because there was more room to learn. One of the boys, Huong, grabbed his guitar and began playing the songs we played for them the night before. He had memorized the positions of our hands on the guitar. He played and we sang; he was very happy to jam. We invited him to come over to Marie's the next day for a jam session, and we said we would get lyrics printed of the songs we had sung.

The next day Houng came over with his guitar, and I gave him the lyrics to blessed be your name, and open the eyes of my heart, the two English worship songs we had played with him. "What about this song?" He said as he began strumming and humming. I laughed. "That's not a real song, that's just a silly song I wrote." I said. "I want it." He said. It turned out to be his favorite one to play. I was very touched and encouraged by that. I told him to learn it well and make it the next Cambodian hit when he got famous!

After we played for a while he asked Steve to teach him how to solo. Steve showed him how to do hammer-ons and pull-offs by teaching him the intro to "Tears in Heaven" . It is a tricky lick but the next day Houng showed up and played it for us perfectly. He had stayed up all night practicing. He has only been playing guitar for three months, but he is an incredibly fast learner and very committed. I wish I would have taken my lessons that seriously as a kid!

By the time we left, Hong had learned three new songs and was really excited. In exchange he taught us how to speak a few Khmer words. We really enjoyed a relaxed time playing music and getting to know new friends.



Our week at Rescue has come to an end. The stairchair is finished and as I write this I am sitting on the plane to Kuala Lumpur. There are alot of things to process about our visit-- but all good things. Despite being an orphanage filled with sad stories, it really is a place where normal life happens. Kids can be kids there. Healthy and happy. No one dwells on the past but instead find healing through community and become inspired to be the future of Cambodia. I have much to learn from the way these people view life: as a gift that matters.












Beautiful view from Marie's veranda:

Crazy kids!

Birthday party:

Jammin:

Cute kids:

Handy bug eater:

Flexible cow:

A wonderful home!

Cambodia: Place of Rescue

I was speechless. Sitting on a purple chair in the windowless sanctuary of my church, I rubbed my husband's back as he sobbed. It was the third time I had ever seen him cry: once during a break up, and when I walked toward him on our wedding day.

Marie Ens, a sweet eldery woman, had given a presentation on Cambodia. We sat through many of these before-- terrible images of poverty and stories about people living in a far-off land in unimaginable circumstances. But this talk was different. Marie was real. She said it like it was, and the pictures and stories were not packaged neatly to play on our emotions, but rather they identified a very real problem in our very real world.

That day has sat on our hearts.

Trip planning began with the new year, and while we were making hasty decisions about visiting this place or that place, it seemed we would be rolling through Cambodia. As I mentioned in the previous post, Rescue does not regularly have volunteer programs, so we thought at the very least perhaps we could have coffee with Marie and say hello. We emailed her, and regretfully, she was scheduled to be in Canada while we were passing through. But she did need a favour. Almost 80, Marie is slowly preparing her home for the day her young spirit doesn't quite match her physical body. She bought a stair lift to install on her Veranda steps to help her get up to her house (In Cambodia, houses are built high up on stilts so that the underside can be used as a place to escape the heat of the day, while the upper level is used for sleeping). Normally, her top maintenance man Kim would have completed the task, but the darn instructions were written in English, so there had been some complications.

Marie offered to let us stay in her home and have her housekeeper Trakuan (pronounced Tah-koon) make us meals and look after us. It was an offer we couldn't refuse!

We arrived at the centre on a Tuesday by Tuk Tuk. It is an hour from the city and the drive was beautiful; a flat landscape with spiky palm trees, and a mix of small villages and farms. We were greeted by Vidiya, a feisty Trinidadian-Canadian who had just completed a year of english teaching at the centre and was wrapping up her time there to go home. She helped us get settled in "Myay's" house (That's Cambodian for Grandma, which is what Marie is called by everyone at the centre).

We carried our things up the stairs, and were welcomed into Marie's cozy home. A small, wood paneled Cambodian house with two rooms joined by the bathroom, a kitchen, and a living/dining area. We were introduced to Trakuan, a beautiful Cambodian who serves as Marie's right-hand woman.
That night she made us an amazing Cambodian meal and we ate while we watched the sun go down from Marie's veranda.

The next morning we were up and rearing to go at eight, which we thought was pretty good, until we realized that everyone starts their day at 5 or six. By the time we woke up, the house-moms had already been to the market and back; a trip they make each day for meals as there is no refrigeration in their homes, keeping in tradition with the Cambodian lifestyle.

After breakfast, Vidiya gave us a tour of the grounds. Rescue is in a rural community bordered by small farms. It has a long, red driveway that leads to Marie's house, which is just outside of the main Rescue gate. On the other side of the fence the road continues, looping to the right, which is where the AIDS hospice homes are, and continues to the main recreation area that has a vollyball net, basket ball court, and covered cement pad for rainy days. The quad is squared in by the houses the kids and grannies live in. School rooms are in a long buiding toward the back, and there is a soccer field.

On the back side is a lagoon where water is collected and used to supply the houses. It goes through an on-site purification process, and used for household uses and showering. Drinking water is bought.

Electricity is mainly solar powered, which means that during the day there is no electricity in most the buildings while the system charges to provide power and light at night. Water is also only turned on at certain times to allow for the purification process. A few key buildings are powered by electricity from the town, but even that power supply is subject to brown-outs, a common part of Cambodian life.

As we explored, kids came to say hello. They loved to practice their English, although some were nervous because teacher Vidiya was with us and she wouldnt let them get away with silly mistakes!

The heat in April is unreal. April is the hottest month. We sat in the shade on a large swing and chatted with Vidiya until one of the grannies came to say hello. Known to the kids as "Grandma Frog", she was a woman with a wild streak. Her approach was innocent enough: she looked cute and sweet. She motioned for Steve to move over so she could sit with us. Worming in between us. she reached over and grabbed Steve's hand. Steve and I exchanged a moment with our eyes as I inwardly sighed at how cute it looked. We continued chatting with Vidiya. Grandma's hand moved to his knee. We chatted some more. Her hand moved to his thigh. We chatted. As it started to move again, Steve finally broke conversation with a snort and grabbed her hand. We all noticed what was going on and laughed. Naughty grannie!! She laughed devilishly but settled for PG hand-holding. From then on, everytime she saw us in the courtyard she would head for the swing and wave at Steve.

The chair installation turned out to have it's fair share of snags. An install attempt had previously been made, but the chair suffered a bit of a beating. The rail was mounted incorrectly and the chair had some broken switches and thingy-ma-bobbers (I lack the intellegnce to convey exactly what the issue was), so Steve had to exercise his genius and do some rewiring.

In all, the job should have been fairly simple, but a part needed to be sent into a repair shop. While we were waiting we got to enjoy meeting people.

Visiting here was a real introduction to Cambodian culture. To be honest, some things were a culture shock! For example, here, when someone cooks you dinner, the polite thing to do is eat everything on the table (not just your plate). Otherwise, the chef might think you don't like it. Us, on the other hand, felt rude eating everything. At home you would never eat the last chicken breast or pork chop out of politeness; we assume the host will want left overs. However, after fighting with ourselves we finally caught on. It wasn't too hard to be polite.... Trakuan is an amazing cook!

Staying in Marie's home gave us an unique look into Rescue that we might have not otherwise had. It allowed us to get to know Trakuan, who we feel so blessed to have met; she is such an incredible person. Her english is pretty good, but of course there are sometimes communication breakdowns, like when I said her food was so good she was going to make us fat. She thought I meant I was literally worried that her food was making me fat (something that only westerners are concerned about) so I wasn't ging to eat it, which of course would make her feel bad. I laughed and tried to explain my joke. I realized that jokes in english are tough for english language learners.

Trakuan is 31 and has been working here for five years. She lives in a suite under Marie's house. When asking about working for Marie, she almost couldn't speak. You could hear her heart swelling at the thought of Marie, making her emotions cloud the right words to say in english. She met Marie through a US couple that was helping her find work. Trakuan told us she prayed to God to help her find a place where she could work with people and learn to cook. In a dream, she saw Marie. When she finally met her she was blown away and knew that she was supposed to work at Rescue.It has been an amazing place to be. She truly believes that God brought her and Marie together, and I'm sure Marie feels the same. Blessings are sometimes bittersweet though. Wistfully, Trakuan said she is sad she didn't come to Marie as a younger woman so she would have maybe had the chance to go to school. At the age of ten her mother died and she began to work. She never had the chance to go to school. She can read her language, but cannot write. At night and in the morning she tries to study on her own and is slowly making progress.

Meeting Trakuan has really touched our hearts. She is selfless and caring-- we watched her work tirelessly to look after not only us, but her friends and others around the compound. She is soft spoken but light hearted. We enjoyed listening to her sing Cambodian songs while she cooked for us and laughed along with her everytime she broke out into a hearty laugh. We are grateful to have made a new friend!

Along with getting to know Trakuan better, we have also had the opportunity to meet some of the youth and I was lucky to be able to be part of some of the English classes, which I feel has really impacted me both spiritually and professionally.

There have been some really amazing moments here at Rescue, so instead of cramming them all into this post I will write them into the next one.

Stay tuned!

Captions:

1. The view from Marie's veranda.
2. Sunset.
3. Marie's house.
4. Neighbours harvesting rice by hand.
5. The aids houses and road leading in.
6. Grandma Frog
7. Trakuan and Steve
8. The stair chair.

Cambodia: Place of Rescue (Prolouge)

A few years ago, a woman came to visit our church to share the work she was doing overseas in Cambodia. Her presentation was so inspiring that we find ourselves sitting in her home, writing this blog entry.

Her name is Marie Ens; this year she turns 80 years old. Originally from Canada, she began working in Cambodia in the 60's. That's roughly 50 years.

The History of Cambodia:

To give you some perspective on the type of work Marie does, I would like to share some facts about Cambodia. Known for the amazing temples of Angkor, Cambodia was once a mighty empire that ruled much of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. However, the golden age of Cambodia crumbled with the fall of the ancient Angkor empire, and in modern times has seen war, genocde, and poverty. It is one of the poorest countries in Asia, with the average Cambodian living on 2 dollars a day. In 1962, Vice President Nixon authorized the secret bombing of Cambodia in order to aid the US fight with the Vietnamese in the Vietnam war, which killed 250,000 Cambodians (It's important to note that Cambodia was not part of the war, it was a neutral country). In 1975 a guerrilla warfare group lead by Pol Pot, called the Khmer Rouge, marched into Phnom Penh (the capital) and turned the whole country into a prison. In 1977 he ordered a purge of the nation's educated citizens in order to turn the country into a peasant's republic-- basically the country could operate under complete communist rule without any blowbacks from the educated population. It is unknown how many people died, but work being done to calculate the loss estimates it was close to 2 million. In 1979 the Vietnamese army liberated Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge, sending the red party into hiding, but not surrender. For the next three years there was a famine because of the dislocation of the rural populations-- no rice was planted to feed the popultion-- and many people died. Civil wars against the retreating Khmer Rouge continued until 1991, when the UN finally stepped in and supervised an election. The aftermath of the war was devastating. There was no infrastructure left. The educated people were tortured and killed. With the arrival of the UN came hope, but it also brought AIDS/HIV, courtesy of UN soldiers.
(Dates and timeline from Lonely Planet Travel Guide)

In Cambodia today, the scars of the war are still raw. People walk around deformed becasue of bombs and landmines. In Khmer culture, children of the elderly care for them, but here many do not have living children. There is an army of kids roaming the streets because their parents lived through such tragic and incomprehensible events that the cycle of suffering continues. One article referred to Cambodia as being in a collective state of post traumatic stress disorder, and I think that description is apt. Child soldiers now have children. People are numb and the mighty dollar is ruler. Cambodia is the world's hot spot for sex trafficking, especially of children and infants. Kids are sold into brothels. By day, they play in the street and act like normal kids. At night, they are abused so violently and horrifically that it's amazing they survive. While prostitution is illegal in Cambodia, the police are corrupt and police-mafia rings are the major driving force of these brothels. When a child escapes, it is more likely that the police will find them and return them for a fee, rather than rescuing them and demanding justice.

I don't write this to depress you or sensationalize the state of the country. I simply think that context is important.

Place of Rescue:

After serving as a missionary for most of her life, Marie, a widow, was asked by the agency supporting her missions work to retire and come home, as she was in her sixties. She did, but felt Cambodia was her true home. She returned to live on her pension in Cambodia, and with a group of compassionate Cambodian friends started caring for people dying of AIDS. The group soon realized a harsh reality--AIDS victims leave people behind, especially children. Soon she founded the Place of Rescue. It provides a range of care including an orphanage, AIDS hospice care, and elderly care.

After living in Cambodia for so long, Marie truly recognizes the need for sustainability. Fluent in Khmer language and culture, Marie understands that what Cambodia needs is moral, educated Cambodian citizens. To ensure that Rescue preserves the intricacies of Cambodian culture, everything is done by Camodians. Marie is the only expat permanently living on site at Rescue 1. The only work western volunteers are allowed to participate in are the occasional summer english camps and 3 month English teaching stints. The rest of the work is done by locals. There is a local council that oversees operations and local staff take care of all building, mantience, childcare, etc. This creates jobs as well as helps the community to become a part of the work being done.

Currently there are 3 rescue sites. Marie has a small house at the main site just outside of Phnom Pehn. At this site there are around 200 children. The kids are mainly AIDS orphans and victims. Within the grounds, the actual operation is a tightly run ship. The children are assessed, and placed into houses. Each house is ran by a "house mum", who acts as a foster mother. However, to the kids, she is simply "mom". These women are paid a fair Cambodian salary, but some began their time at Rescue as AIDS victims seeking help, and are now able to live a healthy and active life because of medical care. Each house has 10 children. The kids attend school, Khmer public school, as well as English lessons supplied on site. The children in these houses stay in their homes and operate as a family unit until they are ready for University or the workforce. The kids receive continued care, training, and support after they are ready to move on. There is a university house in Phnom Phen called House of Dreams that helps kids transition into life outside of Rescue.

Aside from orphans, Place of Rescue also cares for destitute grannies who would otherwise be homeless. It also sponsors AIDS families. Small houses on site contain entire families that require support because illness. This is an amazing way to keep families together while also providing hospice care. Altogether Place of Rescue houses over 500 people, and Marie's goal is to keep the number rising.

To keep this amazing place going, there is a Canadian foundation branch of Place of Rescue that collects donations and funding and manages the funds. It is run by Marie's son in Law, Blaine, who lives in Calgary.

What I love about this centre is the incredible heart that the people involved have, and that the goals are to empower people, create loving communities, and be ethically accountable. Sadly, while the numbers of orphans in Cambodia are decreasing, the amount of children in orphanages are increasing. This is thanks to volunteer tourism, a black niche market aimed at getting tourists to visit orphanages and donate food and supplies. Often the children are abused, do not attend school so they can dance and entertain tourists, and some are separated from their families illegitimately to gain more numbers. Supplies and food are sold back to the stores and the money fills the hands of the mafia. Thankfully, Place of Rescue is a well run and accountable organization, and is a great model of effective, sustainable help in Cambodia. To avoid supporting the shadier orphanages, researched and ethical volunteering is important. NGOs and organizations should be transparent and accountable to a legitimate partnered organization or accredited.

Now that you have been introduced to Marie, Cambodia, and Place of Rescue, stay tuned for the next post: Our adventure at Place of Rescue!



For more information on Place of Rescue, please visit:

http://www.placeofrescue.com/