Miu Ling a missionary from Hong Kong invited us to join her
on a trip to Prek Thei village in Kandal province. She goes every week to visit one of the three
centers set up outside of Phnom Penh.
Miu Ling explained that the Free Methodist Church sets up a church in an
area then a center. The centers provide
two meals a day, education, and health services for impoverished children in
the village up to grade 9. Morgan and I
rode in the back of a covered truck while Emilie sat in the front. Green fields of rice, palm trees, and low
lying wetlands came as a refreshing contrast to our time in the city. We walked back a dirt road passing stilted
houses, pigs, cows, baby ducks, and hammocks.
The environment was calmer and cooler.
Morgan commented, “It feels like we’re walking through a movie right
now.”
A two story cement building serves as the school and
cafeteria for over 50 children, known as House of Love. We tried to sneak in
the back door to avoid disrupting the lesson.
The teacher greeted us with hands together; which caused the children to
turn around in their wooden tables. I
was surprised that the students did not act out upon seeing us, as we have
experienced in other countries. They
stayed quietly in their seats. Miu Ling
asked us to help the teacher with testing.
The teacher would say a sentence and the children were asked to write it
in their notebooks. We were to make sure
no one was cheating. The Khemer writing
looked so difficult and detailed. I
noticed a few students peering onto their neighbor’s paper, but did not have
the heart move them to a separate table.
When the test was completed Miu Ling asked us if we wanted
to play games with the students. Emilie,
Morgan, and I pulled out the ever-trusty songs of Ah Tootie Tat, Head and
Shoulders. After we sang Ah Tootie Tat
where we stick up our thumbs, stick out our tongues, and spin around, the
students shared a song with us. The
Khmer song was a much cooler version of Ah Tootie Tat with better rhythm and
more motions.
We finished out the
activity time with the games Red Light Green Light and Duck-Duck-Goose. Both games were a hit, but I felt so old when
I couldn’t spring to my feet like the kids during Duck-Duck Goose.
After the games the
kids orderly lined up to sing songs, pray, and recite some verses before lunch. Lunch consisted of rice, vegetables, eggs,
and sauce. As the students devoured the
hot meal we talked with the teacher.
She
asked us to pray that the students would continue to stay in school rather than
dropping out to work in the factory, “Students drop out at grade 6 to work in
the local garment factory rather than continuing their education.” I learned that factory workers make $70 to
$80 a month for 40 hour work weeks. The
cost of living is lower in Cambodia than the US, but the factory workers are
only making 43 to 50 cents an hour. I
can understand that parents want their children to help bring in income. Many Khmer people eventually end up working
in a factory, so they make more money by beginning a factory career early. But, factory work would make an awfully repetitive
life.
We took some final pictures with the kids then said
goodbye. On the way back to Phnom Penh
we passed groups of women headed to work in the garment factories. Morgan,
Emilie, and I discussed child labor and low wages. We wondered about which companies use
Cambodian laborers and how we could prevent unfair labor. No conclusions were made from our discussion. A few hours later we visited the Russian
market where we found Abercrombie, Aeropostale, Gap, J. Crew, H& M, and
Hollister clothing. I don’t know if all
of the brands are made here in Cambodia, but all of the clothing was being sold
for a few dollars. I feel like I am
becoming more aware of the issue of low wages, but I have not formed an opinion
or know what should be done.
