Santepheap

When I decided to spend a fair bit of time in Siem Reap, I knew right away that I wanted to spend some time at an orphanage or a children's home to volunteer. It was extremely evident in my past visit to Cambodia that street children are of abundance here. It's really hard to see because, at one moment you are captivated by the beauty and culture of Cambodia, and then in the next moment, a child in tattered clothing, with a newborn slung across her shoulder, is quite aggressively tugging at your arm, following you around and begging for food or money. It's extremely hard to ignore, but all tourists are forewarned not to give in to this behavior, or else you are condoning a life of begging rather than education. Luckily, Cambodia has numerous NGO's and schools for these children to better their lives. So the second part of my Siem Reap tour was less about touristy fun, and more about children. And let's be real, kids can be a whole lot more fun than any tourist site.

A couple months back I had heard about one particular children's home, The Cambodian Children's House of Peace (Santepheap), and so I applied to volunteer there for a week. When I arrived, I was immediately, within seconds, told to teach English class. Fortunately I have experience here, so I wasn't completely thrown off. The kids were so incredibly welcoming and so smart. They are aged 10-19 years old, and they are either orphaned or else their families cannot afford to raise them. So, they come to Santepheap to form one large family. There are a little over 30 kids and they truly act like one big family, teasing each other, eating all of their meals together, playing games together and doing chores together. They are continuously looking out for one another. Their English skills were really impressive and they didn't hesitate to joke around with me and hassle me. I loved it. Some of the younger ones couldn't quite master my name, and decided calling me 'NearOppositeFar' was much easier. Riiight.  I was so blown away with not only their openness to me, but also to their constant positive attitudes. Their home is not very big....15 boys share two small rooms, with only a few mats to share. Some sleep in hammocks out the rear of the rooms. With the recent flooding, their outdoor areas were ruined, and instead of playing football in their spare time, they created traps to catch fish in their new "lake." They eat a variation of the same meal everyday. They learn English through one photo-copied book. But none of this bothers them. Rather, they were filled with happiness. Some of them couldn't even contain themselves and would spend the hours singing and dancing around. It was such a great experience working with them and getting to know some of these children. They seemed to enjoy my presence as well, getting really into the games we played and spending time with me in their free time. I really wish I could have spent more time there because it's really obvious that they are a special group of kids.

My favorite part, however, was seeing these kids perform in the weekly Sunday night dance show. Many of the orphanages in the area put these on, and I attended a few, but seeing the kids from Santepheap dancing, singing, and all dressed in traditional attire was definitely the highlight of my week. They just looked so happy to be up on stage and it was so sweet to watch. I wish I could stress how little these kids live with, but you would never know with their optimistic attitudes. The home could really use any help available, so I highly suggest you check out their website, and if you're feeling a little charitable, donate a few dollars.

The Cambodian Children's House of Peace