Writing reports at work

January 12th

I am feeling better today afterall, despite the horrible start this morning. I cannot believe they start weddings at 4 am. And it went on until noon!! I just went past them after lunch and they were sweeping away and putting away the tables. Needless to say I gave them "the look". Not only is Khmer music horrible, well for the western ears anyway, but the sound was awful. I was so loud that the quality was so poor. After about 10, the music was replaced b a guy on the microphone making some kind of quiz. All we would hear was "nom say beit net ahay? Baaaaaaht!" It sounded like my Learn Khmer CD Rom, when the guy asks me a question and then goes Baaaaht!!

But anyway, I got cracking on my first report, the temporary street children center in Psar Depot. This one is intended for one of the donors of that report, which is Terre des Hommes Germany. They are this annoying NGO which want their report in a specific format. KT usually likes to make reports with stories, interviews, loads of pictures etc. But this one, no, no, or rather nein, nein, they want objectives, indicators, outputs, results, reasons for deviation, assessment and ways to improve project. It's got a whole guideline on how they want the report done, with the number of lines each sub category should have. It's a pain. How "strange" that I'm the one stuck with this one to do. But anyway, I looked at how the previous report was done and it was such a mess. Stuff didn't fit at all in the categories it was under. So I decided to start a bran new one and I did this table with in one column the objective, then indicators, then how it was carried out, then result. I showed that to Corinne and she was impressed. I'm so formatted from the Commission and UNHCR. Like I kept writing stuff like "best interest of the child" I got that from UNHCR, they call it BID (best interest of the child determinator). And the indicators were my favorite. I got loads of practice with those at the OECD…

I went to walk around the area where I live during lunch. Last time I went walking around Kampuchea Krom Blvd and Mao Tse Tung Blvd. This time I went around the inside, on the off beaten tracks. There's not much there. Just poor families sitting on the ground with dishes in a basin full of water and babies in krama-hammacs. I didn't go too long at it is boiling hot at that time of the day. You must check on the internet what temperature it is. I'm saying 35 or something. The coolest I had so far was 29 the day before yesterday and today it feels much hotter.

Yeah so things are looking ok today. In guess I'll keep having ups and downs. Usually I'm feeling down in the evening because I have no one to talk to, whereas at work it's a bit more lively. When I was walking around the poor street around where I live this lunch time I was thinking how I really love this country, despite the fact that it was cooking, making the nasty smell even worse, and That people were looking at me like I was a Martian. I went past a school and saw the kids in recess, and they were so cute, then I went past a busy road and saw the mess it was with its cars and motos and cycles going against the flow and it just made me laugh inside. When I'm in this mood, I can easily say to myself, this is not that bad, I can pull myself together when I feel down and do some painting or go to the center nand do something on my own. The problem is that when I'm not feeling well, I can't hear that voice saying that to me.
Anyway, I need to got back to work. I'll finish this letter afterwards.

So this afternoon I went to two more centers in the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Man, I wish I could just work on the field. It's just too amazing for words. We went to Takhmao where there is 1 protection center and 2 familial houses. A protection center is a permanent center for orphans, abandoned kids and street kids who could not be reintegrated into their families for a reason or another (wheras the center I went to 2 days ago was a temporary center for street children, where they are schooled, taken care of all day and where a long-term solution is found). They go to normal school, have some activities at the center. Today there was a dentist visit and a danse class while we were there. The kids are just adorable. When they see our while 4x4 arrive they all rush to us with their huge smile and they all say with their little voices chum reab sua, chum reab sua with their hands joined. Their eyes are sparkly, you can see their happy kids. They followed me around everywhere ask me questions in Khmer or in English if they are older and they are so proud to ask their questions in English. They always ask me the same question, first how old I am, they if I'm married. Young girls, old men, teachers, everyone I've met always asks me that.

I also met Wanna, the mascot of KT. He's this blind kid that was in Site 2 in Thailand and who was badly maltreated and exploited by a trafficker. KT took him at he's a the origin of the 8 blind and deaf schools KT created. The only ones in Cambodia. It also created a sign language news programme on national TV. Anyway, the guy is now 23 and is a music teacher at the center. He showed us his keyboard. He can play, and teaches, any Cambodia musical instrument. But recently he formed a rock ban and started the piano. He casually walked to his piano as if he was completely sighted. Turned in on, and played this Cambodian pop tune like it was the easiest thing it the world. I had tears in my eyes. It was so annoying. I'd heard about this kid so much, even before I'd started here, about how he was so badly maltreated he couldn't walk and everything. It was amazing.

Then we went to a familial house. These are quite a popular programs for donors of KT. They are intended for kids who have suffered events so traumatizing that living in a protection center which holds about 40 to 50 kids would not be the appropriate structure. So KT builds a house in the outskirts of a big city, hires a couple which will live in the house and take care, as if it were its own children about 9 or 10 KT kids. That was so amazing too. Here too the kids welcomed us with their smiles and their bows. The mom had 2 kids of her own and 10 adopted one. I couldn't tell them apart to save my life. The youngest one, Minia was the most adorable kid ever. He was just too cute. He was crawling around everywhere, kissing and hugging his adoptive mom, saying cute things all the time and being cheekier than the cheekiest cambodian monkey. He said to me Bang Srey Sa-at, which means pretty girl. Then he came and sat on my laps and then asked me if I wanted a banana and dragged me by the hand to the banana trees. When I left he even gave me a kiss on the cheek! Adorable. The older girls were so sweet too. Showing me how well they spoke English (I asked them: How old are you? And both of them answer I'm fine thank you!) and asking me if I have a boyfriend. They look so happy and épanoui in this home, and thinking these were all kids victim of traffic or kids from prisons in Bangkok. The idea behind these houses is that kids need a family structure in harmony with the traditional Khmer family to have a happy life. They don't have a luxurious house, maybe all them share two bedrooms. But that's how families live here. They all interacted with eachother as if they were real brothers and sisters, playing like little monkeys in our pick up truck. It was just amazing. It really made me happy to be part of an organisation which makes an important difference in the lives of so many kids.

I'm going to Uriel's Saturday afternoon. Turns out Corinne knows him well as he works for the same company as her husband. Small world…