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In August of last year, I joined a 10-day UNION trip to Pursat, Cambodia. We were a group of HOPE staff and Japanese University students from Nagoya University.
We spent our time working with local people, making lifelong friendships, and learning about their lifestyles in an experience that changed our own lives.
What did we do?
- We dug wells. This was the main objective of our trip. This involved digging dirt to make the cement flooring that surrounded the well and hauling buckets of dirt and rocksto the site. We were supported by the local people who made the work fun and interesting.
- We visited an orphanage. Due to a war-torn history and the level of poverty in Cambodia, many children have been orphaned or abandoned. Diseases such as HIV haveleft thousands of children parentless. Compared to an HIV death rate of 500 in Japan, the rate is 15,000 in Cambodia.
- We spent a day clearing land for farming. We were surrounded by giggling children who helped us load up and carry grass and shrubs to garbage sites.
- Lack of educational facilities is a problem in Cambodia. HOPE Union members from Canada and Japan worked on several schools in Pursat in the short time we werethere. In turn, we spent a lot of time with children at the orphanages and at a local church, where we taught them crafts.
- Spending time at the local markets. We were able to make friends with the friendly locals and explore the small town of Pursat. We even had free time for a bit ofsightseeing to round off our trip.
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