Transforming Cambodia

Welcome to the Cambodia Partnership Blog

Leonard De Rooy — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:46:48 GMT

This blog is from our Interim Class, January of 2008. Like most blogs, it is in reverse chronological order so you will need to navigate down to the "first" entry to start at the beginning of this course. One way to do this, is to change the filter setting on the right of this screen from Show “15 entries” to Show “all entries” then after all the entries load up scroll down to our first date.

Many of the entries were written by the Calvin College students that were there, so as you read the blog, you can get a feeling for what the students were experiencing. Please note that all the “contests” listed in this blog are now closed :-)

David Dornbos and I are planning on taking another class to Cambodia in January of 2010 and then continue to offer it every other year.

We are currently in the process of developing material (web based and print based) that outlines what we are doing in Cambodia. If you wish to learn more about how God is working in Cambodia, then please feel free to contact me:

Leonard De Rooy
Engineering Department
Calvin College
lderooy@calvin.edu
616-526-6372

good trip

Jason Dornbos — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:43:37 GMT

It has been a good trip.

Winding down...

Jenn Bosma — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:06:02 GMT

Before we prepare to jump back into our own culture, we've been filling the last week in Cambodia with some great activities.

Yesterday morning a smaller group of students went to DAIL, a Korean run organization in the outskirts of Siem Reap. Each day they feed 300+ children lunch. Some of the children eat their only meal of the day in this place. We looked around the community before beginning our work to see the village school and some specific families DAIL supports. It's amazing to see such large organizations making personal connections within communities here. When we got into the building, kids were already lined up to eat, some on their way back from school's morning shift, some on their way to the afternoon shift. They were as energetic as ever, hardly able to maintain a line in the center of the room. When we finally began feeding, the organization was incredible, and we fed all 300 in 25 minutes. It was intense, but a great team to be a part of.

This morning was a bit more leisurely, as some of us rented bikes to explore Siem Reap a little differently. Transportation in Cambodia is always an adventure, and this situation was no different. While some chose to rent a mountain bike, others went for the "simple bike," with a basket and all. (Bonus!) When we hit the countryside, we quickly found these bikes were not built for off roading, but we also found a beautiful landscape. (And we posed for our very own North Face advertisement.) It was a great time!

Thanks for the prayers and support on our Asian adventure-- See you soon!

Post on January 23 2008

Unknown User — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 07:42:06 GMT

Its so crazy to think that this trip is almost done. In some ways it feels like we just arrived, but in others it feels that we are quite settled and at home here. These last few days of our trip are pretty free for us to chose what we want to do. This morning, a small group of us walked to the NIBC kintergarden to help the Korean students paint a mural on the wall. It is so nice to work with students from outside the Calvin community on this trip. There are some differences, but we serve the same Lord and in that we can unite and do wonderful things. We've gotten to know a ton of people on this trip, and it will be very hard to say goodbye. Some of the Koreans, and the Cambodian students we had to leave in Phnom Pehn, but there are still many we will have to leave in the next few days. The most rewarding part of the trip for me has been the personal relationships created through working and worshiping together. The natural wonder of the countryside and the ancient glory of the Angkor wat temples has been quite something, but none of that can compare with the beauty of the people in this place.

Post on January 23 2008

Unknown User — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:19:11 GMT

Today, a few of us went to another kindergarten this morning (which was also set up by the NIBC) The tuk-tuk ride over there was quite the ride! The driver had a difficult time on these impassable roads. Some of them were so dusty and sandy that we had to get out of the tuk-tuk a few times and walk so the tuk-tuk could pass through. Once we got to the site of the kindergarten, we had to help unpack everything and make the space look like a classroom (there is a problem w/ theft) A few of us played with the children before class started. There were less than 20 4-6 yr olds in the actual class, but the brothers and the sisters of the students wanted to learn, too. So a few people taught the older children ABC's and numbers in a different area. The rest of us played and sang songs with the class. The class wasn't as structured as the other NIBC kindergarten, but they made do with the resources they had. I did have a lot of fun playing and interacting with the children!

Nora Wallace

Return flight information

Leonard De Rooy — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 04:14:01 GMT

Here is our return flight information for those of you that are interested

On Friday morning, we will travel by bus back to Bangkok. We leave Seam Reap at 7:15am and need to check into the airport by 11:30pm. S60o we have lots of additional buffer time to account for some unkowns.

We will be on the following flights (local times shown)

Bangkok to Seoul: Korean Air flight 660 Leave Bangkok at 2:50am on Saturday January 26 - Arrive at Seoul at 9:50am Seoul time

Seoul to Chicago: Korean Air flight 37 Leave Seoul at 11:40am (Seoul time) arrive at Chicago at 9:15am Chicago time.

Note that all these times are on the same day - it will be a loooong day

After going through customs etc we will take our motorcoach back to Calvin and should arrive at the Spoelhof building (by the flagpole) somewhere between 2:00 and 3:00 pm. Many of our students have a cell phone and they should be capable of receiving calls once we get outside of the Chicago airport (assuming that they remembered to charge them up after not using them all month :-) )

Once back home, we all have 2.5 days to adjust to the time change and something called snow - I hear it is something that is white and cold....

Regards,

Leonard De Rooy

Post on January 22 2008

Unknown User — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:56:01 GMT

It's almost time to return home, and I feel like we are just getting to be familiar with the city, people, and culture. After meeting with different Cambodian people, going through an immersion experience, and visiting another village today, I think we are beginning to get a more comprehensive look at the rural life here, but there is so much left to learn. This entire trip has been not just a ''good experience'' but something that will impact all of us for a long time, if not the rest of our lives. I know I will never forget these cities, villages, and the faces of Cambodia.

There are two days left, and I have no doubt that there will be even more unexpected happenings, and unforgettable memories. Events to come include visiting a kindergarten, a particularly poverty-stricken village (even by Cambodian standards), and a group of engineers are going to check out an ancient man-made lake. Many of us are also planning to do some biking around Siem Reap. And who knows what else will happen in those two days-- after all, it is Cambodia.

-- Emily Pavlich

Post on January 22 2008

Unknown User — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:35:44 GMT

Well today was a sort of low key day for us in Siem Reap! We divided into three groups and went to different villages, 2 groups went with the U.N. to deliver gifts for the local children and blankets for families, in Cambodia right now it is winter so for the locals it can get cold-but to us it is hottt!!!. The third group went to serve food in a local village. I went with the group that visited the village that was farthest from Siem Reap. We went into the local church and got to pass out the gifts and play with the children! Then we had coconut juice with some of the families and got to look at their farm work. Then we came back and relaxed! Hope all is well back in the cold! Keep us all in your prayers! Caitlin Vanella

Monday and Tuesday

Leonard De Rooy — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:35:19 GMT

We Spent some time with the FAO(Food and Agriculture Organization of teh United Nations). On Monday, they gave us some presentations in the Siem Reap office about the Tonle Sap enbvironment Mangement Project. On Tuesday we broke up into three groups. Two went to villages near Siem Reap (our group went to a Christian Village) and the third group went to a food line to serve food to more than 200 children in 30 minutes.

Here is a great way to carry pigs on a 125cc motocycle.

Children sang to us at the church

we handed out packages to the children and blankets to the parents (we have to remember that it IS winter for them)

Someone from the village cut down some coconuts for us. We found that there is a LOT of milk in a coconut!

Annie worked very hard to finish her coconut :-)

Regards,

Leonard De Rooy

On the Road Again

Unknown User — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:15:36 GMT

After hearing horror stories about Cambodian bus rides from both professors, we considered ourselves lucky - until yesterday. Our trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap was far from uneventful. Aside from being really hot (which was expected) we had to pull over when our bus broke. Six times. Each time, our bus driver (who spoke no English) had to crawl inside the back of the bus and rig something up so we could make it another ten minutes. Miraculously, after the 6th stop, it must have really worked! The rest of the trip went smoothly. Except for when we almost hit a cow. And when we saw a giant bucket of tarantulas at the rest stop. And when water started pouring out of the air vents. But other than that it was great! As Jenn so kindly reminded us: None of our luggage fell out, we didn't get in an accident, and no rabid dogs snuck on the bus. So I guess I can't complain!

Toul Sleng and the Killing Fields

Jason Dornbos — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 06:53:58 GMT

Today we visited the killing fields and S.21, the headquarters for the Khmer Rouge where they tortured and murdered 17,000 people.

Arriving at the Killing Field, it was hot, and we payed our 2 dollars a person to get in. I had been told that there was a display of 8000 skulls, so I was looking for that. Then I realized that it was in the tall building in front of me. skull upon skull. All of them dirty and haunting. All of them were screaming at me. The holes where their eyes had once been were panic stricken as the life was sucked out of them 30 years ago. These people were not killed nicely. They were unloaded off a truck and brought to a previously dug hole and beaten, shot, or stabbed. Then the poisonous chemical DDT was poured over the whole lot. It took care of the smell of the freshly killed bodies. Many times, people weren't completely dead, but the DDT took care of that. There was a tree that had a sign that called it the "Killing Tree". They would beat children against it.

We then went to Toul Sleng (S.21). 14 people were found dead on their torture beds. The photos of how they were found were on the walls in the rooms. Toul Sleng was once a high school before it was transformed into the headquarters to hell. 3 million people were killed in the Khmer Rouge era. That is more than the amount of people killed by Hitler and the Nazi's. Walking through the rooms that once held learning children, the floors were stained by the blood of innocent Cambodians. There were photos of the dead. There were skulls in displays that showed how some were killed. Some skulls had simple bullet holes. Some had been beaten and fractured. Some were badly mutilated. It is unspeakable the things that happened in the place that I walked today. Pray for the healing of these Cambodian people.

(Contest) update

Leonard De Rooy — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:42:38 GMT

Well, the group has made it "back home" to Siem Reap. I (Prof De Rooy) arrived a day early to attend a meeting, while Prof Dornbos and the students arrived today. Here is a blurb from him about the trip (as it relates to the distance from PP to SR):

" From the Peace Bridge ... its precisely 312 km. 315 from "the Riverside". I know each of these km's well b/c having just arrived back in Siem Reap safely with everyone, am reflecting on how slowed each km ticked by (there are concrete markers every km). They ticked by slowly b/c our bus broke down something like 7-8 times (fuel pump I think). Each time the driver/mechanic disappeared into the engine compartment he was able to get the dud bus to run about 10-20 km's. After 4 hours, we made 140 km. Then the bus wouldn't start. After several retries in the back, he got it running and it stayed running ... he kept the rpms high all the way to S Reap w/o another stop. So the motto, "go with the flow" certainly did apply. In the end, a good experience."

After they arrived, many of us went to the Blue Pumpkin for fruit shakes and something to eat.

We had the following winners for the distance question: Dave and LuAnn Horstman, Al Lindsten, and David Goodman.

Tomorrow we will spend the day with the UN office here in Siem Reap.

Regards,

Leonard De Rooy

Post on January 19 2008

Leonard De Rooy — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 01:27:35 GMT

Here is a youtube video clip of traffic in a typical PP intersection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0Z1wYC7zxw

One of the amazing things that I saw in PP was a drivers training vehicle...

Regards,

Leonard

Post on January 19 2008

Unknown User — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 13:04:44 GMT

Hey all,

I cannot believe how fast this 3 weeks is flying by. I am beginning to fall in love with Cambodia (the people definitely, the food and plants, but not so much the heat and the smells...since, as you may be aware, no cities or provinces in Cambodia have adequate waste treatment or collection systems. This is probably something I wouldnt ever really get used to!)

We leave Phnom Penh tomorrow after worshiping at a Khmer church...which I''m looking forward to, except for the fact that I will have to say goodbye (which I haven't mastered in Khmer) to the RULE students and An-yong to the HIL Korean students. After a week in PP, I have almost gotten the rhythm of crossing streets that have no traffic signals or enforced laws of any sort. We have seen a LOT, and I'm just starting to process it all. I'm praying that God will guide us as we unpack some of this. (e.g. the genocide museum and sights today from the Khmer Rouge regime, the need for education and civil works projects like solid waste management, and the continued corruption and injustices even in the stable/peaceful constitutional monarchy right now.) So don't be surprised if we all come back needing to talk through some things...

We have one more week, which we will spend back in Siem Reap. I'm not sure what the schedule is, but I never really have known too far in advance and it has all been good so far!

Continue praying for my classmates and me...

Thanks!

Val Horstman

Post on January 19 2008

Elizabeth Smit — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 12:56:38 GMT

Today we went to the killing fields and the toulsleng museum, which is the largest prison and torture center. It was awful what was done here. This country was a very developed country and it was reduced basically to the stone age, there is nothing here. No sewage system, no garbage system, no infrastructure at all, no education. It's terrible. And even worse, America is responsible for a huge amount of death here. We bombed this country with the effect of 5 Hiroshima's. We killed millions before the Khmer Rouge even came to power and they were hailed for defeating us and then immediately evacuated all cities on the pretense that the US was going to bomb them. There is so much history here that I knew nothing about. And then we went to the Royal Palace, which contains more treasure than I have ever seen in my life and it was just beautiful. So to see the two extremes in one day was a little draining. I have a lot of journaling to catch up on to record everything.

-Elizabeth Smit

A visit to RULE

Unknown User — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 12:55:42 GMT

Yesterday, a few of the Calvin students decided to visit RULE (Royal University of Law and Economics) with our Cambodian friends. It was amazing to get to see a university in a country so different from our own. It turns out that our friends were ditching class to hang out with us, so we ended up actually visiting that class. It was a bit awkward at first since we didn't know that we were going to be brought into a class and had no idea what to say to the other students. Then they started asking us questions about Calvin and our majors and then we asked them some questions and it was really interesting. After vising the class, we got to see Vandenn's office (he's one of the ELIC teachers that we've been hanging out with). He says that the 9 ELIC profs that work at RULE are some of the only ones that get an office. They also have a small English language library that he says is really helpful in getting to know students better and in a deeper way. Overall, I thought the school was nice, but I could tell that the classes are really large. I think that if any of the RULE students ever visited Calvin, they would be completely shocked by how new and nice all of our classrooms are. I wish we could have spent more time than just an hour there and that all of the Calvin students could have been there, but I'm glad it worked out for some of us.

Contest Update

Leonard De Rooy — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 11:01:09 GMT

We have a winner of the last contest - Bob Dornbos (Jason's Dad) indicated correctly that the item pictured was a screw type pump. The advantage of using this type pump instead of a typical impeller type pump is that you get the same amount of volume pumped with one rotation of the motor regardless of the speed of the motor. This system works well for solar applications.

Here is another contest question:

The group will be travelling by bus from PP back to Siem Reap on Sunday. The trip will take about 6 hours. How many kilometers is this distance?

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Regards,

Leonard De Rooy

Photo Updates

Leonard De Rooy — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 10:53:24 GMT

Early morning in the kindergarten

Some of the students braved the hot early sun and played volleyball

We then went to the slums of PP

All the houses were built on a lake of raw sewage - we all prayed that the board walk would hold.

We watched a self-help group discuss micro financing. The members all contribute 500 Riel (4000Riel=$1USD) and then they could borrow money from the group for projects. The biggest problem of the group is that almost everyone in the group was illiterate.

They proudly showed us their books. Once they have established the books and have been self sustaining for a few months, the NGO would donate some additional funds.

Later we went to another village to discuss gender issues. The ladies and our students had a great discussion covering things from equal rights, birth control and how things were in Cambodia and the USA.

That evening we went to a restaurant called "No Problem" The food was good and I think we were the biggest group they have ever had. The only problem was that they did not have a menu in english, so Prof DeRooy discussed options with the head waiter and they made us a great meal - No Problem!.....

Val had her first taste of squid and chicken necks.

Pit Toilet

Leonard De Rooy — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:39:04 GMT

Here is an example of a pit toilet.

I have not heard from anyone about the last contest (identify the item in the photo).

Regards,

Leonard

Post on January 17 2008

Amanda Hollinger — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:35:44 GMT

Today was our last day to be split into multiple groups. Five of our group ( the on that didn't go to the village) went to work with "Doctors without Borders" today. They seemed to have had a great time working with the Cambodian doctors in the gov't hospital and western doctors in the private hospital. The rest of our group learned about a CRWRC supported organization that works with people living in the slums here. In the morning we sat in on their saving group meeting. community families voluntarily join and agree to contribute at least 500 riel(~12 cents) per month. The CRWRC trains local Cambodians to lead the project and from there its all Cambodians leading/helping Cambodians. I was shocked by the conditions in the slims. All the (tiny) homes were built on stilts and constructed of corragated metal and scrap wood. the path between the homes was a rickety boardwalk that I constantly worried was going to collapse beneath us. the worst part was that the boardwalk and stilts were there because there was a lake/rive of open sewage beneath them, so there were bugs everywhere.

After an interesting lunch, we went to another poor area to join a gender issues group meeting. they organized roles into essential useful and not useful (I'm changing the titles because I can't remember the original ones they used). the mone-earning (male) roles were useful and the ones that did not bring money into the household often went into the other category. After the discussion wrapped up they allowed the Cambodians and Americans to ask one another questions through the translator. We covered a wide range of gender topics in cultural, and legal areas and found many similarities in the gender issues we face.

Rural Village Life

Unknown User — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 07:13:49 GMT

I just got back from an incredible immersion experience into the culture of rural Cambodia. We hopped a van about two hours away from Phnom Penh and endured the bumpiest dirt roads yet to get out to a remote village. We were welcomed by the community church, which is being partnered with the CRWRC to develop sustainable resources in the village. We visited nearby villages and learned about new rice farming techniques that can double production with less effort put into the crop. We also tasted delicious sugar that was handmade in the village from the palm trees. Some of the other things going on for development are raising poultry and swine. We ate rice three meals a day and slept in a bungalow on rattan mats inside mosquito netting. That was quite an experience. The first night I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom(fortunately there was one!) and got to see the most incredible display of stars. It was truly amazing. We woke up to roosters crowing at dawn after not much sleep on the floor ( a cool experience, but not that comfortable). I rode on the back of one of the local's dirt bikes to another village where we sat in on a CRWRC seminar for small business owners. After a few days in the bush, our hotel is practically five star! I would have to say the most shocking thing in the village was the dances at night in the church building. Nearly the whole community gets together for dancing to Cambodian MTV and karaoke! They fire up the generator and blast the speakers and it was a blast.

-Jonathan Cooper

Contest

Leonard De Rooy — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:12:38 GMT

David Goodwin was the first to answer the last contest: David Dornbos and his team are living in a small village checking out the farmers that are experiminting with a one-stem rice system called SRI (System Rice Intensification). Basically the farmer would transplant a single stem (instead 4 or 5 stems) and also plant them further apart. So you plant less rice further apart and get more yield.

Here is another question for everyone:

In the picture below, what is the thing that Arjen is holding? And why might this style of that thing be better than other more common styles?

We had another sick student today, but she is feeling much better now. Please continue to pray for our health and safety.

Regards,

Leonard De Rooy

Post on January 16 2008

Leonard De Rooy — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:05:52 GMT

Today our group went to Kamworks a young solar energy company located about 40 km outside of PP. This morning it took us about 1.5 hours to travel the 40km due to traffic.

Arjen Luxwolda is one of the owners and he gave us a tour of their facilities. The whole complex is run off of solar panels with battery storage. Arjen did indicate that they did have a generator for backup but that they did not use it very much (they still needed it to run the welder).

The company is located on an orphanage. They support the orphanage and hope to employ “graduates” from the orphanage. They mentioned that a high percentage of employment in Cambodia is family based – you go work for the family business. So therefore an orphan has a hard time finding a job.

The goal of the company is to start manufacturing solar lanterns for rural Cambodians. The lantern will use a CFL light source, a custom ballast controller, a custom battery charger and small solar panel. They are targeting it to sell around $50. So far they are in the early production stages. They have several prototypes completed and revised. They hope to us thermoforming for the light body and custom design all the circuits themselves.

Here we are walking around one of the solar panels. They have a manual tilt control to track the sun but find that at this location it is not needed.

In the workshop, Arjen is showing some of the prototype thermo-form molds made out of plaster. The machine on the right is a used thermo-form machine that he hopes to use to manufacture the lights. If anyone knows of other machines that they would like to donate then let us know!

They just recieved the new molds from Viet-Nam yesterday and were excited to try them out.

A "graduate" from the orphanage working on a board.

Post on January 16 2008

Elizabeth Smit — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:29:39 GMT

Today we went to KamWorks, which is a company that partners with an NGO, the NGO started an orphanage and the company sets up solar panels in homes and schools and orphanages, but it is a company. It was really cool because they involve the entire design process using student interns, that usually come from a university in the netherlands. they also employ and train the orphanage kids to build the products so that they have skills. It was good to see that all the stuff we learn in class has application.

We also went to the russian market and I got some neat souveniers. And guess what I got to see my friend Julie, that I went to high school with. She lives here, so she came and met us at the market. she seemed really happy and excited about her work, she gets to travel a lot.

Well, thats about it for the day. We are started to get hungry for burgers and fries. we mostly have rice and curry. or noodles. which is good, but theres not too much variety.

-Elizabeth Smit

Contest

Leonard De Rooy — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:08:29 GMT

Thanks for the many emails about our contest #2. It is good to know that many of you are praying for us - we need prayer support here!

Kathleen Pavlich was the first to send us the correct answer. Bob Dornbos did NOT win :-)

Here is a harder question. You should be able to find it at the CRWRC's website possibly using the name Navy Chann - the missionary we are working with.

What is the name of the new type of rice planting that David Dornbos and his team are learning about? Why is this form so counter intuitive to the farmers?

Again the first correct reply will get a small prize from Cambodia.

Regards,

Leonard De Rooy

CRWRC in Cambodia

Leonard De Rooy — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:02:02 GMT

Today we separated into two groups. David Dornbos and some of the students went to visit a remote village for three days (two nights). They will be sleeping in a small church (most likely a hut) and living with the local Cambodian people. This remote site is one of the work sites that CRWRC is working with. They are focusing on a rice technique that is counter-intuitive, but increases the yield by up to 2 times the conventional method. I don’t think they will have access to the internet (let alone electricity) so we will patiently wait for their return. Please note that they will have access to cell phones so they can contact us if needed.

Our group went this morning to a remote village about 2.5 hours from PP. There we met in a small village where a group called OREDA was working. The goal of this group is to make the people of the village self sufficient. They proudly showed us their farm: rice fields, corn fields, egg plant, chickens, hogs, dogs, cows and fish to eat. The community voted leaders who helped with things like a rice storage bin, small community loans, and other community building items. It is a big step for a community like this to have leaders step forward to lead. We ended the tour sitting around a new well that CRWRC helped build in thier community. It is amazing to us to find people so excited about a well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First a few photos from yesterday:

Caleb our tourguide at RDI knew about Calvin College - he said they always have great concerts there!

This is part of the filter factory at RDI

We were served an excellent lunch of Chicken, beef, fish and rice - all locally grown/raised right in that village.

The kitchen where our lunch was cooked.

We met an 84 year old lady. She fell in love with Laura - she grabbed her arm and said she had nice skin. She had 7 boys, 4 of them died during the Khmer Rouge.

Our group at the new well.

On the way back to PP we passed many "busses" with standing room only - I guess our minibus was not that crowded after all!

Regards,

Leonard De Rooy

Post on January 14 2008

Unknown User — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:23:33 GMT

Hello all,

Today has been an (another) amazing opportunity to see ingenuity and compassion at work for/through/with the Khmer people. After a little glitch in the schedule from commmunication lapse with the bus driver, we spent the morning at CRWRC Cambodia HQ.

We heard from Barnabas Mom, leader of the Church in Cambodia, about the history of Christian Church here. (The highlights: Due to some cultural, association with the western colonial powers, and the tenacity of Buddhism here, the Church was slow to grow in Cambodia. Before the Khmer Rouge, there were about 10,000 believers in 1975....after the mass killings and other horrors, there were only 200 in 1979. Today, the Spirit is moving in many different ways--many of which we have seen glimpses--and there are about 300,000 Cambodian Christians!) I am excited to see that God can use the few and the broken to do amazing things, and I will be praying for new leaders as they rise up to lead the Church here.

Next, we were briefed on the mission and vision of CRWRC in Cambodia. Growing up in the CRC, I had been partially aware of the denomination's relief and development work. After hearing from the workers and leaders, (and probably even more so in the next few days as we visit CRWRC projects and partner organizations and communities) their work to bring 'Shalom to all corners of this Earth has become much more real. I am excited by the emphasis on empowering the people to identify the problems, find solutions, and build community cooperation, rather than coming in as The West with all the answers. (Teach a man/woman to fish...)

The most exciting part of the day (for me, at least) was our visit to RDI. As an environmental engineering student, I was especially geeked to see the water treatment design and filter production (using local materials and labor), water quality testing and reporting (employing skilled Khmers and encouraging their lab workers to pursue graduate degrees), sustainable agriculture experiments (raising goats and hogs, growing tilapia, composting, vegetable gardens, and MORE!). I was so excited to see the ingenuity at work to solve such integral problem as clean drinking water for the people. The surface water is extremely contaminated (trash, human and animal wastes, and pathogens), and ground water has problems with arsenic. I would love to be involved in a project like this...!

Thank you for your prayers!

Peace in Christ,

Val Horstman

Post on January 14 2008

Unknown User — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:20:42 GMT

Well today we got to see one of the coolest things yet, at least in my opinion. We visited the RDI site this afternoon. Besides learning about the process for making water filters out of clay pots, we also got to see their lab for water quality testing. As an engineering student, I thought it was really neat to see a lot of science being applied directly to mission work. Here we are in Cambodia, and they have a lab doing work that is very similar to a chemistry lab project I did freshman year. Another really cool project they were working on was a merry-go-round powered water pump. So as children play, they pump water for irrigation or even a gravity fed water system for a shower of flushing tolliets. Overall, I thought enjoyed seeing the direct application of engineering and science to help the Cambodian people.

Post on January 14 2008

Amanda Hollinger — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:20:28 GMT

Today we learned about what the CRWRC is doing here in cambodia. The church growth in the past few years is really amazing. Navy Chann -the CRWRC organizer- is quite adamant that all the work is alongside the people to enable them rather than make them dependent. I think they are doing a great job of working toward that vision. They are working with microloans, agricultural improvement and encouruaging people to become involved in the communities.

We went to a buffet in Phom Pehn *spelling?* for lunch and just tried bits of everything. I discovered I really like rice pudding, but not cabbage. Many of the foods here are becoming familiar and I think it will be wierd to coe home and now have a rice-based meal three times a day. I''ll definiately miss the amazing taste of the fresh fruit here, you can tell that its much fresher and closert to the farm here--the pineapple is AMAZING!!

After lunch we went to an organization called RDI- theyre doing some amazing things too! They have a factory for clay pot water filters. They doing water quality testing a in a mini chemistry lab and have documented the water quality for the entire province- they want to do this documentationfor every province in the nation. They're also doing agricultural reseach and promoting new, more sustainable methods of raising goats and pigfs. Thers so much the're doing I can't do it justice here.

Post on January 14 2008

Unknown User — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:10:45 GMT

Here we are in PP!

Today, we spent a lot of time at the CRWRC learning more about the programs that are being run by this organization. In addition, we had the privilege to meet Navvy Chan, a Cambodian woman who lived through the Khmer Rouge regime and who has decided to devote her life to help empower the Cambodian people. She is currently leads the CRWRC team in Cambodia.

After learning more about this organization, we enjoyed a full buffet of Pan-Asian cuisine and then continued on to visit RDI. I'm not sure what the acronym stands for, but it produces an affordable water filter so that rain water can be collected as an alternative water source. In addition to water purification, RDI conducted contaiminated water testing for the entire country, helped educate Cambodians on some sustainable farming alternatives, and many more innovative farming techniques that could easily be implemented by farmers in Cambodia.

Tomorrow, we're going to be splitting into two groups. Half of us are staying in PP and touring farms and other NGOs, while the rest of us (including me) will be going on a Cambodian immersion adventure by spending two nights in a rural village. I'm sure we'll all have lots of stories to tell afterwards!

Contest Number 2

Leonard De Rooy — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:08:28 GMT

Here is our next question.

Based on the blog entries so far, you should be able to browse the internet to find this answer.

"What do the people at RDI paint the insides of the water filters with? Why does this work?

The first person to email us the correct answer at cambodia@calvin.edu will get a small gift from Cambodia.

Regards,

Leonard

Post on January 14 2008

Elizabeth Smit — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:06:12 GMT

Wow, this trip has been so amazing! I've seen so many new things. Phnom Penh is more scary than Siem Riep but we go everywhere in a group, so its fine. Today I ran in a communist olympic stadium. We went to the CRWRC and RDI both really cool organizations that are doing a lot of good. I'm excited for tomorrow we are going to visit a rural farmer and see how he lives and runs his farm. It's hard to know what to write here. I'm going to learn about solar power in rural cambodia. thats exciting. gotta go now:)

-Elizabeth Smit

Phnom Penh

Leonard De Rooy — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 14:12:52 GMT

We have arrived safely at Phnom Penh.

Along the way, many of us got the chance to try "squat toilets" - think of it is a hole in the ground. I'll have to admit, I much prefer the "normal" toilets.

We were able to worship in the ICF church this afternoon. ( http://www.icfpp.org/ ) We met Navy Chann there as well as the person selling the greeting cards (see the second blog entry).

Our hotel is not as nice as Siem Reap but it has the basics.

Tomorrow we will meet the CRWRC staff and discuss what the various activities for the week are. We will also visit RDIC Cambodia. Please visit their website at http://www.rdic.org/home.htm and see if you can find out what special technique they use to purify/filter drinking water.

We had a few people write about the question of the weight of the concrete fence posts. Assuming that the density of concrete is 145pcf, the posts weigh around 120lbs. However, all the students were convinced that these were much heavier - espicially after carrying them through the jungle for a while.

Regards,

Leonard.

This next week:

Leonard De Rooy — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:33:40 GMT

Tomorrow morning, we leave for PhnomPenn, the capitol of Cambodia. It should be a 6 hour bus ride. We hope to worship in the ICF church in the afternoon.

During our stay in PP, we hope to do the following things:

-visit with Navy Chann and others at CRWRC
-visit the killing fields and SR21
-visit an orphanage
-visit some of the commune farms that CRWRC have been working with.

-visit several NGO's.
-some of the students will be working with Doctors without borders

We return to Siem Reap on January 21.

We are not sure what our internet access will be like in PP so I'm not sure if we will be able to post pictures.

Regards,

Leonard

Post on January 12 2008

Leonard De Rooy — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:27:22 GMT

Today we went to visit the ancient temples of Ankor. We broke the big group into 5 smaller groups, each with a tour guide for the day.

This is our group in front of the the Angkor Wat temple.

Just hanging out at the Angkor Wat .....

We met another one of our groups in the Royal Bath area.

Wild monkeys looking for food.

After the dinner show, we were able to have our picture taken by the Angkor dancers.

Post on January 12 2008

Unknown User — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:15:12 GMT

On Friday night I had supper at the Khmer Kitchen, recommended by a tour book. I had traditional Khmer soup. Eek! It tasted like drinking straight lime juice. So I just worked on the spring rolls ;). Then we had a time of worship together as a large group. The RUL students and more have joined us, making us a group of about 50.

This morning/day we visited one of the seven ancient wonders of the world -the angkor wat temples. They were amazing. Mostly ruins left, but the walls are very intricately decorated and carved. One temple has huge 400 year old trees growing throughout it (it was used in the movies Tombraider). We played tourists today but did enjoy seeing the treasures of Cambodia.

Tonight we were at an all you can eat buffet . . . spells trouble. It was delicious, especially the ice cream which tasted homemade. The dinner was followed by traditional Cambodian dancing. The women and men dressed in elaborate costumes and danced different dances or stories. Cambodian dancing is very particular about hand movements.

Tomorrow we head for Phenom Pen.

Keep praying for us! -Hannah Serfling

Angkor Children's Hospital

Leonard De Rooy — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:38:37 GMT

Today we also went to the Angkor Children's Hospital. This Hospital is in Siem Reap and is a model for other hospitals in Cambodia.

This is the whole gang from Calvin College, Handong Global University (HGU), Handong International Law school (HILS) and the Cambodian Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE).

A young boy by the hospital waiting area.

Taking a break during the hot part of the day (from right: Laura, Natalie, Annie, Sarah, Jen, and Emily

Natalie learning some Korean from Prof Ezra Kim

dinner in a restaurant where we get to sit on the floor. (Some of us needed help getting up :-) )

The evening worship time included a time of dancing a special dance (The profs could not do it because someone had to take the pictures!)

AIU Fence work

Leonard De Rooy — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:27:52 GMT

Today we worked some more on the fence project. We have additional help thanks to the Cambodian students from the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE).

The bus was always full.

Many of us scratched our names into the concrete posts

Caitlin takes a rest after carrying some fence posts for a long distance.

The Profs from Handong Global University (HGU), Calvin and RULE

The Blue Pumpkin

Jason Dornbos — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:04:05 GMT

You walk up the stairs, You go through a glass door and enter into a white heaven. Glass tables and white chairs. a white lounge couch with lap tables that lines two adjoining walls. The best fruit shakes ever. That is no argument or opinion, that is a fact. I had a watermelon fruit shake and it tasted as if I was biting into a watermelon. Not as if I was biting into watermelon flavoring, it was a real juicy watermelon. mmmm.

Cambodia is full of surprises. (and crazy drivers)

The food is great!

Leonard De Rooy — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:52:18 GMT

We are having a great time exploring the restaurants of Siem Reap.

Below is a picture of Annie, Val and Sarah sharing a dessert in the Blue Pumpkin

Sarah, Annie and Lisa enjoying the couches at the Blue Pumpkin

We had pork and beef for a picnic at the NIBC center.

Sabastian (HGU) and Jenn enjoying the sunset.

Evening worship at the NIBC Center

Leonard De Rooy — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:13:03 GMT

Last night, we all walked to the NIBC center and had a few small lectures and a worship time.

We closed the evening with all holding hands and singing "My Friends may you grow in Grace" - I think that we should end every night like that. :-)

L. De Rooy

The AIU fence Project

Leonard De Rooy — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:04:10 GMT

The AIU Fence project.

The Fence project is needed for a few reasons. First of all, in order to maintain ownership of the land, we have to show development/progress to prevent squatters. By marking the corners of the AIU site with fencing, we are establishing the area of the land and showing some start of development.

The fencing project is also a symbolic project. Although we have many aspects of the AIU master plan in progress, this is the first actual physical project on the site. Together Calvin, HGU, and HILS students are working the land. One of the first planned components of AIU is to have a teaching farm where we can help teach the local farmers ways to improve their farming. 85% of the Cambodians are rural and have to work the land in order to survive. All of us have sweated (a lot) and I think that it has given us an appreciation for the Cambodia people that need to work the land to survive.

Here are some of the pictures from working on the fence project.

SK taking a nap after digging his hole.

Kelly, Hanna, Prof DeRooy and Liz showing off their hole in the ground.

Team A, E and F

Team B, C and D

Jason just starting his hole.

Amanda and Laura.

The engineering students were glad that they knew the density of concrete by heart, so we could calculate how much the concrete poles weighed while carrying them through the Cambodia Jungle. (we estimated the poles to be 4" x 4" and about 7ft long) The first person to email Prof DeRooy the estimated weight will get a free item from Cambodia.

Post on January 9 2008

Unknown User — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:39:43 GMT

It is such a relief to finally be in Cambodia! Many of us are very happy that we have arrived at our destination and have started working. The other students have already written about the work project that we are doing here, so I will just write a bit about my thoughts about what we've seen.

I find that every time I see someone having a difficult time in a third world country, I try to think of ways to fix it - I guess this is the engineer in me! Vising the floating village on the Tonle Sap yesterday was definitely challenging. I wonder how it is possible to get clean water to these people that are surrounded by such an easy source of water (that is unfortunately very dirty). It was also hard because of the many people who were begging for our money. They were obviously very poor, but it's hard to tell how much of it is just putting on a sad face for the many tourists. Not that I don't think that these people require help. I just think that there must be a better way to help them really get out of poverty and stop being dependent on our hand-outs, but I'm not sure how to do that.

And these thoughts are just a small snap-shot of what is going on in my head all of the time here...

-Sarah Evans

Post on January 9 2008

Unknown User — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:04:43 GMT

Cambodia is full of interesting experiences. Thankfully, none of these experiences have been bad ones :).

These past two days, we have been meeting and forming relationships with the Korean students from the two universities who are also here in Cambodia to use their talents to serve. I have really enjoyed my conversations with several of the Korean students and faculty as well as my conversations with my fellow Calvin students. I think we are finally starting to act together like one group with a goal here in Cambodia, instead of three or more smaller groups.

In addition to meeting the other people we will be working with, we have done work at the NIBC and the new site for the Asian International University. At the NIBC, many of the students worked on the grounds clearing the weeds and other such work. I was one of the fortunate students to volunteer at the kindergarten that occupies a room at the NIBC. The kids came from the surrounding commune. I was told that each commune consists of about fifty houses, and each house has on average 7-8 kids. So, there was an obvious need for this kindergarten. It is a Christian ministry which gives children a basic education, including English. I taught the kids simple words like "red", "blue", "square", and "circle" as well as numbers. It was fun to interact with the kids!

Today, I was assigned to work on the new AIU site. After a bumpy ride past some of the Angkor Wat temples and down a dirt road, we arrived at the campus. It basically looked like the middle of nowhere with plants and brush everywhere. We worked for about three hours digging holes marking the boundaries of the site, which will was the first step in creating a fence. It was hot and dusty, but I think we all appreciated this experience because it gave us time to work and sweat in the way many Cambodians must work. It certainly gave us a deeper appreciation of cool showers and clean clothes.

From the two days that we have been in Cambodia, we have learned a lot and grown a lot. What is most exciting, though, is that we have so many more days here in Cambodia which will doubtlessly be filled with experiences equally as interesting and eye opening!

Here are some pics to enjoy.

At the border.

Getting at the money belt...

Post on January 9 2008

Unknown User — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:14:31 GMT

Wow! Everything is so different here. I'm loving trying all different kinds of food and smelling all the different smells, some good some bad. It's also fun getting to know the Korean students that are with us. We're learning about Cambodia and Korea all at the same time. Today we dug holes for fence posts for a fence that will go around the university that is the vision of the leaders. Its neat to be able to help with something that is actually important. The Cambodian people are really nice. Its kind of intimidating going to the market though because they barter. yikes. its fun though. tomorrow hopefully I'll get a chance to work with kids in the kindergarten. -Elizabeth Smit

January 9 2008

Unknown User — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:08:11 GMT

Well, it's already been quite an experience. We were wowed by the Golden Palace in Bangkok and broken-heartened by the poverty of the floating village in Siem Reap. It's hard to see God's children in such extreme different living conditions. Even from the poverty I've experienced in the past, there's nothing like having a child with a bloated protein-deficient belly ask you for money. I had trouble returning to my hotel room after seeing where others would be returning home the same night. Already in a week I'm excited though, about what God is showing me through this experience and about where He may be calling me in the future. I don't think I'll make it out as the same person. And that's alright with me.

Blessings,

Kelly Edwards

Photos from Tuesday January 8

Leonard De Rooy — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:23:23 GMT

Natalie offered some of her pictures for the blog.

Laura helping at the NIBC Kindergarten. This Christian School just opened this past August.

On our way to the Tonal Sap Floating Village

Prof SK contemplating the Tonal Sap

Janice and the boat boy

A floating Roman Catholic Church

Dinner was great!

Photo Update

Leonard De Rooy — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 03:38:40 GMT

Sidewalk cafe Restaurants in Bangkok

Doing the dishes.

Child at the border

Catching up on our journals or text reading while waiting at the border.

Arrival in Siem Reap

Leonard De Rooy — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 03:14:59 GMT

We have arrived in Siem Reap!

The journey on the "Dancing Road" went well. We passed many fields of rice, saw many water buffalo, and many small farming shanties. At the border we only had to pay tax-fine (bribe?) to a few people.

Now that we are in Siem Reap, we will generally follow a daily schedule:

Finish breakfast by 7:15 followed by morning devotions. Project work in the mornings and afternoons. After dinner we will have evening worship and team discussions. This morning, half of the students will be going to the Asia International University site to work on the fence project. They will be clearing brush with machetes and digging holes for fence posts. The other half will be going to the Kindergarten (early elementary Christian school that NIBC started two years ago). They will be interacting with the children and doing some small work projects there.

Tomorrow the teams will switch roles.

We will have some of the students post to this blog to report on their projects.

Most of us are adjusting well to all the changes. Those of us who have felt a little ill are now starting to feel better. Please pray for continued health and safety of our group.

Regards,

Leonard De Rooy

International Worship - a part of heaven

Leonard De Rooy — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 15:17:16 GMT

Today, we worshiped at the Glory Church, a local church. We had people from Thailand, Korea, USA, Malaysia, and Canada. Our praise songs were a mixture of English and Thai and many were common enough that we could sing in both languages. The church service included the Lords Supper and afterwards we all ate a great Thai lunch in the church. Later in the afternoon, many of us played soccer with the Thai church members.

Here are a few pictures.

Tomorrow we travel all day by bus from Bangkok to Poipet (the border) and then a different bus along the "Dancing Road" (like a really bad two-track road) to Siem Reap.

Reclining Budda - One of four in Thailand.

Happy Birthday Val!

Getting ready for lunch at the Glory Church

Calvin students playing on the international championships....

It is only an optical illusion that Prof Dornbos is keeping up with Kelly and Elizabeth.

Arrival in Bangkok

Leonard De Rooy — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 10:47:43 GMT

35 hours after leaving Calvin by bus to Chicago, plane to Korea ( with a 5 hour layover where many of us slept on the chairs in the airport), and plane to Bangkok, we finally arrived at our hotel in Bangkok. Three hours later, we got up at 6:00am Saturday to find some breakfast and head for a day of tours.Breakfast was a bowl of "meat soup" and a bowl of rice. The meat soup had a lot of different types of meat in it: pork, tongue, liver, intestine, and some greens. Many of us really enjoyed the rice and a Coke :-)

For the rest of the day, we had a tour guide and bus driver drive us around some of the historic sites of Bangkok. We marveled at how the driver can maneuver a huge bus around tight corners all while driving on the "wrong" side of the street. In the afternoon we had a boat tour down the river. We had a great lunch (buffet with lots of good food), and all sang Happy Birthday to Val Hortsman. Many of the students also took an opportunity to ride an elephant.

We will try to post some pictures in the next few days.

Post on January 2 2008

David Dornbos — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:01:22 GMT

Tomorrow, Jan 3, is departure day. We leave Calvin at 5 AM. Ouch. We are carrying a number of donated items is support of kids at the Dawn orphanage. We have approximately 65 beanie babies and year's supply of multiple vitamins with iron, Tylenol, Pepto-bismol, toothbrushes and toothpaste, anti-diarrheals, ear drops, and topical antibiotic cream. So, hopefully we will be able to get all of this redistributed in suitcases before arriving in Chicago and having to deal the hustle, bustle and general confusion of an airport!

David D.

Post on December 31 2007

Leonard De Rooy — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 22:45:11 GMT

Hand Made Greeting Cards.

One of the people that we hope to meet on our journey is Mrs. Kieng Heck who is a missionary in Cambodia. She has started up a small business called Ruth Handicraft. Through this business, many women and children hand make gift cards. These hand-cut cards are crafted by economically disadvantaged women and youth from different churches in Cambodia. This handiwork provides supplemental income to help improve their family livelihood.

You can read about the cards here: http://www.calvin.edu/~lderooy/cambodia/Ruth%20Handicraft%20Testimony.pdf

You can see the cards available here: http://www.calvin.edu/~lderooy/cambodia/Hand-made%20Cambodian%20Cards.pdf

Our class may have an opportunity to purchase some of these cards and hand carry them back to the USA. If you know someone who may be interested in buying some of these cards, have a look at the links above.

Welcome to the Transforming Cambodia BLOG

Leonard De Rooy — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:29:38 GMT

Welcome to the Transforming Cambodia Interim 2008 blog!

Our class will use this location to post updates for everyone. While the students are currently writing exams for the fall semester, they are also thinking about what to pack and learning to take a shower with their mouth closed :-)

Please pray that we will have a safe journey to Cambodia, and that the many preparations currently underway will go smoothly.

If you need to contact the professors for this course you can reach both of them with the email address cambodia@calvin.edu

Regards,

Leonard De Rooy & David Dornbos

Note: If you can only view this entry, please click here to see all entries to the blog.