Thought it'd be a good idea to start writing about my trip to Cambodia as soon as possible, before the memory fades. Some time at the beginning of the year, I decided to make a trip to Cambodia, after hearing about RDI thru M when she went there as part of school project. A little background info: RDI is a NGO (Non Government Organisation) and one of the main focuses is to improve the water quality in Cambodia, and at the same time to bring them the good news thru the lives of those who work with the Cambodians. If you don't already know, Cambodia has very poor sanitation. If I remember correctly, more than 70% of the fatality in the country is due to the poor water quality. You can read more about the organisation at RDI if you're interested.

I wonder if you'll be bored if I start telling all the details. Too bad then. Heh.

The trip would've been much earlier if I hadn't torn my achilles tendon, but it's all in God's good timing. Was a little worried because my doctor told me that I should avoid climbing, uneven ground, etc until near the end of August and I wasn't sure what kind of work I'll be doing, but it was ok since I didn't really do too much work. Looking back, I think it was God's grace that He provided P to go along with me. I don't really know too many people who'd take time off and just go like that without knowing much about it. Things would've been a little tough if she didn't come with me, I think.

By the time we reached Phnom Penh, it was almost 9p, which was considered late for the. Mickey from RDI n Joe came to fetch us. Probably because we didn't eat enough for dinner, so we were hungry again when we arrived! It seemed to take forever for our noodles to come so I basically finished every single thing on the plate. Though it was only 10p when we reached the house, everyone seemed to have gone to bed.

It didn't take me very long to get used to the early nights, because there really isn't much to do! Usually by about 8p, people are ready to go to bed. And the relatively short working hours (for us, that is) and waking up early (not too early, around 6 plus) and going to bed early (9 plus or 10) seem to grow on me after a while. I was thinking, "hmm... I could really get used to this.... " I acutally feel more alert and less tired compared to when I'm in Singapore, even though I didn't really get very good sleep almost every night, which is rather weird. I mean, not being able to sleep cos I usually sleep like a log on mission trips... Probably because of the rooster that usually crows on the dot at 2:30a.m., according to Angela, one of our roommates. She's an Civil Engineer who just finished her masters degree and is part of EWB (Engineers without borders) and is working on a rainwater catchment project with RDI. I actually woke up and checked the time one of the nights and found that the rooster was late!! Like 3 or 4a.m! Got serious backache on the 3rd night because of the "sinking" bed. It's a really interesting bed. Rock hard on left side and right side is the quick sand... I tried both sides. None matched me. J said that I probably didn't feel as tired because I didn't use my brain much... I thought it was God's grace, and also a combination of the excitement and the heightened sense of... "I must stay strong and healthy" attitude. Or it's the iced coffee every morning, which tastes just like the Vietnamese iced coffee.

Gee... and I haven't told you what I did on the next day... Actually didn't do much for the next 2 days since it's the weekend, which I totally forgot. I was all ready to get down and get dirty so it was a bit of let down. Haha... But I expected this to be more of an exposure trip so it was not too bad. Mickey gave us a tour around the factory and showed us the various projects that RDI is embarking on, which include the following:

1. Rope pump for well - very simple design and uses all local parts that be found easily and so low cost. Though it's low cost to most of us, it is still considered costly to some cambodians so it's available on a rent to own basis. The idea is to give them a sense of ownership and when you work for something, you cherish it. It also gives RDI an opportunity to go back to them on a regular basis (for maintenance) and build relatioship and share with them.
2. Ceramic filters - another simple design that filters say, river water and produce clean drinking water for a family. It's coated with silver compound that kills bacteria.
3. Toilet building - many places/schools have no toilets, which is very bad considering some schools have hundreds or 1000 students and not a single toilet in the school compound. Kids just go anywhere and everywhere. One of the interpreters told me that some kids stop going to school because of this, especially for girls.
4. Rain water harvesting tank - collects rain water, which is of better quality than many of the well water. Many of the wells in Cambodia contain extremely high level of Arsenic.
5. Odourless pigs - using rice husks of certain depth that helps to absorb the urea and keep dry. Really, there wasn't much smell at all.

This is Emma, one of the 2 pigs for odourless pigs.

6. Education - teach the locals on water health and sanitation
7. Karaoke VCDs - introduce bible stories/concepts



8. Ostrich, goat rearing



9. Mapping of water quality - developing water quality index to help those who're in power/authority to make better decision
10.Capacity building - to empower the locals to obtain the knowledge/skills required to improve the quality of water/health

One thing that impressed me was the people I met, especially the Cambodians. They are so warm towardspeople they meet even for the first time.

Ok, enough for now...