Columbia Trailmaster Pattaya

Look closely and you will see why I especially liked the first 200m of this 21.5km trail run. See to the left of the photo a woman with a black top and a red cap? That's me. See the guy running BEHIND me with the lime green singlet? He's one of the Kenyan prize winners. Yes.. that first dash was wonderful! ; )

Hard Situation Family

I asked one of our staff to write a short report on a family we visited this morning. Here's what Pern wrote [edited slightly]:

Hard Situation Family

At 10:15 on Thursday May 26, 2011 Pip and I went to visit a family in Kbal Spean village. When we got to their cottage they said hello and prepared a place for us to sit. Mother was cooking rice porridge, Pip and I introduced who we are and where we are from then asked her permission to ask some questions. The following is information of her family:

Her cottage is situated on a block of rented land in Kbal Spean. She doesn't have her own land. She pays 5000 riels (US$1.25) per month for rent. Her cottage is one room and very old and small with the roof and wall of rubber which have several holes. I think do not really have enough room for all of them. In addition they do not have toilet or enough water to use; they just have jar to contain rain water.

She is married with three sons and four daughters. All of them except for one daughter live in the house. They also have a girl and a boy that they take care of. The oldest son (25yrs) has a mental problem. He was normal but after working for one year without getting paid he became like that. The second son (23yrs) is deaf and mute. The oldest daughter is disabled because of a motorbike accident. She is 17 years old. She is supported by World Vision to learn to sew. One 14 year old girl and 12 year old boy study in pre-school at Mercy Ministry Foundation organisation (MMF). And the other two little girls do not go school. The boy and the girl they take care of do not go to school.

All of them are rubbish collectors. They normally go across the border to Thailand to collect rubbish, except her husband he is a cart pusher, but also works at the border of Thailand and Cambodia. All together could earn approximately 150 to 200 Baht (US$5 - 6.64) per day.

This isn't a hypothetical case study. I met these guys earlier today. And since I've already confessed that I'm not the expert in making decisions that affect other people's lives, I was just wondering if you have any comments or questions... What else would you ask this family? What would you do if they lived down the road from you? Send me an email if you're not sure about posting your comment in this public space. Thanks.

Grade 6

Yesterday afternoon I was at my local coffee place studying some Grade 6 Khmer texts. A guy came in and bought ice cream for his daughter. They sat at the next table. The guy noticed that I was reading so asked: Are you studying Khmer language?

Me: Yes, I'm reviewing some old lessons.
Him: That's good. Please ask if there are any words you don't understand!
Me: Thanks very much.
Him: Excuse me, do you work for an NGO?
Me: Yes. Our NGO does sport and education here in Poipet.
Him: That's great! Thank you for coming here to help our people.

I didn't say it but later thought, "I'm touched by your words but you should know that it really is a joy!"

Aquathon

Over the weekend I had some time to hang out in Phnom Penh. I'd heard about a group long run that leaves from the Independence Monument every Sunday at 6:10am so I dragged myself out of bed early and took a motorbike taxi to the meeting point. I was a few minutes early so was very surprised that a group of about half a dozen runners had already taken off down the street by the time I arrived! I got off the moto, threw some money at the driver (too much but I couldn't find the right change!) and started to chase. Even at six in the morning the streets are starting to fill up with vehicles, so it was good to catch up and then to be able to run with other people. A Khmer coach was riding on his motorbike along the route and giving out water & encouragement every few kilometres. I told Coach after about 12km that I wasn't sure that I was up for the full 21km training run that day... (I was a bit discouraged that I couldn't keep up with the guys after 45 minutes!) and that I was going to take a short-cut to run home and finish with about 16km logged. He was okay with that. I said I'd like to run with them again next time I'm in the Capital.

Showered, changed and with an iced coffee in hand, I went to the Olympic Stadium to check out a sprint distance swim/ run organised by the newly-formed Cambodian Triathlon Association. There were about 50 people who raced: some professional runners, some experienced triathletes and some determined amateurs. I clapped and cheered for everyone! Some of the Khmer runners really struggled in the swim section, but I was stoked that my friend Dara (almost last out of the pool) totally blitzed the 5km run and finished in second place. I didn't stick around for the prize ceremony and so I only found out afterwards. But I sent Dara a text today to say I'd heard about his great result and to offer congratulations. He replied, "YES IT REALLY INFORMATION. TANK YOU." And that made me : )

Visitors

On Sunday afternoon our Team Leader & her hubbie visited Poipet for the first time. We followed a sort-of schedule: Adults' Football Tournament on Sunday afternoon, visit Pre-School children at school on Monday morning and help teach an English class on Monday afternoon. In between, my attention was taken up with a guy with a broken arm, a woman who is mute and a child who got bitten by a dog. In all three situations I had the familiar feeling that I don't know what I'm doing.

Do you get that feeling? Being stretched? Trying to respond in love but not sure if you're doing the right thing? Being out of your depth? Wondering how people think that you are somehow qualified to make decisions that affect their lives?

Anyway, the broken arm incident happened at the first game of our Adults Comp on Saturday morning. (I guess these things are going to occur from time to time...) The referees stopped the game, bandaged the left arm with a splint, made a sling and sent the young guy to hospital. By the time I got back from a weekend retreat, the young man had already been to Emergency in Battambang, got his arm x-rayed and put in a cast, and visited his football team at the field on Sunday just to let everyone know he was okay. I called him to our office, talked with him, made a copy of his medical receipts, wrote an incident report, gave him money for his expenses and prayed for him. Pretty simple.

Two hours later we were about to start teaching an English class when a young girl was bitten by a dog on the grounds of the church. There were two deep puncture wounds and gashes across her chest. She was crying, hurt, afraid. I ended up taking over the class while Teacher Heng took the girl to the doctor for Rabies & Tetanus shots. We finished the class with a prayer/ blessing for the students. I felt awful for the girl... prayed a silent prayer after class that we'd be wise & that the other kids would be protected from being mauled by crazy dogs on the church grounds!

Earlier in the day while we were walking down the street I saw a woman, about my age, who is mute. I saw her a couple of weeks ago in the market across the border. Someone was asking her about her baby. She replied in clear mime: I was pregnant. I didn't have enough food to eat. I gave birth. The baby died. (Not hard to imagine why her story and her face made an impression on me...) On Monday we bumped into each other again when I gave a push to a disabled guy whose cart was stuck in the mud. The woman saw that a guy had already come to help, smiled at me and through hand actions said: 'You don't need to do that!' We were walking in the same direction so we started something like a conversation. It seemed like she could understand my Khmer... in any case I tried to face her directly in case she was lip reading? I also tried pulling out a pen & a notebook but the Khmer letters that she scrawled didn't form any meaningful words. Towards the end of our interaction, I pulled out my business card. I pointed to her pocket and said, "Here is how to contact me. Keep this." It was a bit weird. Saying to somebody who cannot speak, "Call me." But I didn't know what else to do in order to invite a relationship.

So the Team Leader visited some projects. And I think she saw my stumbling attempts to try to love people. God knows I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time. But that's what happened in the midst of our nicely scheduled program visit.

Update

I got an email from Phnom Penh saying that the distribution of toys last weekend went 'extremely well'. The older children we excited to receive the sports equipment. In fact, they loved the soccer stuff so much that the NGO that delivered the toys is looking to start soccer games as part of their trauma workshops. How cool is that?!

games

games

Permit me to begin with a brief historical account....

Israel, circa 1 500BC. King David is on the throne.
An army led by Abner meets another army led by Joab. (There's no indication that they planned to meet. They just happened upon each other at the pool of Gibeon.) The two groups sit down, facing each other from the opposite sides of the pool. Abner suggests to Joab, "Let's have a few of our warriors put on an exhibition of hand-to-hand combat." Joab agrees so twelve men from either side are chosen to fight each other. Twenty four men fight. Twelve men die. The story continues, "The two armies then began to fight each other and by the end of the day Abner's forces had been defeated." (2 Samuel 2.)

Interesting. Two bored armies meet by a pool. Their commanders come up with a game. Brilliant! Let's get a dozen of our best men to fight each other until one stands victorious and the other is sprawled out, dead in the dirt. Not satisfied with a few of their soldiers spilling blood, the leaders allow the situation to escalate into a full-scale battle. Brilliant! What a great idea! Let soldiers do what soldiers do. Two armies happen to face each other- let the slaughter begin.

There are two armies who have met each other at a border not far from here. They sit, facing each other from opposite sides of an ancient temple. Their Commanders sport with the soldiers. The leaders in Capital Cities let the game escalate to war. Sometimes it seems like it's just a bit of entertainment to them. Let soldiers do what soldiers do. Like it's no one's fault when 30 000 people flee. Nobody is to blame when homes and farms are destroyed, kid's schooling is interrupted and women can't sleep because they're afraid.

This week, our NGO in Phnom Penh has had the opportunity to partner with another organisation who is sending toys to kids who have been displaced by the recent conflict. They will also counsel the children to help them work through the trauma they've experienced. In Poipet we've been able to gather some of the 'leftovers' from the last soccer league and pass them on. We packed a sports bag with 8 soccer balls, 20 plastic cones, 2 rugby balls, a pump, 10 tennis balls, colouring books, 2 boxes of colouring pencils, 4 puppets and some additional colouring sheets. It was great to be able to give some good stuff that was first given to us. It's not a lot to share with 30 000 displaced people, but it's a start.

This is my kind of entertainment. Forget the sport of war. Let bored Generals learn rugby?

mellow

It's been over a week and I'm still relaxed from holidays- not rushing during the day and not working at night. B2 has teased me relentlessly but I'm enjoying the new mellow me. It makes me think about the words of wisdom:

There is a time for everything,
a season for every activity under the heaven.

A time to make things happen
and a time to watch it unfold.
A time for marathons
and a season for yoga.

A time to question everything
and a time for simple stories.
A time to preach
and a time to shut up.

A time for second-hand
and a time for a hot new pair of jeans.
A time for taxis
and a season to take the bus.

There is a time to share a bed
and a time to sleep alone.
A season to rise at dawn
and a time to sleep until the sky is bright.

There's a season to lead
and a time to let someone else forge ahead.
A time to explain
and a time to let things be.

There's a time for everything.
A season for everything.
Relax a little.