Chum reap suor!

In our 11th month, the rains return to Cambodia. Now we easily identify the sudden burst of wind as a precursor to rain, whether hearing the canopy lift over the quad at the office or feeling it as we ride home in the tuk-tuk. When it comes, the rain is hard and fast, but barely any cooler than the air around it.

As we wrap up our work with LWF Cambodia, LWF Cambodia begins to unwrap its plans for the next six years with a Country Strategy 2009-2014. Planning, monitoring, and evaluating are constants here and all elements have been called into play this month-for the organization and for us.

Because David would be going on annual leave while we were out of the country, we evaluated our year with him and Ratna on June 19. It seemed pre-emptive, but did help us focus for our final month. We concluded the evening with dinner together, to which Ratna brought his wife, Borann. Borann speaks no English, so the evening must have been long for her, but she smiled beatifically throughout.

Much later (a week before our departure), Borann took another risk and with Ratna invited us into their home for dinner. The two of them spent hours creating a multi-course dinner of deep-fried fish cakes, fresh grilled fish, and traditional fermented fish (somewhat like anchovies) accompanied by pickled vegetables, salad, and a deep-flavoured beef soup and rice. Their two children Sopheak, 7, and Sithisak, 4, ate at their own table and then played quietly. They didn’t understand the significance of M&Ms but quickly accepted the treat, Sopheak with a crystal clear “Thank you” as learned at the Adventist school she attends. Her grade 1 report card tells the story of a very bright young girl.

Earlier, from June 20 to 28 , we stepped out of this world and into another, through the looking-glass world of Kuala Lumpur and into Bangladesh. Planning for a four-day workshop; monitoring the challenge of my facilitation style beside The Ultimate Trainer; and being faced with Asian-style daily evaluations-nothing confidential, nothing anonymous-presented a particular test! On the last workshop day, we administered our own Canadian-style confidential and anonymous evaluation form and were satisfied with the results.

Participants from four LWF-related country programs (India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Cambodia) made for intriguing interactions and responses in session and fascinating conversations over delicious curries.

Bangladesh measures up at 90% of the square kilometrage of Cambodia, but with about 10 times the population. The capital, Dhaka, teems with people and even the more remote town of Rangpur, with a population of 250,000, feels crowded. We are happy to return to the bright green if sometimes shabby beauty of the former Pearl of the Orient.

Back in the office, we sort through files in paper and on the computer, and there’s one more field trip. With a final visit with IRDEP-Thpong staff, we have now visited twice in each of the six Integrated Rural Development through Empowerment Projects by which LWF Cambodia makes its name.

This visit is different, though. We are not in the IRDEP-Thpong target area, but in the graduated villages of Kandal Province. Just outside the city, but still far off the main roads, we visit Pro Cham Ang village. One of the first LWF Cambodia rural projects-reached when travel was difficult in the country and none of it was done without military accompaniment.

Pro Cham Ang village shows us its impressive Village Bank history: how it has grown from 42 members to 94 members with a capital that grew from 3.5 million riels (USD875) to 38 million riels (USD9,500). We hear of the progress made in deep wells, shallow wells, culverts, latrines, improved school building, non-formal education, and a host of trained volunteers in disaster preparedness, health, and animal husbandry. A provincial government official attends our meeting and speaks highly of the progress the village has made. We are taken for a walk down main street and shown impressive two-storey houses built by former Village Bank members. The village leader, the Village Bank leader, and the provincial official repeat the litany of accomplishments. And in the end…? Despite their undertakings, they all wish LWF Cambodia would return full-time, as they were before, to continue with capacity building. Sometimes “leaving home” feels scary.

On July 4, I participated in interviewing candidates for an Assistant Communications Coordinator to work with Ratna and 12 days later-on our third last day in the office, Chanthon joins us. With Ratna out on a field visit to Battambang, we introduce Chanthon to some of the next challenges for the Communications Office.
In the meantime, Marcus, having spent 13 weeks supervising and mentoring Myriam in her counselling practice, evaluates with her their time together. And then we have lunch-a last opportunity in this time and place, but we hope there will be more meals shared in other times and places with Myriam and Jean-François Frys.

While waiting for Angkar L: A short history of LWF Cambodia 1979 to 2007 to come from the printers (and Chanthon to compile a database for its distribution), Marcus creates a memorial sign for all the Country Representatives who have made LWF Cambodia today’s success story.

There are still more papers to sort through, files to tidy, emails to delete. AND, as Marcus predicted, even in our last days here, there are many firsts.

The timing of our final days coincides with the first anniversary of my brother Manley’s death. As we evaluate our experience here, we know that Manley would have been impressed with the work of LWF Cambodia and particularly how it is accomplished. He would have been impressed that over half the staff of LWF Cambodia live and work in remote villages from Monday to Friday, returning to their families on the weekend and heading back out the next week to uphold the rights of the poor and oppressed.

We too are proud to have been associated with this agency for change. We will say sad farewells Friday after work as the staff gather around us.

As we’ve learned to say in our final days here,
Chum reap leah [goodbye] one last time from Cambodia…

Margaret & Marcus in Phnom Penh