Margaret’s Article Appears on Reuters

The following article, written by Margaret, was posted to Reuters.

http://members.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/lwf/121127566489.htm

 

Three-Quarters of the Way Through Our Journey

Sabaidee! (as we learned to say in Lao PDR),

Drawing together the experiences of our ninth month means we are three quarters of the way through our adventure. This leaves only two months in Cambodia, since our 12th month will be travel time (in Japan). With 18 July our last day in the office, we have much to do in the next two months.

In that time, we may be asked to spend as much as two weeks in Bangkok, representing LWF Cambodia in the Action by Churches Together (ACT) International response to the disaster in Burma. Since very few relief agencies are allowed entry at the moment, we’re not sure if our services will be required.

The cyclone in Burma and the earthquake in China may seem like they’re in our area, but both are distant. As the crow flies, the cyclone is about the same distance as Edmonton to Winnipeg (>1000 km). The earthquake in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, is as far away from us as Edmonton is from Sault Ste Marie (>2000 km).

Reporting on Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic

Sabaidee, Family and Friends,

Just want to assure you all that we have returned safely (if not in the best health) and have left Joanne and Glenn happily ensconced in C2 at Palm Village. (Was that your room, T&V? For Martyn’s benefit, we three Ms were in the B zone–out of the dining room and to the left; T&V and now J&G are out of the dining room and to the right, right beside the pool.) 

It’s Marcus who made the return trip in less than robust health, but today he reports much improvement–whether the result of Em’s guava bark tea, or the medication we had here at home left over from previous experiences, or a good solid night’s sleep. Joanne had earlier had somewhat similar intestinal challenges so had been available for advice.

Warm Global Greetings!

David returned from Montreux, Switzerland, last week where he had presented to the related agencies on climate change and development work. Related agencies are those key donors to the development work of Lutheran World Federation around the world-Canadian Lutheran World Relief; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Church of Sweden and the Swedish agency, Diakonia; the Dutch development agency ICCO; three German agencies: Bread for the World, EED, and the German National Committee of LWF; FinnChurchAid and Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission; Australian Lutheran World Service; and ACT (Action by Churches Together) Development.

David’s presentation demonstrated how the “rights-based approach through empowerment” integrates climate change. The poorest of the poor in the villages in which LWF works adjust to global warming every day: disaster risk reduction committees determine how best to preserve water resources for everyone’s use; village and household ponds get dug to help people adapt to increasing dry spells; spillways and dams get built to help mitigate the impact of flash floods.

Walking into a Minefield!

We didn’t realize we’d be walking into a minefield.

The Boeng Chrey minefield, in fact. An area of 564m by 120m (almost 17 acres) in a village, in a commune, in a district, in the province of Battambang, in the Kingdom of Cambodia. Takhieu Village, established-so they say-in 1017, beginning with the Takhieu family. Later some ten more families joined the Takhieus, eventually growing to 150 families. Still, by 1976, no one lived here. By 1976, the residents had moved to the relative safety of Bavel District, not to return until 1986.

From 1979 to 1989, the area was a battleground between the Khmer Rouge and government forces. While things may have changed in Phnom Penh in 1989, in reality the fighting continued in the Takhieu Village area (and much of the countryside) until 1996. Both sides were planting mines in Takhieu Village area from 1979 to 1996.

On the Road to Battambang

No photographs from the Toyota Prado, so the images are written…

Children in a father’s arms braced on a moto behind mother, or in front, one of four or five passengers
riding on sister’s hip herding cattle in uniform, pedaling home from school everywhere!

So much of the view is grey and drab: the dull white cows grazing in stubble; the drifting garbage, the weathered wood or old palm-leaf thatched houses, and dirt yards

Beside the squalor, tall stately pink-tipped lotuses glow in a pond bougainvillea sparkle chartreuse and red, purple and pink flame trees float red branches feathery stands of bamboo mango groves a flash of yellow orange canna a splash of yellow croton.

Just Past the End of Our Eight Month in Phnom Penh

Dear One and All,

We truly enjoyed having Tim and Vicky’s company for three weeks in March and showing them our corner of the world. In the previous month’s report, we told you of our visit with them to meet some little children in the LWF Cambodia project in Samaki Meanchey and our tourist junket to Viet Nam. On their return from Siem Reap, we’d already begun Holy Week celebrations here.

The Catholic Community with whom we worship late afternoon every Saturday held the traditional “Paschal Triduum”-one service held over Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. A smaller congregation gathered Thursday and Friday evening: first for the washing of feet (11 selected congregants, although the thought of cool water on our feet seemed more inviting than it does in Edmonton) and the second for the veneration of the cross (very few of us did not go forward for the opportunity to reverence the cross).

The Fruits of our Labour – LWF Cambodia Website Launched

Today is a great pleasure for the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Cambodia to officially announce that the new LWF Cambodia Website is now online.

It is a great pride of the Communications Office of the LWF Cambodia to showcase our new achievement to all of you. The Communications Team has spent the last several months developing our website in order to raise public awareness of LWF Cambodia’s operations as the other organizations do. We hope that you will enjoy learning more about us through its pages.

Welcome to the new LWF Cambodia website: www.lwfcam.org.kh

Best regards,

Communications Team: Leak Ratna, Margaret Sadler, Marcus Busch and with special thanks to DanChurchAid volunteer, Maia Kahlke Lorentzen, now returned to Denmark

A Children’s Story

Chum Reap Suor (Cambodian greetings)!

I’ve been asked to write a story for children about a five-year-old in Cambodia. …

A day in the life of Ka Auk

Ka Auk didn’t sleep well last night. He had a sore tummy and woke while it was still dark.

Hours later, after the sun came up, his mother cooked breakfast. He ate rice soup flavored with a few crayfish and vegetables from the garden.

When his three big brothers and nine-year-old sister go to school, Ka Auk stays at home with his mother. He likes to play at construction–digging and building in the yard. He has a motorcycle tire that he rolls down the path, scattering his mother’s chickens as he runs.

Halfway There!

Half way — we’re halfway through this incredible experience. Looking back to August 2007, we wonder at all we’ve seen, heard, touched, smelled, and tasted. Looking ahead to August 2008, we wonder if we can learn enough to explain our experience once we’re home again.In the past month, my brother Martyn stepped into our routine for three weeks. We did make some adjustments, travelling with him to Siem Reap, but he was most interested in seeing us at work with LWF Cambodia.

Taking him with us on our first repeat visit to a project, we headed to the Integrated Rural Development through Empowerment project (IRDEP) in Oral with some donor requests for stories about children. Instead of the little children we’d been picturing, we interviewed older children –13 to 15 year olds– put in circumstances that few Canadian children are ever expected to handle.