Volunteer Diary with MaD

MaD Cambodia Diary Without volunteers our projects would not be funded nor would we have these amazing stories to share with you.

If you wish to submit a Diary entry for the Volunteer diary - please feel free to email it to; phil (at) madcambodia.org and we will post it here!

Every volunteer has a unique experience of their time volunteering with us in Cambodia. This is a recent entry from Colin. He came from the UK originally, but has lived most of his life in Perth, Australia. He was with vMaD as a volunteer for 3 weeks doing Rural Community Development and here is his summary of his time with us at MaD Cambodia!

Two Cultures, One Heart

Phil mentioned somewhere how volunteering was a daunting prospect to some. Having spoken to many people prior to volunteering, many of their comments conveyed similar sentiments – that it was a great thing to do but many of them would not consider doing it themselves. I wanted to volunteer many years ago and have only just got around to doing it. Having spent three weeks volunteering for MaD , it’s difficult to convey just how others miss out on by not considering it.

On the Rural Development Project, I have no doubt that the Khmer crew doing the building could do a faster job if each volunteer was replaced with another Khmer team member. In fact we probably spent most of the first week learning what to do. The presence of volunteers , however, does help to fund the projects and our  presence there was more involved than just the work that was done.  The Khmer crew at Base Camp were a great group of people. Travelling to and from the MaD Base Camp to the village on the back of a trailer was good entertainment for all – Barang (the Khmer word for foreigners) travelling around like everyone else brought many a smile and wave. Even though spoken communication was often limited at the village, there was interaction – joking with the Khmer team, playing with the children, a smile and a wave as someone passed by or a child standing alongside you when seated and simply placing their hand on yours to make contact.

I sometimes felt sorry for the tourists as they passed by - laid back in the air-conditioned buses – having visited the Temples and Tonle Sap, but maybe missed seeing the real Cambodia. And Cambodia did not get to see them either.

My last day in Cambodia maybe shows how the interaction was the most important part of my stay. Hailing a tuk tuk outside MaD Base started with the usual bartering about the price. Over the previous weeks, two dollars seemed to be about the going rate to Siem Reap, but getting to $2.50, I decided that was close enough seeing as this was my last trip into Town. My driver wanted to talk on the way so the trip was slow, but I was in no hurry. He was from Kampong Cham, had studied English for a few years and driven a tuk tuk for about 3 years. When I reached my destination  I told him that I then wanted to go from there to the bank and then back to the MaD Base camp and asked him how much that would cost. He said that because I was a volunteer helping his people that the price was the same – people in his home Province were poor as well, and he appreciated the help of volunteers. I did give him what I considered a fair price for the trip – but it mattered little because he never looked at how little or how much I gave him – he just pocketed it.

I guess what I’m trying to say is if you’ve thought about volunteering but put it on the back burner for any number of (of course perfectly valid) reasons, don’t let it stay there for too long. I think Making a Difference has more to do with the difference it will make in you. Can’t wait for my next trip!

Colin Lacey, November - December 2010