Note: This article captures personal reflections written by students who traveled to Cambodia for the DSS program. It is split into two parts to accurately represent the individual opinions of each student.

I.

Our usual day at Siem Reap would start off with reaching the school Project New Hope (PNH) at around 8.30 in the morning and watching the students participate in their daily morning assembly. For several of us, this one activity brought us much closer to the school and the students as we began to join in their catchy songs and dances. Each day of service included helping the PNH staff clean their school and area. We cleaned the walls and windows of the school, as well as the restaurant that provides vocational training for young adults; moved bricks and stones from the construction areas to increase the space of the playground; cleaned and reshuffled all the shelves, and; cleaned the road and area that leads up to the school. We also had the opportunity to help the staff clean the kitchen and prepare dinner for a banquet they were hosting, as well as get one-on-one Q&A sessions with the directors of each department of PNH and the founder of PNH, Mr. Soth Kemsour. The Q&A sessions we had with the departments were very enlightening and changed several of our perspectives on how NGOs work. We learnt about the financial aspect of NGOs, the difficulties faced by start-up NGOs and the relationship between the government and such organizations. We also oversaw the runnings of departments particular to PNH such as their vocational training center and their hospital that provides free medical treatment for families around the Mondul area PNH is located. One thing all of us who went to Cambodia have in common is our passion for helping, and I know that several of us dream of opening up our own NGO someday. This experience was enriching in that it showed us the reality of how things work. For me, from this exposure, I have concluded that rather than starting up my own NGO, I would someday like to work in an already established one and help them achieve their goals. On one of the last days in Siem Reap, we also participated in a friendly soccer match against the PNH Staff and Volunteer team, as a team building exercise and to get an experience of what the staff likes to do for recreation. For me, the highlight of the service aspect was the interaction we had with the kids when we were teaching them. We had set up multiple stalls providing different learning activities and each stall had a new group of students every 20 minutes, which allowed us to get to know and play with several students in PNH. The fact that our days were packed with potentially tiresome activities was outweighed by the smiles we saw on the childrens’ faces, and it made it all worth it when the next day, they could remember our names and faces and began to approach us themselves. Whether it was “Spidey” chasing you around to put foam on your face or Chef teaching you how to cook while Chet ate his British “raice”, Cambodia touched all our hearts in a way that will forever impact us. From Sokhun, PiPi, Jody to Joe and Ron, each and every person at Project New Hope Cambodia made us realize that it does not take long to form a family; to this end, several of us are already looking to return Siem Reap this summer. I would like to thank all of the staff at PNH, all the participants of the DSS Cambodia Trip, and this school, for giving me this opportunity to experience service in a completely new and different way and to actualize into reality.

-Lathika Mouli

II.

On this land, with its beautiful landscapes and amazing ancient civilization, almost half of the population was massacred several decades ago. Today, its people are still suffering from general corruption, lack of public services and basic education. In the first couple of days, the pity I felt dominated my mind. Kids were wandering in the street asking for “only one dollar”. Poor old men looked at me in despair. As I passed by these people, this sadness would push me to leave money, because I did not know how I could help the people. However, this situation changed immediately when I came with the DSS group to New Hope Cambodia site. I saw children who were used to be abandoned or dying chasing each other in the playground. I saw volunteers from all over the world making effort for the village that used to be known for prostitution and poverty. I also saw local workers working really hard to keep the site clean, tidy, and cozy. Every morning, all students, from kindergarten kids to middle-aged men, stand in front of the building and sing the song of New Hope Cambodia. Teachers and all workers stand on both sides, smiling. In the five days we were there, such a harmonious atmosphere surrounded me. I was motivated to clean the rooms, scrub the building, remove construction waste. Teaching was the best experience. Kids were so smart and active that they kept asking me questions. They loved smiling. They were huge fans of high-five. Coming from a Chinese urban background, I was touched so deeply by the purity Khmer kids possess. They are the future of this country. They gave me power and hope. Stepping out of the cabin, feeling the freezing cold wind blowing on my face, I suddenly realized I had been back to winter hours in Shanghai. All the smiling children’s faces and the light shining in social workers eyes had become memories. Until that moment did I understand how precious this journey was. What DSS gave me was not only an amazing chance of traveling, but also the best way to be exposed to a splendid culture. More importantly, this experience was life-changing to me. It brought me to NGOs-those that are constantly making the world a better place, and inspired me to work with social issues and public services. As I scrolled through all the pictures I have taken, my heart beat fast, as it did back in Angkor Wat and Bayon Temple, in the shabby village in Siem Reap, on the mirror-like Tonle Sap Lake, in the New Hope school filled with laughter, and at the corner of S-21 Genocide Prison. Cambodia, regarded by volunteers as “the best-kept secret in the world”, and I agree. The DSS Trip in Cambodia was absolutely the best experience I have ever had. What I mostly heard from the local guide and volunteers in Cambodia was “…in order to support their (our) families” or “in order to make the place better." For decades, people in Cambodia have tried to reconstruct the country and improve living conditions. There are many other NGOs working all over Siem Reap and the whole Cambodia. They have a systematic way of organizing and a transparent management. They are using their own intelligence to fight with corruption and social chaos. And I finally got to know, the best solution to bring this beautiful land back to life is not simply taking pity on the people, but trying to reflect on issues rationally and making a change efficiently. I think the motto of DSS Program “Learn. Travel. Serve” best describes how different it is from other traveling experience. This was not just for sightseeing and fun. It made us mingle with locals, listen to stories from them and be one of them. It inspired us to concern about the society, the social issues and the solutions to solve these problems. I changed a lot during this journey. I felt that I was no longer an outsider or an observer of a society, but an individual living in it. “Make the world your major” is what this special program all about. It taught me practically how to be a global citizen and how we can make some changes. DSS was life-changing, as I would like to reaffirm. I have decided to go back to New Hope this November as a volunteer. The application process will start several months from now. By then, the rosy sun will again rise from back of the ancient three pagodas in Angkor Wat, pouring the sunshine on my face, like the way it did before.

- Ben Weilun Zhang

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This article was written by Lathika Mouli and Zhang Weilun. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit:Zhang Weilun