I've put all of my pictures up on facebook, if you don't have facebook, here are the links to all of my albums...enjoy!
http://udayton.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058549&l=3b7e4&id=21901679
http://udayton.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058557&l=0c6a5&id=21901679
http://udayton.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058560&l=1cc9e&id=21901679
http://udayton.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058564&l=e51a3&id=21901679
http://udayton.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058568&l=5069d&id=21901679
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Dengue
http://economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9487109
Here is a link to an article about the Dengue Fever outbreak in Southeast Asia. Two girls in our group were affected by it, one girl actually had to be medically evacuated to Thailand. She was okay though, and was able to come back for the end of our program. (What a trooper!)The other girl only suffered a mild case, and did not have to be hospitalized. Sadly Dengue is a more serious problem in Cambodia because of the lack of adequate health care.
There is one man that does provide hope, and I want each of you to visit his site as well....it is amazing! He is a Swiss doctor that has opened hospitals in Cambodia that are free for children, and he fights a lot of adversity against his methods, despite Cambodia being poor, he believe sthat all children should have access to the same standard of healthcare as if they were in the US or Europe. His hopsitals have also been selected as the most cost efficient in the world, less than 20% of all the budget goes to administrative costs, opposite of organizations such as the world health organication or UNICEF, where close to 80% of the budget can go to administrative costs alone...something to think about the next time you pick an organization to donate too! So while other organizations sit around and talk about sustainable healthcare, and waiting to treat until there are vaccines, this guy is out there treating and saving childrens' lives today.
Check it all out at: www.beatocello.com
Here is a link to an article about the Dengue Fever outbreak in Southeast Asia. Two girls in our group were affected by it, one girl actually had to be medically evacuated to Thailand. She was okay though, and was able to come back for the end of our program. (What a trooper!)The other girl only suffered a mild case, and did not have to be hospitalized. Sadly Dengue is a more serious problem in Cambodia because of the lack of adequate health care.
There is one man that does provide hope, and I want each of you to visit his site as well....it is amazing! He is a Swiss doctor that has opened hospitals in Cambodia that are free for children, and he fights a lot of adversity against his methods, despite Cambodia being poor, he believe sthat all children should have access to the same standard of healthcare as if they were in the US or Europe. His hopsitals have also been selected as the most cost efficient in the world, less than 20% of all the budget goes to administrative costs, opposite of organizations such as the world health organication or UNICEF, where close to 80% of the budget can go to administrative costs alone...something to think about the next time you pick an organization to donate too! So while other organizations sit around and talk about sustainable healthcare, and waiting to treat until there are vaccines, this guy is out there treating and saving childrens' lives today.
Check it all out at: www.beatocello.com
Friday, June 29, 2007
So Many Stories!
Where to begin...
Today was the first day that a site visit actually made me cry...usually things don't phase me or I don't feel an overwhelming need to do something RIGHT AWAY, but today was different. There is a massive garbage dump site outside the city, where families and orphans actually live on the garbage, to collect cans and recyclables, which they sell to a middle man, that gets sold to Vietnam, because Cambodia has no recycling plant here. We visited two organizations that work with kids & families from the dump. The first was a school actually on the site, that was free for kids. Their funding was cut in April, so all the teachers have been working there without pay since then (which first of all, is amazing of them). The woman has even allowed other children that are just poor in general to come to the school, and not just children from the dump site.
Basically it just slapped my "privilege" in my face. As I got out of the van with my hygenic mask to avoid breathing in god knows what, and bitching about the smell and nasty muck im walking in, here are kids running barefoot through it, flies everywhere and on them, sitting in a dumpy old make-shift building, learning math and khmer. Behind me was a bulletin board of pictures of the programs they run, and one is first aid. The pictures were terrible...so many kids get hurt, or even killed (yes there were pictures of that), by being run over by the garbage trucks. If any organization or group of people desperately cannot afford to have their funding cut, it is this one. The whole thing was heartbreaking and painful, sometimes life just isn't fair.
Thankfully, we visited another organization on our way out, which was absolutely amazing. A HUGE school/orphange, free for children that have lived on the dump for at least one year. There is a hotel on the grounds, a resturant, and a gift shop, that the students all learn to operate. Chefs from switzerland even come in to help with the cooking skills. The kids stay from 6 am to 6 pm, but then go back to their home on the dump. It's $124 per student (not sure if thats for one session or a month), but to operate the electricity for the facilities for just ONE month, it is $7,000!! I can't imagine how much fundraising they have to do...but it was a really great balance to a very rough start to the morning. It is good to know that at least someone has a great operation going to help them.
Overall I'm becoming more and more impressed with this program as well. No other way would I have been able to get to know everything I am about the social work side of this country...so thanks to all that helped get me here!
And I'll end on one silly story...I have a shirt that says "I love Mom" on it...okay well apparently this shirt causes a lot of comotion. We went to the waterfront for dinner, and the streets are PACKED. and this moto driver sees it and goes, yoouu, loovvee, wo, wo, WOMEN? "Haha, YOU LOVE WOMEN!" he starts screaming in the middle of the street! Oh my goodness I was so embaressed! Then these little girls that were selling books, postcards, etc, came up and again tried to read my shirt, and some other moto driver standing next to them (all just trying to practice their english), but it soon became some sort of impromptu show or something...haha, very akward, but then I started talking to the girls, they laughed when I tried to speak Khmer, and they practiced their English phrases and Australian accents on me, which entailed "Whats up Baby?!", haha, I'm sure some tourist taught them that.
Anyways, who would of thought a shirt could be so entertaining?!
Today was the first day that a site visit actually made me cry...usually things don't phase me or I don't feel an overwhelming need to do something RIGHT AWAY, but today was different. There is a massive garbage dump site outside the city, where families and orphans actually live on the garbage, to collect cans and recyclables, which they sell to a middle man, that gets sold to Vietnam, because Cambodia has no recycling plant here. We visited two organizations that work with kids & families from the dump. The first was a school actually on the site, that was free for kids. Their funding was cut in April, so all the teachers have been working there without pay since then (which first of all, is amazing of them). The woman has even allowed other children that are just poor in general to come to the school, and not just children from the dump site.
Basically it just slapped my "privilege" in my face. As I got out of the van with my hygenic mask to avoid breathing in god knows what, and bitching about the smell and nasty muck im walking in, here are kids running barefoot through it, flies everywhere and on them, sitting in a dumpy old make-shift building, learning math and khmer. Behind me was a bulletin board of pictures of the programs they run, and one is first aid. The pictures were terrible...so many kids get hurt, or even killed (yes there were pictures of that), by being run over by the garbage trucks. If any organization or group of people desperately cannot afford to have their funding cut, it is this one. The whole thing was heartbreaking and painful, sometimes life just isn't fair.
Thankfully, we visited another organization on our way out, which was absolutely amazing. A HUGE school/orphange, free for children that have lived on the dump for at least one year. There is a hotel on the grounds, a resturant, and a gift shop, that the students all learn to operate. Chefs from switzerland even come in to help with the cooking skills. The kids stay from 6 am to 6 pm, but then go back to their home on the dump. It's $124 per student (not sure if thats for one session or a month), but to operate the electricity for the facilities for just ONE month, it is $7,000!! I can't imagine how much fundraising they have to do...but it was a really great balance to a very rough start to the morning. It is good to know that at least someone has a great operation going to help them.
Overall I'm becoming more and more impressed with this program as well. No other way would I have been able to get to know everything I am about the social work side of this country...so thanks to all that helped get me here!
And I'll end on one silly story...I have a shirt that says "I love Mom" on it...okay well apparently this shirt causes a lot of comotion. We went to the waterfront for dinner, and the streets are PACKED. and this moto driver sees it and goes, yoouu, loovvee, wo, wo, WOMEN? "Haha, YOU LOVE WOMEN!" he starts screaming in the middle of the street! Oh my goodness I was so embaressed! Then these little girls that were selling books, postcards, etc, came up and again tried to read my shirt, and some other moto driver standing next to them (all just trying to practice their english), but it soon became some sort of impromptu show or something...haha, very akward, but then I started talking to the girls, they laughed when I tried to speak Khmer, and they practiced their English phrases and Australian accents on me, which entailed "Whats up Baby?!", haha, I'm sure some tourist taught them that.
Anyways, who would of thought a shirt could be so entertaining?!
Week 2
@ the garbage dump.
Our GYC group, with the Cambodian participants, at the end of our 4-day workshop.
Sitting in the pre-trial chambers @ the Khmer Rouge Tribunal...I fit the part right?!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Adventures
Crossing a very unsteady bridge...
A little girl peaking out to see all the "white kids"
Phally showing the kids the video camera
Me practicing the shadow puppets
Shadow puppet show
Practicing my Buddha
Just one of MANY beautiful buildings on the grounds of the Royal Palace
Me picking the Queens nose
The watefront
Monks!
The National Museum
Elephant rides at the park!
Just some of the many mass graves at the Killing Fields.
17 stories of shelves holding the remains of victims from the Killing Fields.
Me Next to a UN truck (what a nerd!)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
First Week!
Our group is here in Cambodia now! After LONG LONG LONG layovers and flights, I've made it alive and am slowly surviving the heat here! Non stop sweat though!
So far we have made it to visit Youth Resource Development Program, that offers capacity building and different courses to youth, KHMERARA, an organization that works with sex workers, people with HIV/AIDS, women and children, LICADHO, a national human rights organization, that actually the person we were supposed to meet with couldn't be there because she was busting her employees out of jail that had been arrested that morning for protesting, Youth for Peace (where my week long internship will be with) that works on skill building and peace education with high school/college aged students, tomorrow we go visit the ambassador and the UN office of human rights!
Our bathroom, with the showerhead hanging right in the middle...interesting!
A lizard on the wall...I'm the only one that gets really freaked out by these, I can't sit in a chair by myself if one is on the wall next to me, I'm afraid its going to jump off at me...there are MUCH larger ones though than that pictured here.
Outdoor seating space at the Boddhi Tree Guesthouse.
A "tuk tuk" that we use to get around town...cheaper if you have a group to go in it, by yourself, the moto's are cheaper, but I haven't been brave enough to ride one yet. (Jon, like the shirt?!)
Once I figure out to upload video, I will, but these computers are SO slow not sure if I can, but I have a great one of the traffic here, and of some kids that sang for us!
Hope everyone got a chance to see the article in The Mirror!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
S-21 Site
S-21 was a detention center/prison during the Khmer Rouge period (striking similar to concentration camps and Nazi Germany)
Links to the Genocide Museum we will be visiting/staying across the street from (Here's where we're staying at while in Phnom Penh: http://www.boddhitree.com/index.html). FYI: These sites contain graphic pictures.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mybigtrip/sets/671304/
http://www.pbase.com/kissfoto/s21
http://www.chgs.umn.edu/Visual___Artistic_Resources/Cambodian_Genocide/Prisoners_at_S-21_Prison/prisoners_at_s-21_prison.html
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Flight Itinerary
Unfortunately China Air has recently canceled its flight from Taipai to Phnom Penh. So now I must fly from taipei to bangkok, and then from bangkok to Phnom Penh. Crazy!
For those of you that would like to know...here is my full flight schedule:
DEPARTURE:
15JUN American airlines 1237 DTW-WAYNE COUNTY 445 pm
15JUN DFW-DALLAS 635 pm
15JUN American airlines 2477 DFW-DALLAS 730 pm
LAX-LOS ANGELES 845 pm
16JUN China air 7 LAX-LOS ANGELES 115 am
17JUN TPE-TAIPEI 610 am
17JUN China air 641 TPE-TAIPEI
17JUN BKK-BANGKOK
17JUN Thai air 698 BKK-BANGKOK 1810
17JUN PNH-PHNOM PENH 1925
RETURN:
21JUL China air 690 PNH-PHNOM PENH 1050am
21JUL TPE-TAIPEI 1520
21JUL China air 6 TPE-TAIPEI 1640
21JUL LAX-LOS ANGELES 1405
21JUL American airlines 1264 LAX-LOS ANGELES 1120pm
22JUL ORD-O HARE INTERNATIONAL 520am
22JUL American airlines 1766 ORD-O HARE INTERNATIONAL 715am
22JUL DTW-WAYNE COUNTY 925am
For those of you that would like to know...here is my full flight schedule:
DEPARTURE:
15JUN American airlines 1237 DTW-WAYNE COUNTY 445 pm
15JUN DFW-DALLAS 635 pm
15JUN American airlines 2477 DFW-DALLAS 730 pm
LAX-LOS ANGELES 845 pm
16JUN China air 7 LAX-LOS ANGELES 115 am
17JUN TPE-TAIPEI 610 am
17JUN China air 641 TPE-TAIPEI
17JUN BKK-BANGKOK
17JUN Thai air 698 BKK-BANGKOK 1810
17JUN PNH-PHNOM PENH 1925
RETURN:
21JUL China air 690 PNH-PHNOM PENH 1050am
21JUL TPE-TAIPEI 1520
21JUL China air 6 TPE-TAIPEI 1640
21JUL LAX-LOS ANGELES 1405
21JUL American airlines 1264 LAX-LOS ANGELES 1120pm
22JUL ORD-O HARE INTERNATIONAL 520am
22JUL American airlines 1766 ORD-O HARE INTERNATIONAL 715am
22JUL DTW-WAYNE COUNTY 925am
Monday, April 30, 2007
Travel Channel!
Mom informed me tonight that this Thursday, 9:00 our time, the travel channel show "1,000 places to see before you die" will feature Cambodia.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Flight & More money!
After much trouble and back and forth, I finally have booked a flight. While living in Ohio, "the heart of it all", has its benefits, when it comes to booking an international flight, it's not the best place to be leaving from. Therefore, my itinerary is sort of ugly to look at, with long layovers in the LAX airport. I fly out of Detroit on Friday, June 15th, arrive at Dallas/Fort Worth, then on to LA. After a long layover in LA, I leave for Tawain, and then head on in to the capital, Phnom Penh. GEESH!I decided to stay a few days after the program ends, to be able to travel to the temples in Angkor War, so my flight leaves from Cambodia on Saturday, July 21, and I'll be back in Detroit Sunday morning. I put the flight on a credit card, the first time I've ever used one, so let's keep our fingers crossed that I stay on top of this and not end up paying for this flight the rest of my life.
Now all I have to do is send the application for my Visa to the embassy in Washington DC. Of course, the picture I had to take for it looks like crap. Why is it impossible to take a decent, normal looking picture for your license or any other official document?! If you're lucky, I'll humble myself and post the visa picture, just so everyone can laugh at it :-)
However, I'm doubtful that will happen, especially because of an email I just recieved a few short moments ago. I sent a letter and some information to an office on campus that is in charge of learning initiatives here on campus, and they have agreed to donate some money to this program. In return, I will make two presentations on campus, one being a coffee hour program that our International UD program does fairly often, and then the other presentation can be of my choice. How excellent!
Coming Soon: The list of offices and agencies we will be visiting while we're there.
Now all I have to do is send the application for my Visa to the embassy in Washington DC. Of course, the picture I had to take for it looks like crap. Why is it impossible to take a decent, normal looking picture for your license or any other official document?! If you're lucky, I'll humble myself and post the visa picture, just so everyone can laugh at it :-)
However, I'm doubtful that will happen, especially because of an email I just recieved a few short moments ago. I sent a letter and some information to an office on campus that is in charge of learning initiatives here on campus, and they have agreed to donate some money to this program. In return, I will make two presentations on campus, one being a coffee hour program that our International UD program does fairly often, and then the other presentation can be of my choice. How excellent!
Coming Soon: The list of offices and agencies we will be visiting while we're there.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Plans plans and more plans!
Almost time to book my flight! I'm weighing my options right now, trying to book online is getting a bit intimidating with all the time zones to be crossed and what not.
Also, I'm looking into spending a few days extra and traveling to Angkor Wat to see all the temples and hopefully ride an elephant! I've been emailing back and forth with the group to see if someone else is interested, so I don't have to do it alone!
Speaking of the group, we did recieve the bios, and let me tell you, this is a very impressive group of people we have here! I should have been far more nervous for the phone interview than I think I really was, or maybe not, ya know, ignorance is bliss sometimes I guess. Anyways, I'm very excited to get to spend time with these people, they are all involved in really wonderful things and at some exciting schools. People from India, Cambodia, Australia, UCLA, etc.
Still waiting to hear from the rents when they see the article in the Mirror...I'll let ya know!
Thanks to all those that have donated so far, as I come up on my last payment, buying my flight (with a credit card, uh oh bring on the debt), pay for my visa and start getting down to it, it is more helpful than you can know!
Also, I'm looking into spending a few days extra and traveling to Angkor Wat to see all the temples and hopefully ride an elephant! I've been emailing back and forth with the group to see if someone else is interested, so I don't have to do it alone!
Speaking of the group, we did recieve the bios, and let me tell you, this is a very impressive group of people we have here! I should have been far more nervous for the phone interview than I think I really was, or maybe not, ya know, ignorance is bliss sometimes I guess. Anyways, I'm very excited to get to spend time with these people, they are all involved in really wonderful things and at some exciting schools. People from India, Cambodia, Australia, UCLA, etc.
Still waiting to hear from the rents when they see the article in the Mirror...I'll let ya know!
Thanks to all those that have donated so far, as I come up on my last payment, buying my flight (with a credit card, uh oh bring on the debt), pay for my visa and start getting down to it, it is more helpful than you can know!
Monday, March 12, 2007
Maumee Mirror
Check the Maumee Mirror newspaper this month for an article about this trip!
Funding update: Tax returns help out a bit, but for the most part I'm still hitting some walls as far as finding funding sources. It's frustrating to watch "My Super Sweet 16" on MTV and witness a girl without her driver's liscence being handed over a $100,000 mercedes. What's her family's phone number?! An international flight must be a drop in the bucket for them!
Funding update: Tax returns help out a bit, but for the most part I'm still hitting some walls as far as finding funding sources. It's frustrating to watch "My Super Sweet 16" on MTV and witness a girl without her driver's liscence being handed over a $100,000 mercedes. What's her family's phone number?! An international flight must be a drop in the bucket for them!
Monday, February 26, 2007
More preparation
Last night I watched one of two movies we were told to see before we left, "The Killing Fields." It's a pretty popular movie from the 70's telling the story of journalists in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge took over. The other movie I have yet to watch is "The Trials of Henry Kissinger."
We also have a whole stack of required readings to get through before we depart. I've been making a small dent in that pile.
I've been contacting the local news media as well as the Maumee Mirror and the Toledo Blade to see if I couldn't get some announcement space in there. I'll let ya'll know what day to look if it works out!
This week I sent my first of three tuition payments in to GYC which solidifies my position on the trip!
I've decided to stay here at school over Spring Break to make some extra money, and will most likely do the same during the month of May after classes get out as well.
We also have a whole stack of required readings to get through before we depart. I've been making a small dent in that pile.
I've been contacting the local news media as well as the Maumee Mirror and the Toledo Blade to see if I couldn't get some announcement space in there. I'll let ya'll know what day to look if it works out!
This week I sent my first of three tuition payments in to GYC which solidifies my position on the trip!
I've decided to stay here at school over Spring Break to make some extra money, and will most likely do the same during the month of May after classes get out as well.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Hitting the Ground Running
Capitalizing on my excitement here, and trying to get right to work on finding some money for this trip! I have an honest fear that I'm not going to be able to afford a flight to go...but I refuse to let that fear stop me from trying!
I found a great quote in the GYC fundraising information, Ghandi said, "If the cause is right, the means will come." God I hope he's right...
I'm mailing out letters to family and friends this week, so if you're here on the blog because you got one in the mail, thank you for taking the time to see what this is all about!
I've contacted department chairs, faculty and staff, and various centers here on campus for donations and fundraising advice.
I've looked into a few scholarship options, none I have been eligible so far. I'm in contact with the Maumee Rotary, and will continue to pursue more throughout the next weeks. I'm also going to try contacting the Dayton International Peace Museum and see if there is any room for collaboration there.
For any of you out there searching for flights for whatever reason, my roomate Jenni told me about kayak.com, its pretty great, and I just downloaded and am currently running a program, "TripStalker", thats right, you can enter flight searches and it continually "stalks" prices as long as you let it run.
I found a great quote in the GYC fundraising information, Ghandi said, "If the cause is right, the means will come." God I hope he's right...
I'm mailing out letters to family and friends this week, so if you're here on the blog because you got one in the mail, thank you for taking the time to see what this is all about!
I've contacted department chairs, faculty and staff, and various centers here on campus for donations and fundraising advice.
I've looked into a few scholarship options, none I have been eligible so far. I'm in contact with the Maumee Rotary, and will continue to pursue more throughout the next weeks. I'm also going to try contacting the Dayton International Peace Museum and see if there is any room for collaboration there.
For any of you out there searching for flights for whatever reason, my roomate Jenni told me about kayak.com, its pretty great, and I just downloaded and am currently running a program, "TripStalker", thats right, you can enter flight searches and it continually "stalks" prices as long as you let it run.
Friday, February 9, 2007
How it Started
There is a series of events that started a while ago that landed me here, currently :
1. Another student living in my home-stay house in Guatemala, Sara, had recently traveled throughout Asia and her pictures looked amazing.
2. I bought a huge world map for my wall, and realized how many places and people are out there that I'll probably never see.
3. I felt like it had been too long since my time in Guatemala, and a lot of juniors have been studying abroad and I felt like I was missing out and wanted to get another trip in somewhere before I graduated.
4. As my career path progresses towards Human Rights Law, I've been getting anxious to visit a site that had something to do with human rights first-hand.
65 I found out last minute that Emily, a roomate from last year, was in Cambodia over the holidays.
When Emily got back we ate dinner on campus together and she told me the name of the organization she had gone with, Global Youth Connect. (The picture above is from her trip). I went back to my computer, looked it up, and realized that the application deadline was in a day or two. Thankfully the program director was understanding of my situation, and I had been in the process of applying for other jobs and summer programs, so I already had contacts writing letters of reccommendation for me. I had a phone interview last Friday, and found out yesterday that I was accepted into the program!
There is a very long list of things that need to get straightened out now, but I am very excited to begin the process! Keep checking here, as I will add links, pictures and more info about the preparation process as I go along!
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