Jetstreams

The Green Gecko Project sits in the quiet outskirts of Siem Reap, Cambodia, on a dirt road that snakes past rice paddies and a string of wooden houses. It’s early June 2010, and the monsoon is overdue, the pale greens of the thirsty rice fields fading into dusty browns where they meet the road.

Run by Australian wonder-woman Tania Palmer and her Khmer husband Rem, the project began in 2004 to help a few starving street kids. Now, it sits amidst the rice paddies behind Siem Reap, houses and classrooms dotted around the 1-acre block. 70 kids call Green Gecko home, dividing their days between volunteer-run activities and the Siem Reap International School.

Cambodia’s history of horror and violence is largely forgotten on the world stage, despite the fresh memory of the Khmer Rouge less than a generation past. Even worse, the ensuing social, political and economic struggles of its people, and the country’s widespread poverty, remain remarkably absent from the Western conscience. For those who have never been to Cambodia, the scope of the hardship is difficult to fathom. But for those who have, the resilience, charm and beauty of the Cambodian people latches onto your heart and plants a seed that is not easily uprooted.

Straight out of High School in Sydney, Australia with a high-flying UAI and itchy feet, I set off on a gap year in 2010 that would prove a crossroads in a life spent constantly yearning for adventure. In 11 months I flung myself across the globe; from Morocco to Mykonos, Denmark to Dublin, Hanoi to Hamburg. But nothing would prepare me for the time I spent at Green Gecko.

In five weeks, I made 70 new friends that I will cherish for life. Of all the sights and sounds of SE Asia, none compared to walking through the gate every morning, and witnessing the joy and vibrancy exuded by every single one of the Gecko’s.

From lives on the streets, these kids were given hope for a future, and being a part of that process is the greatest feeling on earth.