Leesa Lewington

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

Cambodia | Monday, January 14, 2013 | 5 photos

Over the last few years i have made several trips to Cambodia. Camera always in hand. Always seeking the road less travelled. Culture is always on the list to be ticked off as accomplishend. My friends had travelled to the island, Koh Dach. Being led by the local children we were introduced to the neighbourhood, that night we ate, danced and sung. We gained new penpals, over the years we sent supplies and the photos we had taken. Late last year a friend and I travelled back to relive our fond memories. advised not to go due to an outbreak of EV-71. Schools had been closed and child contact was kept to a minimum. We had come too far to not go. It took us time to find the kids the island looked so different due to the wet season and to a new Pagoda that had been built put our directions off. The locals were in awe 250,000 Riel had been spent to build it. Catching up with one of our friends a dark past came out. She talked of how 3 of 5 siblings had been taken by dengue fever. The hospital was not far allthough her mother couldnt afford the 50cents to take them on the boat to the mainland to get treament. Poverty and disease was evident yet the priority was the Pagoda.