The elaborate temples in Cambodia are evidence that there was once a very rich artistic tradition in the country. But the custom of teaching the next generation handicraft skills was lost in the midst of wars and genocide. The Artisans D’Angkor is a training school that teaches the arts of stone and wood carving, silk making, lacquer-ware, painting, and metalwork. The goal of the school is not only to revive the arts, but to provide poor, rural Cambodians with job skills.
We toured the school and saw the teachers and students at work. A number of the students were deaf; some were unable to speak. All were friendly and seemed pleased that we were there.
The tools used were very simple – these carving tools were made out of automotive springs: 
But the results were amazingly detailed:
We got a couple of beautiful handmade things that will remind us of our trip. They are real treasures to us!Next up was a visit to one of the local orphanages. I’ve had a number of people ask why we visited an orphanage on vacation. It’s a legitimate question, but I have fumbled for an answer. It is hard to explain, but when we learned from Phat that orphanages are happy to have visitors, it felt like the natural and right thing for us to do.
Of course, we thought it might take six levels of security clearance and lots of forms to get in an orphanage, so we asked Phat the process. He said “You just go there. No problem.” And, sure enough, we just showed up on a Sunday morning and received a very warm welcome from staff and were greeted by really friendly kids. However, the kids were involved in a Lunar New Year celebration activity, so we weren’t able to see them for long. The staff brought chairs out to the courtyard and we all sat down for a nice discussion. They didn’t seem bothered at all that we’d come unannounced.
Phat had told us that this orphanage, The Happy Family, didn’t have any government or non-governmental organization support. The orphanage buildings were quite rundown – it looked like construction had started and stopped a number of times. We learned that the orphanage “mother” does all the fundraising. Forty one kids, ages 5-20, live there and go to school. Only permanent residents of Cambodia can adopt orphans – inter-country adoptions have been prohibited for the last 5 or 6 years because of child trafficking concerns.
As we were talking, two nicely dressed guys rode up on a motorcycle. They looked to be in their 20s. One walked over to us, introduced himself, and thanked us for visiting. He spoke impeccable English. We were wondering who he was when he explained that he was an orphan who had grown up in the orphanage…but was now in the US Army, stationed in Iraq, and was spending his 17 days of leave visiting the people who raised him and playing with the kids. His friend was in the US Air Force. We talked to him for a while and it was a really amazing story (in case you are wondering, the US military does take some non-citizens – I just read an article on it in the NY times – click here for the link).
When we got ready to leave, we gave a donation. Believe me, it wasn’t an amount that would radically change lives or improve facilities, but the staff got very excited and ran to get the orphanage mother. She came to see us. She spoke very little English, but clasped our hands and spoke to us as if we understood. The staff translated for us, telling us she was very, very grateful. The kind look in her eyes is burned in my memory. She told a staff person to go get us thank you presents, which did completely didn’t expect – we each got a bracelet that had been woven by kids that says “Good Luck.”
We said good-bye, but got their contact information (only a name and their street address) and hope that we can help them again in the future.
We did a bit more running around and people watching.
Then we returned to the resort to relax at the pool. Here are a few pictures of where we stayed and Lydia with friends:
And, FINALLY, that’s it for Cambodia!
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