Chambok: Off the Beaten Track in Cambodia.

Chambok is a village community situated on the border of Kirirom National Park in the Kirirom mountains of Cambodia.  Chambok is a community-based ecotourism venture that was set up in 2002 to help protect the national forest land and provide an income source for the rural village communities trying to sustain a life here.

We were lucky enough to find out about this place through the manager at the orphanage.  He wanted to take us there on a day out at the weekend and of course we were excited to see another little bit of Cambodia - and an area that most tourists passing through on their travels don't have the privilege of seeing.

We set off in our little safari style mini jeep! There was a short stop at the local market on the way to pick up chickens, iced coffees and other supplies for our picnic lunch!  The drive to Chambok took around 45mins from our village of Traeng Trayueng and like most days here it was sunny and very hot, but driving up into the rich green mountains in the little safari jeep gave us a nice cool breeze.  On our way we passed the Kirirom Hillside Resort, but further into our journey it became increasingly remote.  The hillside was dotted with the occasional farming house surrounded by cultivated farm land, but mostly it was forest.  The dirt track we were on became rougher and we all held our breath going over the various wooden 'bridges' !

When we arrived at Chambok there was a few small groupings of traditional Khmer houses on stilts and the only other traffic we encountered was the local cows being herded along the road!

The first stretch up the mountain to the waterfall was by cow cart! Which was a pretty bumpy and funny ride! The other half was on foot and it was a real hike and coupled with the baking heat it really wasn't easy!

The 3 volunteer's on the way in the jeep!

Just arrived at Chambok (the mini safari jeep behind us!)

Matching outfits... 'cause that's how we roll... :/ 

Had to use the trousers once! 

About to set off in the cow cart. 

Riding up in the cow cart!

Cow "selfie"!!

"Are we there yet!?!?!"

At the waterfall. 

Phirom & us! 

The scramble through the jungle back down! 

One of the many ants nests!

Buddhist shrine where we lit incense and said a prayer.

Anyone for a cow cart ride!?!...

It's Hair Washing Day, Cambodian Style!

Hair Washing Day!

Health and hygiene is a big problem here at Kais Kids Orphanage.  Due to the dry, dusty atmosphere in dry season and wet muddy conditions in monsoon season it's inevitable that you'll get really dirty throughout the day and the incredible heat and humidity means lots of lovely sweating which makes you really grimy! (Sounds nice eh!?)

We know to shower, wash and keep clean in order to stay healthy, but I was surprised at just how little attention is paid to hygiene here at the orphanage.  Most of the time the children are left to their own devices and it's only when volunteers are present that a structure is brought to their day and things like teeth brushing are implemented.  Every evening we supervise the girls in the girls' house brushing their teeth and the boys have been given toothbrushes too.  The on site nurse who lives in the girls house is there in the morning when the girls shower, but it's a case of splashing some water and no soap or shampoo.  The male manager who lives in the boys house does the same there too. 

With lack of hygiene; and so many children together; it's inevitable that a lot of them especially girls with their long hair have nits! Another problem is parasites and many of the kids have swollen bellies due to this; in the medical hut there is worming tablets which can solve this problem, but a lack of knowledge means they don't seem to be used regularly or often enough.  

There is also a doctor who visits the orphanage once a week; but with many of the children at the orphanage having severe disabilities and illnesses, basic things like nits and worming seem to be forgotten. 

As part of our 'biology - health & hygiene' day on Tuesdays we decided to start getting rid of the girls' nits by washing with medicated shampoo and combing out their hair.  Admittedly, it may seem a menial task that I didn't think I'd signed up for and perhaps the on site nurse should be doing, but being here and living with the girls compels you to take care of them and teach them how to do it themselves and hopefully set a standard for looking after themselves when we're gone.  In short, the education, doesn't end at teaching English. 

The girls were all keen to have their hair washed and after we combed their hair we plaited it and gave them a new hair bobble to encourage tying their hair up.  The hair washing turned out to be lots of fun with plenty of splashing, even the boys were curious about what was going on and keen to help wash the girls hair much to their horror!

The After Shots! 

We have now washed and combed their hair twice and hope to keep it up until we can get rid of them altogether! 

It's Sports Day!

If you're still reading, this post is on sports day at Kais Kids orphanage.  We decided as it was two of the volunteer's last day to do something really fun and energetic and make the most of the extra pairs of hands while we had them!

We had 4 teams: blue, red, yellow and green and we divided the kids up using home made coloured wrist bands.

The events were

1.  3 legged race

2. Egg and spoon race

3. Football race

4. Relay race

Organising structured events can be difficult with the language barrier and excitable kids, but sports day was a huge success and they all seemed to have fun and cheer each other on! Even the nannies looked on, curious what all the excitement was and were laughing at the funny races!

At the end we handed out chocolate football's we'd managed to find at the local mart and of course they went down a treat! Everyone was a winner!