Comments on: Heroes in Kep Gardens, Cambodia: with help from Bowie, Play For Change and Musicians in Angkor Wat! /2014/12/heroes-in-kep-gardens-cambodia-with-help-from-bowie-play-for-change-and-musicians-in-angkor-wat/ Supporting children's language, communication and learning Fri, 26 Dec 2014 11:39:14 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.3 By: Michael Jones /2014/12/heroes-in-kep-gardens-cambodia-with-help-from-bowie-play-for-change-and-musicians-in-angkor-wat/#comment-8029 Fri, 26 Dec 2014 11:39:14 +0000 /?p=1320#comment-8029 Hi Julie!
Wow! That is great that you have visited Kep Gardens too!!
Yes, I think that what struck us is that they are not ‘do-gooders’ (who sometimes have their own ‘agenda’. They are ‘good-doers’ who see that they can offer something very practical and then get on and do it, involving the local community in the project. These are two quite remarkable people. It is only this year that they have finally got round to building themselves a humble home with a shower!
I was very struck that they do not ‘give’ anything to the people who come there (e.g. pencils and pens and books). However, what they do give is time, energy, know-how and a great sense of humour and real purpose. Their work to raise money to put local young adults through college is a tremendous achievement, that will have a sustainable impact for the community.
I have spent many years working with what we would describe as ‘poor’ people in the UK, and our solution is to give poor people lots of things, handouts and money. This has not worked, in many ways, in my opinion. So to hear Janine say that they do not give the children coloured pencils and books to use at home was a bit of a surprise. However, after spending a few hours working at the project, I could see that she was absolutely right.

We had a very interesting experience a few days later, which brought this home to me. We were on a boat near a floating village and a woman approached us in her boat, selling snacks and exercise books and coloured pencils ‘for the poor children to use in school’. A few hours later we visited the village and saw several small children with a pile of coloured pencils and exercise books, playing with them in the dust. The tourists who had bought the pencils and books, offloaded them onto the children as soon as they could, and the children had so many that they had absolutely no value for them.
Thank you for reading my post and taking the time to respond.
Very best wishes
Michael

]]> By: Julie Cooper /2014/12/heroes-in-kep-gardens-cambodia-with-help-from-bowie-play-for-change-and-musicians-in-angkor-wat/#comment-8028 Fri, 26 Dec 2014 10:57:45 +0000 /?p=1320#comment-8028 Hi Michael
I read your blog with interest and couldn’t agree with you more, about the work and contributions of Janine and Andrew in Kep Gardens. We have followed their journey from afar in Adelaide, where they came from. This year we finally had the privilege to visit with them, and we had similar experiences to you. We were not only impressed by their work but also the relationships they have with all members of the community and the commitment and enthusiasm of their students. They are indeed “Heroes”.

]]> By: Michael Jones /2014/12/heroes-in-kep-gardens-cambodia-with-help-from-bowie-play-for-change-and-musicians-in-angkor-wat/#comment-8027 Wed, 24 Dec 2014 23:59:22 +0000 /?p=1320#comment-8027 Hi Julie!
It’s great to hear from you again! I know what you mean about fishing poles.
Very best wishes
Michael

]]> By: Julie Barton /2014/12/heroes-in-kep-gardens-cambodia-with-help-from-bowie-play-for-change-and-musicians-in-angkor-wat/#comment-8026 Wed, 24 Dec 2014 17:54:29 +0000 /?p=1320#comment-8026 Michael,

Thank you for the history lesson and the inspiring story of the couple from Australia.

I was a child during the Vietnam war and was sheltered from the news of the atrocities that occurred in Southeast Asia. I do remember seeing schoolmates wearing bracelets bearing the names of POWs and MIAs. It was such a poignant and controversial time period here in the US.

I work for a not-for-profit community agency that hands out fishing poles instead of buckets of fish in order to empower people to meet their needs rather than expecting handouts. This method is moderately successful.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Julie

]]> By: Michael Jones /2014/12/heroes-in-kep-gardens-cambodia-with-help-from-bowie-play-for-change-and-musicians-in-angkor-wat/#comment-8025 Tue, 23 Dec 2014 11:31:04 +0000 /?p=1320#comment-8025 HI Elly
Yes, I cry too when I think about what people in this country were subjected to. However people are resilient and given the right support can bounce back from the most terrible adversity. I think Janine and Andrew show us that even the smallest pieces of kindness can make a huge difference to people’s lives. They are both very clear that though the education is free, they don’t give the families ‘aid’, like free pens and exercise books. That was very interesting for me to think about, because in the UK we have got used to the idea of giving ‘the poor’ in our country everything they need for free. I’m not sure that works.
Take care out there and thanks for responding to my post.
Love from Michael

]]> By: Elly Foster /2014/12/heroes-in-kep-gardens-cambodia-with-help-from-bowie-play-for-change-and-musicians-in-angkor-wat/#comment-8024 Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:17:40 +0000 /?p=1320#comment-8024 Dear Michael, usually I cry with laughter at your blogs but this time I cried with pity, but also with joy that there are people like Andrew and Janine in this world. Elly xx

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