For our house building day, we needed an early breakfast and we were soon off in our three mini buses to the village of Siesa in the area of Svay in the Kampong Chhnang Province, northwest of Phnom Penh. It took two hours and fifteen minutes to arrive at the village, including a quick bathroom stop along the way and another opportunity for some of our girls to practise the use of squat toilets!
As we were arriving at the village, I was able to point out the house frames to our group and then we noticed the large gathering of people on the road who were waiting to greet us. They were very excited by our visit and after some greetings (chum reap suar suk su bai te), we made our way to our base which was located under a shady tree. There were two platforms for our belongings. We were divided into five groups and we were soon assigned to our first houses. It was a huge blessing to note that the floors of the houses were all timber, rather than bamboo. While the timber is hardwood, it is still significantly easier and faster than bamboo. There were still a number of bent nails and an occasional thumb that was hit by a hammer, but we all came through strongly. As a result, all ten houses were completed within record time, allowing us to eat our lunch of crusty baguettes with a variety of spreads that had been purchased the previous evening. Some tried some interesting combinations such as nutella and peanut butter, peanut butter and honey, or the more adventurous vegemite, pringles and oreos!
This year, the houses we were constructing were spread across a larger area, and it was interesting to see some of the houses that we were replacing, whose walls and roofs were made from palm leaves, meaning that there would be a lot of leaking during the frequent rains that this area receives. It is now the beginning of the wet season, but the area that we were buidling in was very dry for the time being.
Following lunch, we had a handover ceremony, where members of our group presented each of the families with a quilt made by Tabitha staff and then we had a group photo. Then it was time to say good bye (Chum reap pleah) and akun (thank you). Another phrase that we learnt which would be helpful was "som toh" - meaning sorry, and if you have done something really silly, "som toh, som toh, som toh"!
On return to the hotel we had time for a swim and relaxation before heading off for our final dinner in Cambodia. Our excellent guide, Ny, arranged an amazing restaurant, The Titanic, on the riverside which we all thoroughly enjoyed.
One of the houses that we were replacing. While this house is on stilts, it may still flood and certainly is not waterproof.
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