Lessons learnt from a Cambodian village

In January and February this year I spent 2 months in Cambodia as a team leader of a group of volunteers working in a rural village. As we built the foundations of what would later become the Life Skill’s Centre of a local school, I became more and more aware of how happy the local villagers were. They all seemed so content, fulfilled and stress-free, and as I started to get to know them closer, I realised that all of us in the “West” could learn so much from them.

Community and Family

The support that each family gets from their immediate community is enormous. For the first week, I wasn’t too sure of which child belonged to which adult unless someone was breast-feeding! They all shared the role of parenting and even the younger kids were responsible and capable enough to look after the little ones. The community we were working in were all very committed to their children’s education and all worked together to have a fully functioning school.

Simplicity and Happiness

The people in this village had so little, that I felt embarrassed with my heavy duty back pack and camera. The children play happily with sticks, rocks and rubber bands for hours. The women have only two or three different outfits which they work, sleep and live in everyday. They all work very hard for very little money (average $2 a day) and yet, the smiles were the best example of the old saying: Money doesn’t buy you happiness.

Gratitude and Humility

Following the atrocities and genocide of the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s, the Cambodian people are fully aware of how precious life is. They live each moment and they don’t sweat the small stuff. They are grateful for each meal and for the work they do that helps them feed their families. No one complains - except about the heat occasionally!

I was extremely humbled to have been a part of these people’s lives for such a short time. I went over to Cambodia thinking that I would make a lasting, positive impact on a rural village in Cambodia and I came home feeling that I had gained more than them!