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More of Henry's Letter |
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I feel that FLO. is an oasis in a very troubled country.
Physically, the well-groomed gardens and peaceful ponds in FLO. are
a dramatic contrast to the bone-dry and dusty surrounding
neighborhood. On a social level, FLO always feels safe and
well-ordered, especially when compared to the rest of Phnom Penh and
its crime-ridden outlying neighborhoods. While the other neighborhood
children spend their free time in pool halls, bars or running around
the street, the children at FLO. are in a place where they are
encouraged to do their homework and further their study with the
classes offered there.
The children at FLO don't lead hard lives, but as an American who
was not so long ago an American teenager, I can definitely say that
they possess admirable self-discipline. The children wake up at 5:30
am, wash up, and then spend about half an hour watering flowers. If
they have school that morning, they leave at 6:30 to make their 7:00
class. If they don't have state school, there are English and
computer classes at FLO. from 8 to 10. They can then head to the
library and read, draw or do their homework. Lunch is at 11:30. Some
of the kids have afternoon classes at the state school, and the rest
take classes at FLO. from 1:00 to 3:00. From 4 to 5:30 the kids do
work at FLO., from raking leaves to moving cement bags to planting
flowers. Dinner is at 5:30, and then the kids have an hour of English
lessons or dance practice, or both. At 9:00 p.m. all the kids are
gathered for a roll call, to make sure they aren't gallivanting in the
neighborhood. Then most of them study till about 10:00 in the dining
area.
That is a very basic summary of a typical day at FLO., or at least
what I gathered from my time there. I'm sure there's a lot more that
goes on that I don't know about, especially in the secret world that
all young people have with each other. However, I think that
basically every kid at FLO. leads quite a disciplined life, though
they have time for fun as well. They make use of everything they have
to provide recreation. Some of the kids are amazing artists, while
others are great athletes.
When I asked the FLO. children about how they are different from the
other kids at the public school, they said that the non-FLO. kids
are much more misbehaved and never think about their future. On
average, it seems that the FLO. children are much better students
than their peers. I can say from experience that all of the children
were respectful and well-behaved students.
The adults at FLO. constantly give the children encouragement and
guidance in order to challenge the negative messages the children
receive from their peers at school and the surrounding neighborhood.
This is often done through lectures in and outside of class. Because
there are so many children at FLO (about 250) and only a few
teachers, the dynamics of FLO. are quite different from that of an
average family, especially an average American family.
I wish the kids could have more freedom and occasionally learn from
making mistakes, like I did growing up. However, the task of FLO.
is to create a positive and safe environment for hundreds of kids, and
I think this is why FLO has strict rules. The children are not
supposed to leave the orphanage for anything except school (and for
some, religious activities). Moreover, they are not supposed to
"date" or have any kind of romance with each other at all. Part of
the reason for these rules is that they are mandated by the
government. The fact is, many orphanages throughout Cambodia are
infamous for their pickpockets and other rascals. I personally think
that the rules are necessary because these children are living without
parents and relatives to guide them and help them stay out of trouble.
If the kids were allowed to leave FLO. whenever they wanted, and
date amongst each other and their peers, then the tight-knit community
of FLO. would unravel and become something like chaos. Not only do
the FLO. children lack the presence of family, they are also
surrounded by a neighborhood where it's easy to get in trouble.
I think the strict rules of FLO are necessary and beneficial, and
most of the kids follow them. It's also obvious to me, however, that
the adults at FLO. cannot control the behavior of the kids unless
the kids themselves decide to follow the rules. I could tell that
some of the children occasionally snuck out of FLO. to go to
nightclubs, or skipped working or dinner so they could watch TV with
their neighborhood friends. Moreover, some of the kids obviously have
"sweethearts" who they talk to at school. The children aren't ruled
with an iron fist. I think that all the adults at FLO. are quite
moderate in their expectations. It is only when a child consistently
skips school and sneaks out of FLO. that adults have a talk with
them to try to guide them back to good behavior.
Like everyone, I was troubled by the fact that nineteen children chose
to leave FLO., most of them going to work in the Phnom Penh
factories. I talked with the teachers and children extensively about
this. I held one class where we just talked about why the children
left. My students told me that the children who left FLO. really
disliked school and preferred freedom and fun to their disciplined
lives at the orphanage. After staying at FLO. for six weeks, I can
empathize with the kids' longings for freedom. FLO. is a great
place, and the kids are able to pursue a variety of hobbies and
recreation in the orphanage itself, but sometimes they want to go out
into the bustling neighborhood and have some excitement.
Unfortunately, the state schools aren't very stimulating for many
students. Each class has 40-70 students, and the teachers aren't very
motivated because they are paid only $25 a month. As a result, every
state teacher makes money on the side by holding mandatory extra
classes and exam study sessions and by selling school supplies.
Luckily, the teachers do not charge any of the FLO. kids for the
extra classes. I asked the children how they liked school, and many
of them seemed genuinely interested in what they were learning there.
However, the schools are very poor and overcrowded, lacking the
resources to motivate all but the most academic of students. The
library is small, and only contains French language books that none of
the students understand. For students who aren't academically
inclined, and may be several years older than the other students in
their grade, I can understand why they would want to drop out of
school.
As much as I encourage all the children to stay at FLO., there is a
small part of me that thinks that some of the kids who left may have
made a reasonable choice, if not a good one. Most children who decide
to leave are thinking realistically about their present situation and
making what they think is the better choice for their near future.
The factories pay $60-80 an hour, and the working conditions are
supposedly decent. Employees can skip work when they want to with no
penalty other than appropriately docked pay. The kids working in the
factories, most of them in their late teens, live together in shared
apartments. They make enough money to buy their own clothes, food,
and if they save enough, a motorbike. For a teenager, the most
appealing thing about factory life is probably the freedom.
I know that many of the factory workers go on to better jobs and there
are opportunities for advancement within the factory, but I can't know
what the futures are for the kids who left FLO. to work. I feel
that they did learn to act decently and kindly at FLO., and
hopefully the values they learned there will stay with them.
I know that FLO. helps the children in many ways, but I think the
most important thing it gives the children is strong character. The
Cambodian community has been torn apart by war and poverty, and many
would agree that the Cambodians one meets today are not the same ones
you would have met 35 years ago. For many, money comes before
anything else, including basic decency. I have a Khmer American
friend who refuses to return to Cambodia after being disgusted by the
materialism and greed of her relatives there. The leadership in
Cambodia sets a particularly bad example, each official trying to
outdo the other in ostentatious shows of wealth, wealth that has been
obtained through corruption. Amidst this backdrop, however, FLO. is
a moral oasis. The community of FLO. is very strong, and I
personally saw how the children were always working together and
lending things to each other. I only saw a few arguments at FLO.,
and these were quickly settled. The adults at FLO. are all
genuinely good people who feel strongly about moral behavior and
creating a better Cambodia. The children are very lucky to have such
strong role models. The teachers are incredibly giving, thinking
constantly of the kids. FLO. requires staff who are extremely
selfless and motivated by a desire to help, and I think all the staff
at FLO. live up to these standards. In contrast to the selfishness
in Cambodia that I heard about and occasionally saw, I found FLO. to
be a community that derives happiness from helping each other rather
than pursuing personal gain.
In addition, the children at FLO. learn to value education, and are
also receiving an exceptional education in English and computers.
Henry Kamm, in his book "Cambodia: Report from Stricken Land",
believes that what Cambodia needs more than anything is an educated,
politically aware and morally sound class of people to make Cambodia a
fair and democratic society. Only by having this class of people can
Cambodia move beyond its corrupt dictatorship. I strongly believe
that FLO. is one of the few places in Cambodia where such a class of
people is being molded. The FLO. children see the adults as their
role models, and therefore want to grow up to help others. They also
excel beyond their peers in the state school, and I personally know
some particularly bright and motivated children who I am sure will be
strong leaders in the Cambodian community someday. All of the
children at FLO. are well behaved, friendly and willing to help each
other.
I think that the foster parent program has had a very real and strong
impact on the children here. The children were often running up to me
to show me their new letters from parents, and I often saw them in
deep concentration as they worked on writing their own letters, on
their own time. They hold great affection for their foster parents
and remember what is written to them. They would often ask me if I
knew their foster parent, and then recount things they learned about
their foster parent from the letters. As all of these children are
either without parents or separated from them, they really treasure
any encouragement and affection they receive. Moreover, having foster
parents in America opens the children's eyes to a world much bigger
than their small neighborhood in Cambodia. They have the ambition and
desire to be part of that larger world and embrace its opportunities.
As it is, FLO. is a necessary and important place that is providing
a better life for all the children involved. However, I also
understand why FLO. can be a difficult place to live. I think that
the teachers are overburdened with the task of taking care of hundreds
of children. They have little time to arrange recreational activities
for the kids, and I think that the kids need more time to have fun and
let off steam. I don't know exactly what FLO. needs to be a more
enjoyable place for the kids, but if I were to guess, I would say that
the completion of the recreation area would be extremely helpful.
Also, I would make more art supplies available and give the kids time
to use them. In regards to housing, almost all the children,
including the teenagers, live in big rooms where they sleep on mats or
cots. They are separated by age and sex. About 20-40 kids live
together in each room/building. These rooms are spacious enough and
kept quite clean, but I think many kids would like to live in less
communal housing.
The classroom I taught in during the day is cramped, hot and filled
with flies. It is a very distracting place to learn. I think a new
classroom should be built in its place that is spacious, closed-off to
flies and equipped with fans.
In the way of material things, I think that the children would not
benefit from anything more than the basics. However, I think that the
kids do need some more clothes, as some of them only one a few
t-shirts, ridden with holes. I think all the kids should have
backpacks, as well, as many of them currently hold all their books in
their hand during state school and consequently lose them easily.
These improvements to FLO seem quite basic, and I think that the
adults at FLO. have become so busy that they have missed them. I
think a new staff member is essential, either as a teacher, social
coordinator, or advocate and counselor for the children.
FLO. has a lot of room to improve, and to me, seems like a constant
work in progress. FLO. has certainly benefited from the addition of
the library and BorLeung, the new English teacher who is exceptionally
dedicated. Right now FLO. is building more housing for the kids and
a recreational area where the kids can play sports. I am sure that
the FLO. I come back to in a year will be an improved one.
I am very grateful for having been able to spend six weeks at FLO.
and develop friendships with the kids and teachers. I will
continually maintain a relationship with the orphanage throughout my
life. I feel that I have a decent understanding of FLO., but at the
same time, I have only scratched the surface. I'm sure there are
still many aspects of life there that I don't know about. In this
e-mail I was unable to discuss everything I experienced at FLO., but
if any of you who receive this letter want to ask me questions, please
do so and I'll be happy to reply.
Sincerely,
Henry Hail |
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