WPM Domestic Violence Video

Many organizations in Cambodia collobrate with eachother to share knowledge and reasources. Recently USAID hosted a program to teach local NGOs how to create informative videos. Several of my co-workers at Women PeaceMakers joined this program and created (wrote, directed, edited, and starred in) this video about different types of abuse:

Siem Reap... Finally!

Angkor Wat

WPM Retreat in Sihankouville

I had a quiet holiday season this year. For Christmas, I had a bunch of the other MCCers over for Christmas brunch (which they did most of the cooking for, thanks all!), then for New Years I just spent the evening at home. But, I have gotten some traveling in during the first few weeks of 2016.

First, Women PeaceMakers had a staff retreat, with all of the staff and their families. We all piled into a van, and headed off to Chi Phat, a community based eco-tourism site. Getting there took six hours, driving down windy dirt roads, and crossing a river on a ferry. When we finally arrived at Chi Phat, we found a spot by the river and had a picnic of fresh cooked seafood. After lunch, we got back in the van and headed off to Sihanoukville where we stayed for the next two nights. We spent the next day relaxing and bonding at the beach. The next day we headed back to Phnom Penh via Thmor Roung National Resort, where we had wild boar for lunch and played in the rapids.

Bayon Temple

The next week, I went on vacation to Siem Reap for the first time. Siem Reap is the most popular tourist site in Cambodia, because it hosts the Angkor World Heritage Site, known as Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is an archaeological site of temples and palaces dating back to at least the 12th Century. The ruins were also where the movie Laura Croft: Tomb Raider was film. While I was there I met up with two of the Cambodia SALT participants, and together we explored the park. We went to watch sunset one evening, then woke up early the next morning to watch the sunrise and to explore the ruins. The archaeological site is huge, way more than someone can see in one day or even a week, so we only saw a few of the buildings before we decided that we were too hot and tired to continue. We went back to my hotel relaxed and took the evening easy.

Ta Prohm

Angkor Wat

Bayon Temple

Fish massage post Angkor Wat

Conflict Management Workshops

Conflict Management Training participants

A few weeks ago, I was invited to go to with Women Peacemakers to Seda Commune, Camber District, Tboung Khmum Province to assist with the Conflict Management Training, one of the follow ups to the Community Nonviolence Workshops I attended in March. And by assist I mean, I observed the training and took pictures, while my amazing co-workers lead the sessions in Khmer and explained parts of the training to me in English.

Road to the school

We headed out off Phnom Penh, because the workshops were held from Saturday through Tuesday, and WPM did follow up interviews on Wednesday and Thursday. I returned to Phnom Penh on Monday though, because of work with my other organizations.

The training was held at a school building located in the middle of a field. Many of the training participants had met the WPM staff members on earlier trips, so I was the only person in need of introduction. The director excited explained that my name is Hannah, that I'm from America, and that I work with WPM part time. She then remembered that I can introduce myself in Khmer, so she had me repeat the information myself. I added that I have lived in Cambodia for one year. During the workshop, several of the participants made a point to come over and speak to me. One woman thanked me for working in Cambodia, one old man brought me a fruit and asked me if we have it in America, and one of the commune leaders told me that I was doing a good job respecting Khmer culture by wearing the traditional sampot skirt- but that I should wear long sleeves next time to really be a Cambodian lady.

Wearing my sampot during the workshop

The WPM Director and two of the staff members jointly lead the trainings. They taught the group about self-reflection, perspectives, stereotypes, prejudice, conflict, alternatives to violence, and many other things that I'm sure I was unable to understand with my limited Khmer. While much of Cambodian education focuses on rote learning, WPM makes a point of having their trainings be participatory. The students were encouraged to speak, hold group discussions, do small group work, play games, and use their creativity.

Attempting Routines

Khmer New Year dinner with MCC Staff

 In the States, we really like schedules. We plan things well in advance- parties, meetings, other events. Last minute changes tend to make us stressed- or at least that's how I feel. This is a cultural difference that I've really had to confront here in Cambodia because things are much more likely to be planned last minute here- which makes trying to balance working at three different organizations and attending events for a forth kind of difficult. Thankfully, I've settled into a (very) general routine:

Motoing with one of the SALTers

Monday: I work at the Peace Institute of Cambodia (PIC). I leave my house around 7AM because with traffic it's about an hour of driving each way. Most day I'm there I have a meeting with the director to go over plans and the things that need to be done. I've been working on collecting contact information for potential international academic partners, and I'll start working on the website next week. I get home around 6PM and after a quick dinner, I meet up with some friends at one of the local movie theaters to watch one of my favorite TV shows.

Dinner with some WPM staff

Tuesday and Wednesday: I work at Women PeaceMakers (WPM). I write and edit reports and grant applications for funding organizations, and basically end up writing or editing anything that's needed in English. At least once a week I meet up with one or two of the SALTers for lunch since many of them work in offices near WPM. These are also the days that I run to MCC if I have anything I need to do there, because the WPM office is close to the MCC office.

RISC Staff

Thursday and Friday: I head on over to the Returnee Integration Support Center (RISC), and hang out and work with those guys. I'm currently working on updating their website and assisting with analyzing a survey they are conducting with the returnees to see how they are doing as an organization. I also get to go along on site visits with the other staff. Almost every month, I go visit some returnee's who are in prison near Phnom Penh. Prisons here provide very little, so RISC brings them toiletries and some money to buy food and water every month, along with just checking up on them and being smiling outside faces.

This schedule often gets interrupted though- by holidays (which all of the offices might take or only a few will), MCC events, and special events as well. I'm starting to relax more, and just go with the flow- even when I have mornings like today that just feel like disasters. I drove all the way out to PIC just to realize that it's a holiday for that office. I try to keep an open mind and to just be open to the new adventures that each day holds.

Community Nonviolence Workshops

Community Nonviolence Workshop in Sapour Village

Prepping for workshops

Here in Phnom Penh, I work with two different organizations, Women PaceMakers (WPM), Returnee Integration Support Center (RISC), and I have just agreed to partner with a third, Peace Institute of Cambodia. I spend my working hours split between the organizations.

Rumpeak 2 Village

I have been especially busy with WPM. In December and January I helped to write a grant application, a progress report for another funder, and a completion report. Since then I've written a concept note for a potential funder, and have worked on the 2014 annual report. Though most of my time is taken up with writing, and leading English conversation classes with my coworkers, recently I was able to go with several of my coworkers to conduct some pre-workers out in the province. 

Workshop in Rumpeak 3 Village

WPM conducts workshops focused on peace and women's issues. Out in the provinces WPM does women's rights and conflict management workshops, while in Phnom Penh we conduct workshops for empowerment of young adults and active non-violence. Before conducting new full length workshops, especially in the provinces, we first conduct always a series of "pre-workshops" in order to introduce ourselve to the communities and to get to know their specific issues.

Rumpeak 1 Village

This past month, I joined with two of my coworkers and the WPM director as they conducted such pre-workshops in 8 different villages in Tboung Khmum Province, which is about a three hour drive from Phnom Penh.  Over the course of three days we conducted 8 one hour long pre-workshops. The workshops were conducted in homes, at schools, and even at two Mosques. All of the workshops were conducted in Khmer, so I didn't understand much since my Kmher is so limited, but the villagers seemed to appreciate that I could introduce myself and tell them where I'm from. To make myself useful I played photographer for the week, taking pictures of the workshops and villages we visited. 

Khmar Chum Village

Though I couldn't understand much, I appreciated the opportunity to witness village life and to watch how the villagers interacted with one another, and to participate in the work of WPM.

Moto Adventures

This holiday season has been full of unexpected, moto adventures. I knew coming to Cambodia that I'd have to learn to drive a motorbike (it's more of a motorscooter than a motorcycle). My first driving lesson was during my first week, when I went with the YALT group to Prey Vang. It wasn't a very long lesson, because it started raining during my 2nd lap of the street. I didn't get on a moto, solo, again until the end of November. During that lesson I did a couple laps around the block. I managed to fall 3 times in less than half an hour. But, my wonderful teacher Tony didn't see me, and some really nice motodop drivers helped me pick the moto back up- it was clear to them that I had no idea what I was doing.

After that I was on my own. I knew I needed to learn to drive, but I really didn't want to. I was so tense and nervous during my second lesson that my upper back and shoulders were sore the next day. But, I did it, I made myself drive on the back roads around the office. A few weeks later I made myself drive over to the grocery store. But, I still hated having to get on the moto. 

Then on the day of the MCC Christmas party I found myself in a sticky situation. All of the YALTers were in town so all of the MCC bikes were in use. Without a bike my choices of transportation to the party, at the Reps' House, were to walk, motodop, or drive myself. I called my parents before the party so I didn't have time to walk there, and I never learned the landmark to use to tell a motodop how to get to the Reps' House. So, after an internal pep talk, I forced myself to drive the moto. It was a quiet Saturday morning, so there wasn't much traffic on the main roads. I was able to easily drive myself to the house, even through the round about. At the end of my party I gave myself another pep talk and drove on home again.

The only time after that I needed to give myself a pep talk to drive was on Christmas Day when I met up with some of the other Service Workers for Christmas Dinner. 

Next thing I knew, I was driving everywhere. I drove to WPM, and then after work drove out to the River Side to meet up with a visit from Swarthmore. I didn't exactly know where I was going, so I almost ended up driving over a bridge and out of the city. Thankfully, there was a place to make a u-turn before actually getting on the bridge. According to Google Maps the drive should take about 15 minute, but between traffic and my unexpected detour, it took me about 40 minutes. Thankfully the people I was meeting were extremely understanding.

Since then I have made moto my primary form of transportation, including driving the 30+ minutes to RISC multiple times now. And I've even driven with someone else on it with me (which I will admit was pretty stressful and difficult at first, but got better as the day went on). I'm going to try to keep riding my bike for shorter trips, but I've learned that I really enjoy motoing places. Maybe I'll get a motorcycle when I'm back in the States...

Here we go again

Sometimes I think there must be something wrong with me. These times tend to be when I meet someone and have to answer the question "So, what do you do?" or when I tell my friends what's going on with me. I mean, who gets back to the States after living in Jordan for a year and a month later leaves to go to Cambodia for three years?

Apparently, I do.

I returned from Jordan on July 22th and in the first week of August I  accepted another term with Mennonite Central Committee this time in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I am the Peace Program Support Worker, and I have committed to a three year term. For the first few month of my term I will be doing intensive language study (in Khmer), and living in a homestay. After that I will begin my work with two Cambodian NGOs, Women Peacemakers (WPM) and Returnee Integration Support Center for Conflict Reduction (RISC). WPM works with women who have been victims of domestic violence or rape. RISC works with former refugees returning to Cambodia.

I leave on September 3rd, and will be landing in Phnom Penh 25 hours (and two layovers) later. I get to attend my first MCC Cambodia staff meeting on September 8th. I hope I'm awake by then.