And I thought my adventure was over ... silly me.

It was awfully sad to say good-bye to my fellow participants the day of the group departure. We had been this formidable, cohesive unit for all of 12 days and now we were disbanding minus our bikes to make our various ways home. Kyle, Fiona, Gary and I stood in silence until I piped up with 'And then there were four'. We proceeded to plan a busy couple of days in PP complete with our very own personal tuk tuk driver. Highlights of those days include: invading a friend of Fiona's apartment and subsequently her pool, finding 'Cherry Blossom' toothpaste, enjoying a second round of Cambodian cheeseburgers and finally on a less superficial note, visiting the heart-warming Sunrise Children's Orphanage.

On our last day we decided to pile 3 adults, 3 stuffed-to-the-brim backpacks, and 5 pieces of hand luggage into a tuk tuk and make our way to the airport. Upon saying good-bye to "King" Kyle and my darling brother, Gary in Phnom Penh I made my way to the departure lounge at PP airport. Sitting down in front of a television I was transfixed at the breaking news that protesters were approaching Bangkok airport. Hmm, I thought, should I be concerned by this? I boarded the plane and landed in BKK in time to see protesters approaching the airport, the police putting up road blocks and my taxi driver proclaiming repeatedly, 'bad, very bad'. I asked that he get me to the bus station asap - mainly because I wanted to get on the bus to visit my close friend, Jude, living in the town of Ranong. The protesters seemed to resemble a street parade more than they resembled a disgruntled mob of volatile rioters.

After a nine hour bus ride during which I quickly realised that there was not a single person on the bus that spoke a lick of English, we arrived in the town of Ranong. One must comment rather quickly on the overwhelming smell of fish that is to be encountered upon exiting the confines of air-conditioned comfort when arriving into this town. It is the equivalent to the intensity of the smell that permeates out of the town of Rotorua in NZ. I would venture to say that I far prefer Rotorua's thermal stench over that of Ranong's fish perfume. The reason for the smell is attributed to the fact that Ranong is home to Thailand's largest west coast port which is home to a HUGE fishing fleet. The town of Ranong I am told is enormously reliant on this industry with a high percentage of the town's occupants - mainly Burmese refugees - being employed within the industry to some degree. The Burmese refugee population of Ranong is quite large, estimated at 100,000+, most of whom are illegal and all of whom have very little rights. In addition to this, the Burmese are faced with immense prejudice from the Thai people and are essentially seen as second class citizens.

Unfortunately my cell phone battery died as we entered Ranong. This combined with the fact that I had not noted Jude's address caused me slight panic. I tried in vain to communicate with the bus driver who answered all my questions with a smile and 'yes'. I reasoned that Ranong could not possibly be that big and that I would simply 'ask around', hoping to bump into an English speaker. Contemplating the thought of carrying my 16kg backpack and my 15kg of hand luggage around in the rain I sat at the Ranong bus station mapping out a plan of action. This was until I heard a familiar Irish accent speak my name. Jumping up with a squeal I ran down the steps hugging Jude and exclaiming, 'I'm so glad you speak English!' We went on to have a fantastic day. Jude gave me a tour of Ranong, via Thai taxi - a makeshift ute that you jump on and off the back of. Accompanied by 'the smell' we had quite the tour of Ranong. I have always said that I have a heightened sense of smell as I seem to smell odours long before others and with an intensity that I do believe makes me a superhero. This gift of mine was a horrible curse in Ranong.



Jude works for a mission organisation that supplies aid and support to the many Burmese refugees living in Ranong. He asked me at one point if I would be interested in visiting several of the families and individuals that his organisation works with, many of whom suffer from HIV or AIDS. I jumped at the opportunity and soon found myself standing in front of a mother of five (including two sets of twins) who all resided in a questionable, makeshift tiny room that was extremely damp, ill equipped, enormously dirty and made of rotting wood. This woman and her family were illegal immigrants from Burma. The had been abandoned by the woman's husband shortly after the birth of the youngest set of twins. Despite her circumstances this woman smiled brightly as her youngest twins, aged 6 months, had recently been rescued from certain death by the mission. They had been diagnosed with dengue fever and when found by the mission were malnourished and extremely ill. Because of this woman's illegal status as a refugee in Thailand she had been reluctant to seek help at the local hospital. The twins, having received treatment, looked remarkably well. It was a bitter sweet reality - I found it difficult to reconcile the positive news of the twins' recovery with the depravity of their living situation.

Jude and I moved on to a nearby cafe where we had the privacy and the space to discuss what we had just seen. We had a rousing discussion regarding aid work, development and the role of the developed world advocating and protecting the rights of these people. It was the perfect opportunity for me to offload my Cambodia experience onto someone who has both the experience and the education to address the various concerns and questions I had collected along my journey. It was amazing to me how my trip thus far had contributed so dramatically to a renewed and altered shift in my understanding of World Vision's work and the responsibility of those who work within this powerful organisation.

Jude took me back to the guesthouse where we promptly jumped into one of the mission's vehicles and headed for Ranong's infamous hot springs - essentially Rotorua without the thermal smell. I watched as Thai lay down on slabs of concrete heated by thermal waters underneath or bathed in one of the many pools available to the public to enjoy. Surrounded by forest and even several elephants, this location was clearly a respite for those living in Ranong. The continuous supply of rain, due to the fact that the Ranong province is known to receive the most rainfall in all of Thailand, had meant that the day we visited, the normally crowded springs were rather empty. Following this Jude proceeded to give me a tour of Ranong. I am glad he did. Minus the distraction of the smell of fish I was able to see that this town has both charm and character. I felt guilty for allowing the smell to cloud my perspective ;).





Recognising my need to shower - I swear I had fish scales on the bottom of my pants - we headed home to freshen up before my first, and my only night on the town in Ranong. Jude proudly escorted me into a highly populated western style bar where we were treated to a local Thai band pumping out the latest Thai tunes. I was fascinated equally by the crowd's adoration for the band in front of us and with my Irish friend's enjoyment of songs he could not understand for the life of him. Unfortunately for us it was difficult to blend into the crowd. Between our very white skin and my 'Hollyday in Cambodia' shirt, it was clear we were indeed aliens in this foreign land. We moved onto a nearby bar that Jude assured me I would enjoy. The band there I was told, was a fantastic covers band - specialising in English songs. Seeing Jude and I enter the bar, the band immediately began seeing English songs, often looking our way with gigantic smiles. I was so touched at their efforts to impress and tried my darndest to hide my delight at hearing U2's 'With or without you' being sung along the lines of 'Wiss or wissout you ... I can't lieb wiss or wissout you'.

Part way through dinner (I turned down a strong recommendation to try the fish) Jude received a text message. He did not disclose the contents of the message until much later, once we had returned home and I had just drifted off to sleep. He then gave me the news that Bangkok airport was officially closed due to the occupation of the protesters I had seen the night prior. What followed was a night of very little sleep as I tentatively put in place contingency plans followed by a morning on the phone to my travel agent. Unfortunately due to a false assurance from the airline I was to travel with I was told my flights were diverted through Phuket when that was not in fact able to happen. Thinking all was well with my flights I agreed to join Jude in his visa run to Burma. It seemed like such a crazy thing to do - I mean we were going to travel via a small boat across a large channel of water to a country that until recently had been rather hostile toward visitors. Just the kind of activity that would attract my attention to be honest! After being processed through Thai immigration (effectively a pokey office next to the ramp down to the boat taxis) and tough negotiations over the amount to be paid to our ship captains (the two men with dodgy smiles, barefeet and little ability to communicate in English) we climbed into the 15 foot long wooden boat that would be our transportation to Burma. I couldn't help but feel like an asylum seeker as I sat side by side with my fellow boat mates, also on their way to Burma's immigration process. A small boy seemed to be the official assistant to the captains. He would run up and down the boat snatching our passports, jumping off the side of the boat onto precariously postioned stairs leading to a number of immigration offices across the body of water leading to Burma, only to return our passports until the next office. On the way to Burma I received a text from my travel agent saying my flights had fallen through and that I no longer had a way out of Thailand. Being stuck on a boat in between Burma and Thailand I quickly realised I had no choice but to sit still and pray for a miracle. The knowledge that I could potentially miss my close friend's wedding that was taking place in a couple of days was unnerving.

A positive of course is that we made it through Burmese immigration complete with entry and exit stamps in our passports. I had the most interesting customs experience there. The man at the 'interrogation desk' told us to be sure to buy some 'whiskey, jewelery and viagra'. Duly noted.

Following a lunch including Burmese tea (yummy and quite sweet) we decided to head back to Thailand to proceed with 'Operation: Get Claire home'. In order to get to our boat which was lined up alongside 10 or so similar boats who had also transported various visa runners and Burmese nationals, we had to walk/climb/wade through a very large area of layered rubbish - essentially a dump. I was wearing flip flops... On my last precarious step before grabbing Jude's hand and getting into the boat I stood on a rotting bag of rice which split and sprayed its contents onto my feet and pants. I went from a look of mortification to washing my feet with my bottled water and assuring Jude that as a kiwi girl I would infact survive. The ride home was fraught with anxiety over what on earth I was to do. My travel agent had text again to say there were absolutely no flights that would get me home in time for the wedding or any time soon. Hilariously, I received a phone call from Radio NZ who were interested in getting a 'trapped kiwi's perspective', while about to depart this not so sturdy vessel. I asked them to call me back in an hour as I had to negotiate climbing over several boats and a couple of not so sturdy ramps in the rain in order to get to the Thai immigration office.

We returned to Ranong where I spent the afternoon calling my travel agent, scanning travel websites, watching Thai news broadcasts (little help there) and mapping out my options. The end result: little hope at all of going anywhere anytime soon. In fact all I had to go on was a continuous stream of information relaying the same message - the BKK airport had been taken over, protesters were engaging in a degree of violence with pro-government supporters and there was resolution in sight. Completing my interview with Radio NZ - I admit I did not know who Radio NZ were - I resolved myself to staying in Ranong until the insanity of the protests calmed down. Had it not been for my friend's wedding I would have felt quite content in the thought of more Thai food, watching my cheap DVDs and of course spending quality time with Jude. I went online one last time and found a flight out of Phuket to Singapore. I couldn't believe my luck. I quickly bought a ticket. Jude jumped on a moped to buy me a bus ticket to Phuket and I went to shower - this time I had scales and rice to contend with. Well Jude arrived back with the news that I had just over an hour to pack my bags as the bus to Phuket was leaving soon. I packed my bags, said a quick and rather sad good-bye to Jude and boarded the bus that promised to take me to my aircraft of freedom.

I arrived in Phuket at 11pm. The bus dropped us all off at a dark bus terminal and left within minutes. Exhaustion hit me as I realised I had been strung out on little sleep and a fair amount of anxiety. I shared a taxi with a couple of backpackers and arrived at the airport just a little before midnight. Seeing that the airport was about to close, my newfound friends - the Australian backpackers and I asked if it would be okay for us to sleep on the upper level of the airport along the plastic chairs. We were given permission and before long the lights were turned off and after negotiating several sleeping positions, all of which as uncomfortable as the next, we fell asleep. That is until I received a text message at 1am from the airline stating that my flights had been cancelled. It turns out Air Asia had been dependent on Bangkok Airport being open as Air Asia's planes were being held at BKK. This was enormously frustrating as had I known this I would never have booked a flight with them. Between 1am and 3am I walked the halls of Phuket airport contemplating my next move. I began to map out a 6 step plan complete with flow-chart attributes (I am secretly quite the anally retentive geek). My tiredness combined with the realisation that I was in all likelihood about to miss my friend's wedding I began to feel a tad sorry for myself. That was until my Dr Phil moment of 'For goodness sake Claire, pull yourself together'. I then received quite the sobering revelation. If the worst thing occurring in my life at this point in time is the fact that I am stuck in Thailand and have had to spend the night in Phuket airport then I am damn blessed. After what I had been witness to it was not hard for this revelation to assimilate.

At about 3am I received a call from my darling mum. At around 3.30am I received a call from World Vision. Having heard me on the radio they were contacting me to see if I were okay. At hearing familiar voices I immediately felt reassured. True to form, my mum and my coworkers stepped up to the plate and immediately executed 'Operation: Get Claire home'. Within 2 hours I had flights out of Phuket and was headed home! I could tell you about the check-in lady in Phuket who initially refused to give me a boarding pass due to my booking being so close to take-off or perhaps the attendants at the transfer desk in Singapore who told me that there was no way I would make my connection or perhaps my brother's hospitalisation with severe Pneumonia but hey no need to talk about that!

Ah the bottom line is I had a phenomenal experience from start to finish and would not trade any part! From partnering with the fantastic Raw crew, to cycling with a united and passionate bunch of cyclists in 38 degree weather, to high-fiving countless little hands, to the exposure of hope for an impoverished community ... my time in Cambodia was an assault of the heart. One that I hope to experience again and again. Representing World Vision was a huge honor. I was overwhelmed with how impressively effective this organisation is in transforming dismal realities into extremely hopeful futures. Being partnered with all 20 participants in such a great cause was unbelievable.

Must run - I need to prepare for the next World Vision Charity Challenge - leaving in four weeks today!

Signing off...
One satisfied intrepid traveller.

P.S. Be sure to follow my next blog - 16 of us are going to conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro, raising money to help make safe drinking water a reality for the African community of Magugu! http://wvkilimanjarochallenge.blogspot.com/

Challengers speak!

Katy Bexley

Biggest highlights:
1. Seeing the work of World Vision in action
2. The smiling faces of the kids yelling "hello" at us

Biggest challenges:
1. Visiting the killing fields
2. The hills in the last 15km of the challenge

Pam Scott

Biggest highlights:
1. Meeting Kamsan (her sponsor child) and her family as well as the project visit
2. Completing the cycle challenge - and getting to know everyone in the group

Biggest challenges:
1. Saying good-bye to Kamsan
2. Seeing the killing fields and the S-21 prison and the destruction that the Khmer Rouge caused

Gary Farrelly

Biggest highlights:
1. Finishing the challenge
2. World Vision ADP

Biggest challenges:
1. Trying to out race Gary Senior
2. Waiting to get to the hotel for the toilet instead of squatty potties

Marion Beamish

Biggest highlights:
1. Seeing and interacting with my sponsored child and his family
2. Visiting the project - very impressive
(Many more highlights than challenges)

Biggest challenges:
1. The heat
2. Bottom on bike seat

Craig Haythornthwaite

Biggest highlights:
1. Friendliness of the Cambodian people with children running to meet us as we passed by
2. Seeing how we are making a difference in Koh Andaet

Biggest challenges:
1. Poverty and dilapidation
2. The heat

Barry Williams

Biggest highlights:
1. Children with great spirit
2. The resourcefulness of the Cambodians

Biggest challenges:
1. Convincing friends that World Vision does amazing work and them committing to a child
2. Convincing New Zealanders how blessed they are

Rebecca Sunderland

Biggest highlights:
1. Swimming in the Mekong
2. Connecting with the women in the ADP

Biggest challenges:
1. Rubbish everywhere
2. Clash of cultures

Fiona Whyte

Biggest highlights:
1. Meeting sponsored children and WV communities
2. Sharing this experience with 20 other fantastic people

Biggest challenges:
1. Overcoming gastro and getting back on bike
2. Coming to terms with the amount of need in Cambodia

Victoria Davis

Biggest highlights:
1. Meeting Thanak, my sponsored child, and visiting the World Vision communities
2. Cycling 560km in this heat - never thought I would make it!

Biggest challenges:
1. Cycling the last 104km with very little food due to stomach issues!
2. Feeling so helpless seeing the poverty in the country

Brian Walton

Biggest highlights:
1. Friendliness and lack of agro in the population
2. Ability of group to get along together

Biggest challenges:
1. Heat
2. Appreciating the effort that people are going to improve their lot and appreciating that they need to do it their way

Gary Brent

Biggest highlights:
1. Meeting sponsored child and family
2. How well the group all got on

Biggest challenges:
1. Keeping up with Net and Smey
2. Genocide museum

Moire Cuncannon

Biggest highlights:
1. ADP - seeing the great difference the money we raised will make
2. Having such a great group and making new friends

Biggest challenges:
1. Hills on the last day
2. Coping with the heat

Aleece Forman

Biggest highlights:
1. ADP - visiting the village, giving out bags of rice and meeting the children
2. Completing the cycle challenge with a great team

Biggest challenges:
1. The hills! And the heat.
2. It was so sad seeing the conditions people lived in. Poverty.

David Shaw

Biggest highlights:
1. Visit to World Vision village
2. All the smiling faces of the children and the hellos, good-byes and high fiving

Biggest challenges:
1. Biking 560km
2. Visiting the other side of Cambodia (killing fields/landmines)

"King" Kyle McFarlane

Biggest highlights:
1. Taking photos and video off the back of the truck
2. The feeling at the end of each day's ride

Biggest challenges:
1. Visiting the poorest village in Koh Andaet while 30kg overweight
2. Cycling in the early afternoon on hot bumpy roads

Sheila Elwell

Biggest highlights:
1. Visiting the village with World Vision
2. Everyone singing "Happy Birthday!". Thank you Claire.

Biggest challenges:
1. Staying awake long enough to eat the evening meal
2. Continuous cycling on flat land

Annette Hodge

Biggest highlights:
1. Visit with Sarany (my sponsor child)
2. Being part of a group enjoying a tour, good company, knowing that we can make a difference after the Koh Andaet visit

Biggest challenges:
1. Experiencing the comparisons of people's resilience against poverty etc to how blessed we in NZ are and take so much for granted
2. Coping with saying no to the children selling stuff

Pat Sivertsen

Biggest highlights:
1. Visit to the project - listening to villagers - so passionate about what they wanted for their village
2. Spirit of Cambodians - amazing resilience

Biggest challenges:
1. Riding in the heat. Learnt lots about dealing with it
2. Omelettes for breakfast every morning

Belinda Johnson

Biggest highlights:
1. Children running up to you to say hello with a big smile on their faces
2. The cycling through Cambodia

Biggest challenges:
1. Rubbish lying around everywhere. People just throwing rubbish anywhere
2. The knowledge to know you cannot help every single child. You want to give money to every child.

Richard Johnson

Biggest highlights:
1. Angkor Wat temples
2. Mekong River - amazing
3. Happy children running out to greet us
4. Visiting World Vision project

Biggest challenges:
1. Saying no to beggars
2. Khmer Rouge atrocities
3. Visit to Land Mine Museum
4. Having no burgers for 2 weeks

The final countdown ... part two

We regrouped at the base of ‘Everest’ to both assess the accent before us and to take advantage of our last chance to momentarily disassociate from the reality of what was to come. Ten minutes passed. It was time to look the hills square in the face and ‘knock the bastard off’.

Changing down gears and bracing ourselves for the increasingly steep gradient I couldn’t help but think of my favourite movie depicting triumph and victory over seemingly overwhelming odds, Rocky. At that moment I pictured my own ‘Mickey’ right there beside me willing me on, refusing to let me pause or hesitate for even a moment. He was indignant. I was to conquer the peaks in front of me. ‘Eye of the Tiger’ played in the background, as always providing a timely shot of adrenaline. One foot bearing down on each pedal, I kept my eyes planted on each new plateau. The heat intensified with each hill. My only relief being the reward of bottled water tipped over my head once level ground were reached.

I could see participants in front of me, behind me and beside me however I knew that permitting conversation or allowing even a moments thought to be directed their way would potentially jeopardize the momentum gained. I needed to dedicate 100% of my mental and physical resources to this last leg. I could see that this train of thought was mirrored by them. Just as this resolution crossed my mind a series of trucks came hurtling toward us, moving us off the road and onto a rather rocky bank beside the road. The timing of our move off the road and the passing of the trucks seemed ridiculously closely timed. It would be accurate to say that it is best to assume that all truck drivers on Cambodian roads are visually challenged psychopaths who view any and all road rules as road suggestions.

Before long we could see that several participants and the drinks vehicle had stopped outside just beyond the crest of the second hill. Cold water, chewy lollies courtesy of Belinda and a series of encouraging cheers for each participant who cycled into the rest area continued until we once again hit the road. A sense of collective satisfaction seemed to permeate the air as we celebrated our success in completing the first phase of this challenging leg.

The second phase of this leg seemed to be a much less challenging version of the first. Perhaps it was because this phase seemed to an elongated version of the last, with gradients of less torturous degrees than before. A moment of comic disappointment occurred when after reaching criminal speeds on one of the descents several of us thought we must be approaching the finish line. Pumping the air and screaming excitement we were soon slapped into reality by the clearing of obstructing foliage that hid the impending hill that would be our last to complete. Approaching this hill we were greeted with a sign informing us that we were approaching ‘Victory Beach’. We were struck with the significance of this.

Ten minutes later we were rounding a corner, the finish line within our wearied sights when a moped overtook us, skidding and subsequently falling on the loose gravel careening into the dirt, passengers screaming. We jumped off our bikes running to their aid, fairly certain we were in our own personal episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. It was a dramatic interruption that ended in the support vehicle supplying first aid.

Back on our bikes we set off for the final 100m. Smey stood beaming at us, waving us into the courtyard of our final resting place. The soundtrack changed, I now heard ‘Chariots of Fire’ play as time seemed to slow dramatically. The realization that we were at the end of what had become a 570km journey was all consuming.

We were exhilarated. We were the Jamaican bobsled team, Rocky 1 through 5, the Australian swim team Athens 2000, the Mighty Ducks. We were victorious. We were the World Vision Charity Challenge 1 and we were at the finish line.

Later that night down by the beach of Sihanoukville we celebrated the lovely Sheila’s 60th birthday in conjunction with the end of what had been a challenge that had delivered on its promise to be a treat for the body and the heart. After a rousing version of Happy Birthday, complete with our Cambodian friends holding sparklers and presenting Sheila with her own cake, we decided to gift our friends with a taste of kiwiana. It was with a profound sense of sadness that we sang ‘Pokarekare Ana’ and ‘God Defend New Zealand’. The Cambodians waved tissues as we sang and then showered us in a series of hugs and statements of ‘I will miss you’.

The next morning we exited Sihanoukville by van singing along to Dave Dobbyn as we reminisced on our extraordinary shared experience. Not a single one of us were going to be leaving Cambodia without a strong measure of admiration and affection for this beautiful and yet troubled country. It had stolen a portion of our hearts and minds and would remain the place that so openly embraced these intrepid cyclists on a mission to bring safe water to a desperate community.

In conclusion I need to thank Intrepid/Raw Travel, specifically the enormously valuable Vance, Dave and Mike. The delivery of a well organized and authentic travel experience meant that 21 World Vision enthusiasts fell in love with a country and a people that World Vision works so hard to serve. There was a breadth to this experience that would not have been encountered had we not scaled this beautiful land. The team's commitment to World Vision's work in Cambodia is now unshakable...

Check out the blog tomorrow for some closing thoughts from the participants ...

The final countdown... part one

The mother of all days arrived with a little fear and trepidation. The night previous we had been eating dinner when our tour leader walked us through the next day's itinerary ... there is no easy way to say '105km with hills'. Most of us gulped and went rather silent (there are a couple who seem to be genetically predispositioned to embrace such exercise - oh how I look to them in genuine awe and wonder). I then responded in the best way I knew how - with an order of a pina colada and ice cream.

Once I arrived back at the hotel I realised how anxious I was concerning the following day's itinerary when I was still awake after an hour of tossing and turning. Thank goodness I was able to get some kip as my darling fellow participants had once again agreed en masse to leave by 6am (they hate me).

We left the hotel and arrived at our first point of call, the restaurant that would serve us breakfast. Smey, our tour leader had suggested we all order beef curry since most mornings we order the usual Western fare, omelette. We took his suggestion into consideration and agreed to order more omelette.

Setting out I was pleased to find the temperature was much more tolerable today. We maintained our usual two by two or one by one formation through the streets of Kampot and onto the highway that would become our main route to Sihanoukville. Both Fiona and I were sure to pace ourselves as we had both been quite sick at some point in the days previous. We had a great catch-up on the challenge thus far. Fiona commenting that participating in the challenge was the 'best thing she has ever done'. I had heard similar comments from other participants, especially since the project visits. It was a rather scenic journey as we cycled past bright green paddy fields, rice field workers, roaming oxen and a spectacular backdrop of ominous hills. Fiona commented that this was just like riding through Devonport. I believe she may have been referring to the wind.

I felt pretty optimistic regarding the day ahead. The day before I had felt as though my energy levels have been reboosted and had cycled my best effort of the challenge. Andy had warned me that I should hang back and reserve energy for the final day however I had felt on top of the world. Well perhaps I should have heeded his advice... At approximately the 42km mark I was found vomiting into the ditch along the side of the road. The ever kind-hearted Sukum held my hair back and rubbed my back saying Ýou'll be okay Claire'. Against his advice I got back on my bike and continued to ride. After approximately 2km and repeating this thrilling exercise in abdominal acrobatics I agreed to get in the support vehicle until after lunch when I would hopefully be up for the toughest part of the challenge - the dreaded hills.

Lunch by the river was timed perfectly. We lounged under fantastic tree cover and watched as Sheila, Rebecca and Brian attacked the river with enthusiasm. It was certainly heating up. After beef noodles, chilled water and a range of fruit we were off again. Passing hundreds of school children proudly strutting along the side of the road in school uniforms we headed for Everest...

Boiling temperature reached in Kampot - 87km

Today was what can only be described as both gratifying and well, ridiculously hot. It was also my first day cycling post-Cam-belly and I was excited. Due to my fellow participants turning on several of us non-morning people and agreeing by overwhelming consensus to begin the day at 6am (that is on the bikes, ready to ride by 6am) we had covered 20km before we even ate breakfast. I knew the day would be rather cosy when at 6.30am I had an attractive amount of sweat pouring off my face. We rode our bikes to a restaurant just out of Takeo province that made our group favourite - omelettes. In a moment of cheekiness I had put my hand up and asked for a chai tea latte. Belinda followed with her order of eggs benedict with salmon, Richard with eggs florentine and Andy with a soy decaf latte. Needless to say we all got omelette with coffee. Although I have to take a moment to give Cambodian coffee a shout out. The coffee has condensed milk in the bottom of the cup and is delicious. The knowledge that we are about to burn copious amounts of calories is enough for us to consume these at most breakfasts.

After breakfast we set out for the remaining 67km. The heat intensified at times while at the same time it was once again interesting to me how quickly one forgets about the heat and finds enjoyment in riding in such an intensely beautiful land. I cannot emphasise enough how extraordinarily beautiful the people are here. They are just so stunning in their approach to life. You cannot help but retain optimism and happiness when we are faced with such unrelenting generosity of spirit. I will miss this.

The lovely Dave Reynolds from Intrepid Challenges/Raw Travel joined us in this journey. We had a great conversation about child trafficking - the tragedy and the hope that exists in some of the stories that have emerged from this industry. I also had the opportunity to tell him how impressed I was with the incredible job his team had done across this challenge. Everything from day to day operations, meals, morale boosting and nightly bonding over Angkor has just been tops. The challenge crew has consisted of:

Smey - Cambodian tour leader: hilarious guy with an incredible knack for orchestrating these challenges.
Andrew (aka Andy) - Australian tour leader: equally hilarious, fantastic translator of all things Cambodian into Westernese, great support to Smey.
Several drivers and support crew who cycle both behind, in front and with us.

I was accompanied for most of my ride by the loveliest Cambodian man by the name of Sukom. He is a sweet man who has acted as a bike mechanic and tour guide support since we began the challenge. He rode alongside me encouraging me, making me laugh and challenging me to several races. I obliged and had a blast. It is comical really - Sukom the avid cyclist who negotiates the Cambodian roads and heat without effort against me. After another 50km he informed me that my average cycle speed had increased to 29.5km/h! Yessss.

For lunch we sat around under the wonderful, wonderful, wonderful shade of a tree eating our lunch of fried rice openly discussing such tantalising subjects as heat rash, bowel movements and the merits of Immodium. On either side of us at our lunch venue we had roaming cows and screeching pigs. Toto, we are no longer in Kansas.

Following lunch. We hauled our bodies onto our bikes, quickly realising how hot is was from outside the cool of the shade. The last leg of our journey took us straight into Kampot, a coastal community with gorgeous French colonial charm - and ice cream! We arrived at our hotel shattered after riding in sizzling heat. Smey, our leader happily informed us that we had broken a two year record for the Takeo to Kampot journey. As the competitive bunch that we are we screamed in excitement and took off for the cold showers. Our hotel rooms are fanastic rooms. Air-conditioned with large bathrooms. I stood under the cold water until the water with sweet relief before treating my sunburn (my farmer's tan is nothing short of embarrassing) and staring in awe at the invading heat rash just above my knees.

Well and that brings me to now, sitting in an internet cafe desperate to eat some of the ice cream I hear is but a short distance from here - oh let it be so.

World Vision works

After a night at the Takeo Hilton (aka the 5 star guesthouse!) complete with shower over toilet and transparent towels we woke to the highlight of the challenge - the World Vision project visit. For the 11 participants on the challenge who did not have sponsor children to visit, this would be their experience with a World Vision project on the trip. I began the day with a briefing of the work of World Vision and an overview of the history of the Koh Andaet community. All 21 of us then piled into vans, including a World Vision ute and took off to buy rice for the community. Three of the participants were visiting sponsor children and so they were sure to buy a 50kg bag for each family.

Clinging onto the side of the ute while riding on bags of rice in the World Vision ute I couldn't help but wonder if the precariously positioned Richard, who sat on the roof of the ute would in fact be okay - and well if he did fall, would I lose my job? ;).

We drove the 45 mins to the World Vision community, past stunningly green rice fields into the dusty roads of Koh Andaet. As a group of 21 anticipation laden people in matching bright red Challenge shirts we looked like quite the sight. We were greeted by the sweetest, most accomodating and most grateful ADP leaders. We had no idea what the visit would entail however we felt so humbled to be welcomed by such love by such kind hearted people. We were ushered into a modest office building and given a presentation on the Koh Andaet community. What was remarkable to me was how passionately the World Vision staff shared of the work that was being done and would be done in the years to come (with a special focus on water and sanitation). They clearly have a deeply rooted love for the community in which they work.

The Koh Andaet community is relatively young in terms of the length of time that World Vision has worked there - sponsorship began here in Sept 2006 so the needs are great. We were to witness communities at their greatest point of need. We were reminded by the staff that this community represented the poorest of the poor. We were to see this for ourselves later in the afternoon.

Following the talk the three participants with sponsor children readied themselves for their visits. Unfortunately due to a miscommunication between our NZ office and Cambodia one of the children had not arrived and a child of a previously cancelled participant was present. The WV staff snapped into action jumping on their mopeds in search of the missing little girl and my fellow participants immediately surrounded the little boy and showered him with random gifts found in our day packs. He had a huge grin and was none the wiser. Just under an hour later the most adorable little girl walked in, clinging to her mother's legs. Pam's sponsor child had arrived. Shyness soon gave way to a rather fiesty nature which was fun to watch.

Our crew of 40 made our way to a local restaurant where we watched in delight as the sponsor children and their families tucked into the food with healthy ambition. I couldn't help but be envious of the sponsors as they experienced a connection with this World Vision community that I did not have. You could see that the sponsors were relishing this experience and the children were simply in awe of the chance to meet this mysterious person on the other end of the letters. For the participants on the second challenge, I imagine that this experience multiplied 18 times will be enormously powerful. It made me excited at the thought of my own sponsor visit in a few months.

I will let Pam share with you from her perspective however before I do I will share just a couple of things that stood out to me the most today.

Following lunch we were divided into two groups, both groups to visit communities in desperate need of water and sanitation intervention. It is difficult to explain how confronting the poverty of these communities was for us. The poverty was unapologtically frank in its introduction. Heart-breakingly so. We were essentially exposed to a community at the beginning of the World Vision life cycle. World Vision had finished its assessment of the need and was now at the beginning of the implementation phase. We were given the opportunity to deliver the excess rice we had earlier purchased to some of the most impoverished families I had ever encountered. One family consisted on three small children living with a rather frail grandparent in a hut so small that there is literally not enough room for all four family members to stand in there at once. This family survives on snails found by the children and the occasional portion of rice. Snails and a small portion of rice. SNAILS and a SMALL PORTION OF RICE! That is unbelieveable. I looked at her precious grandsons in amazement. I held back my stream of tears as I recognised the small lanyards around their necks proudly proclaiming that they were now sponsor children. It was the realisation that life would soon be different for them that was of any relief to me as I walked with the other stunned participants to the next home.

I asked Chanthida, the ADP manager as we walked down the road, 'Do you often dream about what this village will look like in 10 years?'. She replied with a smile, Ýes of course, it is the catalyst for the work we do. It is what causes us to work so hard.'I loved to hear this. It was wonderful to hear that these precious people were in such dedicated hands.

When the community leaders of the village we visited were given the chance to talk to us, they stood in front of their huts and unveiled a large hand drawn plan of their hopes for their village. On this plan they had included an illustration of the 'dream home for the villagers'. This was pivotal moment for us as visitors as we were presented with such a humble dream: a home on stilts, chickens, a small rice paddy and clean water. We looked around as this leader spoke and could see that the village was far from this dream and yet after seeing examples of World Vision's success in such communities we had no doubt that through partnering with World Vision these proud and enthusiastic communities leaders would see that dream become a reality.

The community leaders then took the time to thank as - over and over - for our support of their community and of Cambodia. It was a special moment. We were then led to the current common water source - a common pond used by both animals and humans, riddled with bacteria and extremely high in carbon. There is no wonder the children get as sick as they do. The need for this proposed water and sanitation project could not have been made clearer to us.

I simply cannot continue on without asking anyone reading to consider donating to this project via any one of the participant fundraising pages at fundraiseonline. Any money donated will go straight to World Vision and be applied to the water and sanitation project of Koh Andaet. I assure you, this is a worthy cause. Visit: www.fundraiseonline.org.nz

Today the participants all saw enormous need, this is in contrast to what many of the participants of the second challenge will see as most will be visiting communities much further along the development process. The advantage here is that the next participants will see the completed version of what their fundraising dollars translate into.

Following the visit we all road back to the town of Takeo both stunned and hopeful for what what we had seen.

Later that night we all chatted and chatted and chatted about the work of World Vision. Enthusiastic participants who had visited sponsor children spoke with passion about the development progress they had seen the day previous (in the community of Samrong Tong - a community that is in the final phase of sponsorship). Talk then moved onto fair trade and ethical consumer behaviour. Many commented how meaningful the discussions had been for them. This was enormously pleasing for me as the World Vision rep, as our hope is to have people discuss, debate and share issues of global poverty and personal responsibility. What a great day.

Pam Scott shares her experience...

With ten 50kg bags of rice piled high on the back of the World Vision Ute and some proud kiwis sitting on top we headed out for what was to be the highlight of the trip for many of us. Having all worked so hard over the last months raising funds, we were all so eager to experience first hand the amazing work of World Vision here in Cambodia.

Warming up our voices and practicing our national anthem, we made our way out to the World Vision office in the vans where the staff were all waiting with huge grins and a massive welcome.

The Koh Andaet Area Development Programme is comprised of a community of 26 villages, including over 3000 households and around 17,000 people. The staff outlined their plans and goals for the programme and their 5 ‘step’ plan for development. It was pretty impressive – including Community Mobilization, Sponsorship Management, Water and Sanitation (where we play our part), Food Security and finally HIV/AIDs Management. There seemed to be a real sense of empowerment for the local people who have been involved in the development of the programme since it was established only two years ago.

It was then time for the sponsors to meet their children. There were three of us today with children from the region, and what an awesome experience it was to meet them and their families! My little girl, Kamsan, is only four and so found all of us to be a little overwhelming at the start, but she soon warmed up as I handed her the doll I had bought over for her. What a joy to see her face light up and to see her cuddle and care for that doll the whole time we had together. We had some time with the families and then all headed out to lunch together. Jeepers, I have never seen a little girl eat so much! She was so cute, but really got into the rice – stuffing her cheeks till they were bursting.

Back at the office we handed out the sacks of rice we had bought for each of the sponsored families. A family of 6 will get through about 2kg of rice per day and so the sack would last them nearly a month. The thank-you’s and blessings that Kamsan’s mother proceeded to give me were pretty overwhelming; such basic things can mean so much! Saying goodbye was so hard especially as they are asking when will we be back…

We then headed off on some of the worst roads I have ever seen (yes, we had to get out and walk in parts, and there was even a group effort to push the van over some of the bigger bumps) to a couple of the villages in the area: Doem Doung and Chroy Pone.

Our group went to Doem Doung – the poorest village in the region. With four sacks of rice in tow we met some of the local families and saw first hand the initial stages of the Water and Sanitation project. There are now 16 bio-sand filters in the village helping to provide safe drinking water for a number of families. We also saw the ‘common pond’ providing the major water supply to the village. Their aim in the next year is to have a new common pond that is deeper so it doesn’t dry-up in the dry season and that is fenced to prevent animal contamination and children drowning. We gave the sacks of rice to the “most poor” - it was pretty full-on to experience the desperate need of some of the families in this village; for example, one family who had just lost both parents to HIV/AIDs!

Although there is such poverty, the people really smile! They really seem to have hope, and you can see in their short history since the Khmer Rouge regime the people have really started to embrace life again and are fighting for a better future – Cambodia is certainly on the way up!

The lovely Princess Fiona shares her experience of the World Vision community visit:

Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink…

Today was the day we’d all been looking forward to, visiting Koh Andaet. It was the chance for us to see first hand the very real need and where our fundraising dollars were going to be spent.

Our group went off to visit Chroy Prone Village. As Pam mentions, we also had many occasions where we needed to get out of the van and walk as the roads were pretty well poked. Interestingly here, we are only 8km from Vietnam. We are surrounded by stunning countryside, lush fields of rice, a few scattered palm trees and sugar palms.

When we arrived, we were shown to an area which had been set aside for our meeting. (all outdoors ofcourse) We were individually greeted by the Village Community Leader, a man with incredibly gorgeous eye lashes, anyway. He was so pleased to have us here. We were also greeted by the lady in the village responsible for Gender issues. When I enquired further, her role was largely around educating the women in the village on hygiene and women’s health. I was impressed. Both these two were smartly dressed.

We were given chairs to sit on and the villagers were sitting on mats on the ground, with the Elders at the front. There was really only 3 of them. (I guess another sign of Pol Pot) The rest villagers stood around and smiled incessantly.

The Village leader then rolls out his plan, a beautifully hand drawn vision for the village. EACH house in the village was on this map / plan. They were all colour coded to differentiate the different types of houses. The village of the future includes each family having adequate housing, a small plot to grow vegetables, a couple of cows, some pigs and a rain water tank to collect water. For the entire village more common ponds so that the villagers don’t have to walk so far to collect water. Fencing around the common ponds, in order to keep out the animals and prevent kids from drowning. The next major step after the common ponds is sorting out the roading, we can vouch for that. This affects the ability of the kids to get to school during the wet season, as roads are currently often impassable. When I spoke with Ly, the World Vision Food Security Manager, and asked how exactly this would be done, in their ever practical style, he replied they would set up a “work for food programme”. They’d offer work to all of the villagers and surrounding villagers to provide the labour to build the roads and pay them in food. (Again incredibly humbling). Sanitation was also a priority, in terms of rubbish and keeping the village clean.

We liked that plan and were impressed with how well thought out it was and gut renchingly practical. I think the fact that this plan was illustrated, meant that the whole village is able to buy into this and understand where the community is going. There is a real feeling of hope here. Those of you who have contributed to our fundraising are a huge part of this. Know that these people are incredibly thankful and excited for their futures!! Thanks again. It was very humbling to meet these people and incredibly exciting to know exactly what the money is being spent on and who’s going to benefit.

Then we toured the common ponds, first we came across a couple of old ponds which were really dirty and not really used. They’d been built some time ago with support from other aid agencies, unfortunately they are not protected by high enough sand banks and the flood waters from the river get in. A little further on, is the new pond, which is 4 meters deep and built up with nice high banks. This is the pond that is going to be fenced and in the first quarter of 2009 thanks to you all!!

Pam and Claire mentioned the rice that the group had brought, in addition to a sack each going to the sponsored children, there were a few sacks to be distributed. In Chroy Pone, the World Vision staff knew exactly who needed this. “The woman in blue”. This lady had tragically lost her husband 18months ago, and then a few months ago, her 15 year old daughter died suddenly. Cause of death unknown, possible health condition that was unknown. She was left to raise 6 other children on her own. In order to do this, she has to work. We were able to give two 50kg sacks of rice to her. She had tears in her eyes, she was so thankful. We all had tears in our eyes, (in fact I still do now as I write this). We wanted to lighten the mood somewhat and decided we could also sing to her, so we burst into the National Anthem again, getting quite good at this. Plenty of other villagers came around to hear us. It was a really beautiful experience.

Today World Vision impressed me immensely, their staff knew exactly what and who is in need. They think incredibly practically and always seem to work for the collective benefit of all. I am proud to be able to support this work.


P.S. Photos to come :)

A reminder of a brutal past and on overhaul of the heart...

Night of tremmers and sweats turned into the night of expulsion as I became aquainted with Hotel Castle's white porceline throne. We had gone out the night previous to the rather happening FCC (Foreign Correspondant's Club - a local retaurant and bar overlooking the Mekong). Feeling quite adjusted from the night previous I perhaps stupidly helped myself to a very compelling vegetarian pizza. I paid for this later of course. My mysterious illness came back full force leaving me exhausted the next morning and relegated to the support van. I was frustrated beyond words that this sickness was interferring in a day of cycling with the group. The tour leader convinced me that I could not ride and should allow my body to recover for the next day. I attempted to take video footage between random spells of heat induced slumbers. The wonderful Intrepid guys provided me with cold towels and even took me ahead to the hotel to rest out of the stiffling heat. Needless to say I remember little about this day so I will let Mr Gary Brent (aka Speedy Gonzales) fill you in...

Boarded the vans and drove south to Choeung Ek, apparently one of the more infamous of the Khmer Rouge’s numerous killing fields. Paid respects at the large monument filled with the skulls of some of the 20,000 plus killed at this site. The gardener idled the weed-eater while we inspected some of the mass graves and other horribilia and the guide repeated his gruesome stories. It was very good to get on the bikes and away from yet another reminder of Cambodia’s horrific oh-so-recent past.





After about 20k we turned right and heading to a Temple – another Ta Prom if I understood correctly. This one on a nice small scale, with several buddhas inside. Quite intense commercial activity out front and the hardy few who resisted the hard-sell were rewarded with gifts of the flowers and joss sticks on offer.

Just around the corner was the lake with cute little rest platforms out on the water. Rebecca had a swim of course, with Brian joining in and Smey working up quite a lather before beef and noodles for lunch. Barry and I were targeted by a nice young chap absolutely determined for a serious English practice. When Barry escaped I feigned sleep, which slowed him down briefly.

Back on the bikes, back on the main road and only 50 k to go to Takeo, nice sealed road with enough potholes and trucks to ensure vigilance was maintained. Couple of breaks along the way where the crew diligently delivered hydration and carbo restoration. What is it about Australians and chundering – is it true that they lobbied for it to be included in the Sydney Olympics ??

It was getting fairly warm – high 30s no doubt by the time we limped into the swarming metropolis of downtown Takeo, highlight of the trip – yeah right! The shower was cold – just right. Then Barry and I selflessly headed off on one of the more important tasks of the day – to find cold beer. This proved more difficult than one might think. Sure some of the amber fluid on offer was stored in fridges – but were they switched on? Warm beer could be provided and poured over ice in the glass, but having observed the ice being delivered, sawed and then chopped apart this option lacked appeal. Finally, in the bottom of one of the many large orange chilly bins on the very dusty main street we located two reasonably cool cans, and even a third when the illustrious King (Kyle of course) was spotted wandering aimlessly on the other side of the road in an advanced state of dehydration. The day had been saved !

Six of the participants went to visit their sponsor children today. Their non-stop verbal testimonials upon return were evidence of the enormity of the day's impact on them. Here is Fiona Whyte's account:

Samrong Tong World Vision Community Project

A day with a difference and a dream come true. Six of us ventured off with the local World Vision staff to meet our sponsored children, Belinda & Richard, Annette, Marion, Victoria and myself , were able to realize a dream today by meeting our sponsored children.

Samrong Tong comprises of 15 communities, WV works in 4 of these communities. within these communities there are 76 villages encompassing 34,800 people. WV began working in the community in 1997. There are various phases of the community, this community is now entering a transition phase. The community is about ready to stand on it’s own two feat so to speak. World Vision will exit this community by 2012, they will have adequate support and leadership by this time to ensure the continued success.

The ADP Project Coordinator shared some of his experiences through the time of Pol Pot’s rule of terror. He had been asked on 3 separate occasions what his occupation was. He replied that he was a farmer and not able to read or write. A friend of his was a little too honest for his own good. The Khmer Rouge thanked the friend for his honesty, (he’d been educated and had a degree) his reward was to be sent to work in the embassy. However he was never heard from again, they lied. From some of the reading we’ve done previously and the museums we’ve visited in the last two days, I’d hazard a guess that the questioning is likely to have included some form of interrogation. For those unfamiliar with this history Pol Pot was on a mission to eliminate all the educated people from the population.

We were then able to see the work of world vision in action. First stop Ang Chrey primary school in Tonle Kantel Village. We sat and spoke with the principal.
WV kicked the school off in 2000 by funding the first complete school building. A couple of previous attempts by other benefactors had resulted in partially completed structures which were never finished and unusable. There are now 555 students attending the school. It is still growing!! A couple of new buildings are underway. There is an admin / library building which is nearing completion. Half of the building will be used for teachers and school admin, the other half will be the library. They need to send a teacher away for training to learn how to run the library. Once this is done they will then ascertain which books are required in the library. Rather exciting for them. It is fantastic to see some collaboration as now the Government is supporting the school and assisting the building of more classrooms.

Time to meet the children and see the classrooms. The first class we went into the children were all very excited to meet us, we both shared counting lessons in Khmer & English. Then the children decided to sing us a song, ìmoral songî about values. Then it appeared we needed to reciprocate,Ö a quick discussion and the decision was made to sing the National Anthem. Singing these words in this foreign land, recovering from a generation of genocide was quite powerful and a humbling experience for us kiwi’s. We have so much to be thankful for!

In order to maximize the limited resources the school schedules 4 hour daily classes for the children. They are rostered on mornings one week (which includes breakfast as they start at 7am) and afternoon’s the next week. This means the teachers cover a 8 hour lesson schedule and two groups of children are able to be educated at the same time. Currently the teacher student ratio is about 1 to 60.

The children start school at age 6, which is grade one. The Government has a commitment for children to be able to read and write and they should stay in school until grade 6. One or two students from this community have gone on to University in Phnom Penh.

It was 11am by this time and the kids were all ready to go home. They have an afternoon’s work ahead of them. We headed off to our next stop which was Thmor Bang Village, home gardening project. The exciting work that’s been done here, is that a water pump was installed August 2007. We could tell that the kids were still getting used to this luxury (to install the pump costs USD1200.00) as they spontaneously started tipping the water over their heads and laughing. Then would pump the water container full again to start again. The water overflowed into the garden with the vegetables, so no waste here. The pump had a green tick on the side, this is to confirm that the water was safe, they always test for arsenic levels. Prior to the pump being installed they used to have to walk 3km for clean water. Again we have lots to be thankful for.

Also in this community they operate 3 very different kinds of banks.. (I myself am a banker and was quite interested in this concept which didn’t revolve around money, but a far more useful commodity here) Rice Bank, Cow Bank and Pig Bank.

The purpose of the rice bank is to ensure a continuous supply of rice for the community. Some families have a small plot of land and may use up all of their rice before harvest time. If they borrowed Rice outside the community, effectively the loan sharks or rice sharks we can call them, charge between 50% & 100% interest rate. Whereas within the community the charge is only 20% and that charge is actually used to secure more rice for the community. Ie if they borrow 100kg of rice, once the harvest is complete, they will give back 120kg of rice to the rice bank. We noted that the rice bank was very low the harvest time is December ,which will allow people to repay their borrowed rice.

The cow bank allows one family to look after it until it calves. Then they keep the calf and the cow goes to another family. The life span of the cow is around 5-6 years. This program is successful.

The Pig Bank is not so common across all communities, as it is expensive to feed the pig in the first place. This community did have a pig, who was about to have a litter, again some of the piglets would stay with the family and the remaining would be shared amongst other families.

The immediate observations we had versus our previous few days riding through various rural communities, is that this community was clean, organized, seem to have order and pride. There was definitely a standard above that which we’d seen elsewhere.

We said goodbye and headed back into the ADP office, where our sponsored children and their families were there waiting to meet us. This was very exciting and emotional. We headed off to lunch and the World Vision staff assisted us to communicate with the children and their family. This was a really enjoyable experience for all of us. I noted that my Sponsored Child’s Mother, was just beaming the whole time. There was such an amazing feeling of goodwill even though we couldn’t speak directly. One boy’s Grandfather thanked us for what we’d been doing and the difference we’d made, ìon behalf of all of Cambodiaî

The kids all wanted to know when we were coming back, think they really enjoyed the food!!

After lunch we decided that we’d stop by the markets to buy some school uniforms for the children. Here’s an example of when so little can mean so much, for USD4.00 we were able to buy a uniform, ie shirt and skirt or pair of trousers!! These uniforms will probably last them two or three years.

We made a special stop at another stall in the market and found a football for one special boy, who’s Mother had been given strict instructions that this was the gift they wanted to give!!

Once we were back at the ADP, we’d also arranged to give a 50kg sack of rice to each of our families. The rice banks are probably quite low across the wider community.

We spent some more time talking about our families, showing photo’s to the children and some books of NZ as well as other little insights of NZ life with them.

Time for one or two last photo’s and we had to get in the van to our next destination.

It is really satisfying to see first hand how this project has made a positive difference in this community, in terms of schooling, food, and health. The World Vision staff, were incredibly passionate about their work and made this day a truly memorable one. We thank you.

Fiona Whyte