RIGHT: David Angelo Caprara (foreground) and his father, David Louis Caprara (right), of Spotsylvania County participate in a home-building project in Siem Reap, Cambodia, last summer sponsored by Global Peacemakers.
ABOVE: A Buddhist monk splashes holy water as he blesses the family and their new home.January 13, 2007
By Collette Caprara
The Free Lance Star (Fredericksburg, VA, USA)
AS THE WINTER WEATHER moves in, summer family gatherings and the sound of waves on the shore may seem like something from the distant past. But one thing that won't fade away is the impact of an immersion in the culture of Cambodia experienced by an international team of youths who participated in a service project sponsored by Global Peacemakers last summer.
Joining that crew in Siem Reap were my son David, a senior at Massaponax High School, and my husband, David, former head of Volunteers in Service to America, who promotes expanding international service in his roles as director of the Brookings Institution's International Volunteering Project and vice president of the international Youth Federation for World Peace.
The Cambodian service project began with building a home. The team worked with local villagers and the prospective homeowners--a young couple expecting their first child. The mother of the husband, Vannak, offered land next to her own home, which is customary in Cambodia, a country whose culture is centered on the extended family.
This project quickly became a neighborhood event, with villagers offering whatever skills they had to help. Each day at 7:30 a.m., volunteer woodcrafters would arrive at the site to lead the team of youths in tasks that ranged from digging the foundation for the house to nailing the long sidewalls, flooring and roof. The youths were impressed with these Cambodian craftsmen and the rich spirit of community.
Each day at noon, the crew would break for lunch and gather on mats on an open-air porch, as Vannak's mother would cook a variety of Cambodian dishes in a large boiling pot on a wood fire in small thatched hut next to the rice field. Lunches were typically made up of rice with a spicy broth with meat, chicken or fish.
It was July monsoon season, and each day the rains would roll in at about 3:30 p.m. with a downpour that lasted an hour and a half. This gave the youths--who came from the United States, Cambodia, Japan, Korea and Germany--an opportunity to become friends with one another and with the village children.
When construction was completed, Vannak asked his wife to choose the paint for the finishing touch. Her choice was bright yellow for the exterior and a rose color for the interior of the two-room house, and the couple worked with the youths to paint quickly before being caught in the next monsoon.
Then, according to Cambodian tradition, it was time for the dedication of the home. A Buddhist monk, accompanied by his 12-year-old assistant, came riding in on a tuk-tuk (a motorized rickshaw). The extended family, villagers and volunteers attended as the smiling monk conducted an hourlong ceremony that included chants, lighting incense and praying for blessings on the family.
At the conclusion of the service, the couple sat in a prayer position as the monk showered them with holy water, splashing the youths to extend his blessings to all.
In the second phase of the service project, the youths took the village children on a rare excursion to a cultural village with native arts and colorful entertainment. Special features included acrobats, performing elephants and demonstrations of Cambodia's cultural heritage and traditions.
Another outing featured a visit to a floating village on the famous Mekong River that flows from Cambodia to Vietnam. Every year during the rainy season the river floods the area, so the only way to have a village in that location was to create homes and structures that literally floated on the water. Children from this village had a unique version of a school bus: They paddled themselves to school in bucketlike vessels!
In the course of these activities, the teen volunteers bonded with the village children, adding to the depth of the experiences that followed.
One evening a presentation at the Siem Reap hospital was given by a Swiss pediatrician, Dr. Beat Richner, who felt called to serve in Cambodia. Some of the youth were brought to tears by his account of his desperate efforts to address the health crisis in this country where the tuberculosis rate among children is 65 percent.
The volunteers brought joy to children at a home operated by the Sisters of Charity of Mother Teresa. Some of the children were ill. Others came from families that were too poor to take care of them, so they stayed for a period at the home where they received love, education and nourishing food. The visit was hosted by a bright-spirited young nun from India, who delivered a message about the importance of service to the poor.
The finale of the volunteers' stay in Cambodia was a tour of the famed Angkor Wat temple complex--the largest religious monument on Earth and one of the seven wonders of the world.
Built in the early part of the 12th century, the complex features a dramatic entrance causeway and steep stone steps, terraces, statues and famous bas-reliefs of both Buddhist and Hin- du influence. Surrounding the temple were small Buddhist schools, and smiling students in saffron robes and sandals walked throughout the area, eager to strike up conversation.
"It was moving to see the impact that this experience had on youths who are emerging into adulthood," said dad David.
"They saw the juxtaposition of an absence of material wealth with the happiness of the simple life in the village and the strong sense of family and community. Many of the volunteers said they planned to include an element of service in their career plans for the future."
He added, "The trip also had a personal impact, fueling inspiration for international service projects that can engage increasing numbers of volunteers, empower local capacity and show the power of true love and cross-cultural cooperation to bridge divides in our world."
For son David, the experience made a big impression. "It was a whole different way of life," he said. "The people there were much more focused on relationships and family than on having material things. That brings a different kind of happiness and fulfillment. And when you have an attitude of serving, that brings a different level of pleasure to you, too."
Vannak continues to express gratitude for the new home that the international team helped to build. He sent an e-mail from an Internet cafe saying what an attraction his colorful house is in a village where few houses are painted. Most recently, he called after midnight (unaware of the 14-hour time difference) to ask for a suggestion for a customary name for his home. It is now known throughout the village as the "Family Home of Peace."
COLLETTE CAPRARA is is a freelance writer who lives with her family in Spotsylvania County. Send e-mail to her attention to Email: gwoolf@freelancestar.com.
Joining that crew in Siem Reap were my son David, a senior at Massaponax High School, and my husband, David, former head of Volunteers in Service to America, who promotes expanding international service in his roles as director of the Brookings Institution's International Volunteering Project and vice president of the international Youth Federation for World Peace.
The Cambodian service project began with building a home. The team worked with local villagers and the prospective homeowners--a young couple expecting their first child. The mother of the husband, Vannak, offered land next to her own home, which is customary in Cambodia, a country whose culture is centered on the extended family.
This project quickly became a neighborhood event, with villagers offering whatever skills they had to help. Each day at 7:30 a.m., volunteer woodcrafters would arrive at the site to lead the team of youths in tasks that ranged from digging the foundation for the house to nailing the long sidewalls, flooring and roof. The youths were impressed with these Cambodian craftsmen and the rich spirit of community.
Each day at noon, the crew would break for lunch and gather on mats on an open-air porch, as Vannak's mother would cook a variety of Cambodian dishes in a large boiling pot on a wood fire in small thatched hut next to the rice field. Lunches were typically made up of rice with a spicy broth with meat, chicken or fish.
It was July monsoon season, and each day the rains would roll in at about 3:30 p.m. with a downpour that lasted an hour and a half. This gave the youths--who came from the United States, Cambodia, Japan, Korea and Germany--an opportunity to become friends with one another and with the village children.
When construction was completed, Vannak asked his wife to choose the paint for the finishing touch. Her choice was bright yellow for the exterior and a rose color for the interior of the two-room house, and the couple worked with the youths to paint quickly before being caught in the next monsoon.
Then, according to Cambodian tradition, it was time for the dedication of the home. A Buddhist monk, accompanied by his 12-year-old assistant, came riding in on a tuk-tuk (a motorized rickshaw). The extended family, villagers and volunteers attended as the smiling monk conducted an hourlong ceremony that included chants, lighting incense and praying for blessings on the family.
At the conclusion of the service, the couple sat in a prayer position as the monk showered them with holy water, splashing the youths to extend his blessings to all.
In the second phase of the service project, the youths took the village children on a rare excursion to a cultural village with native arts and colorful entertainment. Special features included acrobats, performing elephants and demonstrations of Cambodia's cultural heritage and traditions.
Another outing featured a visit to a floating village on the famous Mekong River that flows from Cambodia to Vietnam. Every year during the rainy season the river floods the area, so the only way to have a village in that location was to create homes and structures that literally floated on the water. Children from this village had a unique version of a school bus: They paddled themselves to school in bucketlike vessels!
In the course of these activities, the teen volunteers bonded with the village children, adding to the depth of the experiences that followed.
One evening a presentation at the Siem Reap hospital was given by a Swiss pediatrician, Dr. Beat Richner, who felt called to serve in Cambodia. Some of the youth were brought to tears by his account of his desperate efforts to address the health crisis in this country where the tuberculosis rate among children is 65 percent.
The volunteers brought joy to children at a home operated by the Sisters of Charity of Mother Teresa. Some of the children were ill. Others came from families that were too poor to take care of them, so they stayed for a period at the home where they received love, education and nourishing food. The visit was hosted by a bright-spirited young nun from India, who delivered a message about the importance of service to the poor.
The finale of the volunteers' stay in Cambodia was a tour of the famed Angkor Wat temple complex--the largest religious monument on Earth and one of the seven wonders of the world.
Built in the early part of the 12th century, the complex features a dramatic entrance causeway and steep stone steps, terraces, statues and famous bas-reliefs of both Buddhist and Hin- du influence. Surrounding the temple were small Buddhist schools, and smiling students in saffron robes and sandals walked throughout the area, eager to strike up conversation.
"It was moving to see the impact that this experience had on youths who are emerging into adulthood," said dad David.
"They saw the juxtaposition of an absence of material wealth with the happiness of the simple life in the village and the strong sense of family and community. Many of the volunteers said they planned to include an element of service in their career plans for the future."
He added, "The trip also had a personal impact, fueling inspiration for international service projects that can engage increasing numbers of volunteers, empower local capacity and show the power of true love and cross-cultural cooperation to bridge divides in our world."
For son David, the experience made a big impression. "It was a whole different way of life," he said. "The people there were much more focused on relationships and family than on having material things. That brings a different kind of happiness and fulfillment. And when you have an attitude of serving, that brings a different level of pleasure to you, too."
Vannak continues to express gratitude for the new home that the international team helped to build. He sent an e-mail from an Internet cafe saying what an attraction his colorful house is in a village where few houses are painted. Most recently, he called after midnight (unaware of the 14-hour time difference) to ask for a suggestion for a customary name for his home. It is now known throughout the village as the "Family Home of Peace."
COLLETTE CAPRARA is is a freelance writer who lives with her family in Spotsylvania County. Send e-mail to her attention to Email: gwoolf@freelancestar.com.
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