Workers from a Cambodian drilling company install elements of the well in the village of Krabov in December as children play in the background. (Photo courtesy of Pholi Sun)
Phola Sun, the photographer's twin sister, clears rocks as a cement slab surrounding the well is poured in the village of Krabov, Cambodia. The sisters, who were born in Cambodia and are students at CWU, raised money to provide wells for the impoverished village. (Photo courtesy of Pholi Sun)By JAMES JOYCE III
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC (Yakima, Washington, USA)
When Pholi and Phola Sun visited their native Cambodia in December 2005, it was the first time the 25-year-old fraternal twins had been to their birth country since they moved to Everett with their parents at age 9.
During that trip to visit family, the sisters were exposed to the poverty and the people of the Southeast Asian nation, then just 12 years into rebuilding after nearly two decades of civil and social unrest.
Pholi and Phola, both graduating seniors at Central Washington University, recall seeing elderly people digging in the garbage for food, young children begging for table scraps and asking for empty bottles to sell.
"It's the first country I've been to that I've seen a lack of essentials. When we came back, it put things into perspective," said Phola, majoring in business and recreation management. "I knew as a student we could do something."
At first, the twins thought of simple gestures: providing slippers, clothes and other essentials to the most impoverished areas of the country. But that didn't seem adequate for the needs they'd seen.
"What can we do to (make) more of an impact?" Phola and her sister wondered.
Finally, after talking with members of two student organizations to which they belonged and with Leslie Webb of the Diversity Education Center, the scope of their work changed to something more substantial.
They decided to help build a well to provide clean drinking water for the northwest Cambodian village of Krabov, where about 80 families live.
"It lasts longer than clothing would," Pholi explained. "We take water for granted. People here shower for 30 minutes," added the triple major in art, retail management and technology.
In Cambodia, water-borne diseases account for nearly three-quarters of all deaths, and access to safe drinking water remains a problem.
Setting out to raise $1,000 for a well, the sisters and members of Central's International Students Association and the now-defunct Students for Service club began to pass out buttons and hold fundraisers. The events didn't just raise money, they raised awareness of the problems facing the nation that is bordered to the east by Vietnam, north by Laos, northwest by Thailand and to the south by the Gulf of Thailand.
In raising awareness, the students talked about the notorious killing fields from the bloody reign of the Khmer Rouge, the communist guerrilla group that took the capital, Phnom Penh, in 1975. During that time, the Khmer Rouge forced city-dwelling Cambodians to the countryside to work 12- to 14-hour days, tore children from their parents and starved, tortured and executed an estimated 2 million natives.
The sisters even organized a campus viewing of the 1984 film "The Killing Fields," which chronicled the horrific era.
"I think we did educate a lot of people, but I feel that we could do more," Phola said. "A lot of people don't know where Cambodia is or what it is."
The sisters continued with bake sales and car washes to cover the cost of building the wells. They even took their efforts to the Internet, bringing in money from as far away as Boston.
With those donations and others from Central students, staff and the Ellensburg community, the effort ultimately exceeded their sisters' goal -- they raised $1,300, enough for two wells in Krabov.
This winter, a year after their first visit to Cambodia in 15 years, Pholi and Phola again headed back to their native land, this time with a gift from the States.
"I was excited, but also I didn't realize how much planning we needed to do," Pholi said.
It wasn't as simple as just raising the money, as it turned out. They still had to find a company to drill the well, which they were able to do with the help of an uncle who still lives in Cambodia.
And after arriving in Phnom Penh, the sisters faced a 2-day trip -- mostly by tractor and animal-powered buggy -- to Krabov. By then the villagers knew the sisters were headed to the area, and the women expected to meet many of them and explain the project. But it was the peak of the rice harvest, so of the adults were working in the fields from sunup until after the sun had set. The village is surrounded by rice fields, which provide the main source of food and work for villagers.
"I think the kids were more excited than anything," Pholi said.
It took the drilling company about a day to drill about 40 feet down through sand and rocks. Pholi and Phola were able to help a bit, but mostly watched as their project came to fruition before their eyes.
When the drill struck water, the village children, who had played and showered in the water during various stages of construction, celebrated. So did the sisters.
After the concrete had been laid, they were able to make their mark, etching the words: "Central Washington University, Cambodia Well Project 2006" in the wet concrete.
That's not the only recognition they've received for their efforts. The Cambodian council of ministry wrote them a letter highlighting their work. And Webb, who helped the sisters decide to build the wells, brags about their work as an example of how Central students should think globally.
Now that the project is complete, the sisters delight in sharing the story of how they've helped provide healthy drinking water for a small village in an impoverished nation. They have shared their story around campus and on the Internet, and are scheduled to present to an Ellensburg Rotary group next month.
"I just hope this will create a ripple and force people to help out, too," Phola said.
* James Joyce III can be reached at 577-7675 or jjoyce@yakimaherald.com.
During that trip to visit family, the sisters were exposed to the poverty and the people of the Southeast Asian nation, then just 12 years into rebuilding after nearly two decades of civil and social unrest.
Pholi and Phola, both graduating seniors at Central Washington University, recall seeing elderly people digging in the garbage for food, young children begging for table scraps and asking for empty bottles to sell.
"It's the first country I've been to that I've seen a lack of essentials. When we came back, it put things into perspective," said Phola, majoring in business and recreation management. "I knew as a student we could do something."
At first, the twins thought of simple gestures: providing slippers, clothes and other essentials to the most impoverished areas of the country. But that didn't seem adequate for the needs they'd seen.
"What can we do to (make) more of an impact?" Phola and her sister wondered.
Finally, after talking with members of two student organizations to which they belonged and with Leslie Webb of the Diversity Education Center, the scope of their work changed to something more substantial.
They decided to help build a well to provide clean drinking water for the northwest Cambodian village of Krabov, where about 80 families live.
"It lasts longer than clothing would," Pholi explained. "We take water for granted. People here shower for 30 minutes," added the triple major in art, retail management and technology.
In Cambodia, water-borne diseases account for nearly three-quarters of all deaths, and access to safe drinking water remains a problem.
Setting out to raise $1,000 for a well, the sisters and members of Central's International Students Association and the now-defunct Students for Service club began to pass out buttons and hold fundraisers. The events didn't just raise money, they raised awareness of the problems facing the nation that is bordered to the east by Vietnam, north by Laos, northwest by Thailand and to the south by the Gulf of Thailand.
In raising awareness, the students talked about the notorious killing fields from the bloody reign of the Khmer Rouge, the communist guerrilla group that took the capital, Phnom Penh, in 1975. During that time, the Khmer Rouge forced city-dwelling Cambodians to the countryside to work 12- to 14-hour days, tore children from their parents and starved, tortured and executed an estimated 2 million natives.
The sisters even organized a campus viewing of the 1984 film "The Killing Fields," which chronicled the horrific era.
"I think we did educate a lot of people, but I feel that we could do more," Phola said. "A lot of people don't know where Cambodia is or what it is."
The sisters continued with bake sales and car washes to cover the cost of building the wells. They even took their efforts to the Internet, bringing in money from as far away as Boston.
With those donations and others from Central students, staff and the Ellensburg community, the effort ultimately exceeded their sisters' goal -- they raised $1,300, enough for two wells in Krabov.
This winter, a year after their first visit to Cambodia in 15 years, Pholi and Phola again headed back to their native land, this time with a gift from the States.
"I was excited, but also I didn't realize how much planning we needed to do," Pholi said.
It wasn't as simple as just raising the money, as it turned out. They still had to find a company to drill the well, which they were able to do with the help of an uncle who still lives in Cambodia.
And after arriving in Phnom Penh, the sisters faced a 2-day trip -- mostly by tractor and animal-powered buggy -- to Krabov. By then the villagers knew the sisters were headed to the area, and the women expected to meet many of them and explain the project. But it was the peak of the rice harvest, so of the adults were working in the fields from sunup until after the sun had set. The village is surrounded by rice fields, which provide the main source of food and work for villagers.
"I think the kids were more excited than anything," Pholi said.
It took the drilling company about a day to drill about 40 feet down through sand and rocks. Pholi and Phola were able to help a bit, but mostly watched as their project came to fruition before their eyes.
When the drill struck water, the village children, who had played and showered in the water during various stages of construction, celebrated. So did the sisters.
After the concrete had been laid, they were able to make their mark, etching the words: "Central Washington University, Cambodia Well Project 2006" in the wet concrete.
That's not the only recognition they've received for their efforts. The Cambodian council of ministry wrote them a letter highlighting their work. And Webb, who helped the sisters decide to build the wells, brags about their work as an example of how Central students should think globally.
Now that the project is complete, the sisters delight in sharing the story of how they've helped provide healthy drinking water for a small village in an impoverished nation. They have shared their story around campus and on the Internet, and are scheduled to present to an Ellensburg Rotary group next month.
"I just hope this will create a ripple and force people to help out, too," Phola said.
* James Joyce III can be reached at 577-7675 or jjoyce@yakimaherald.com.
4 comments:
That is a great idea for doing that. The Cambodian government should feel bad for not being able to help their people. I just wonder where is the money that was donated by the donner.Is it in the Hun Sen's pocket???
Can you answer me Khmeng Wat Khnoungsrok??? :-(
Yes, you are right 6:56am all the money donated by the donner is in Ah Khvak's pocket. If he(Ah Khvang) should use the money properly, then Khmer would not be that poor, even my dog can calculate the math.
So how much money was lost? Let's
see some number, shall we?
Well done Pholi and Phola. As one of the supporters of this project from VA, I am so proud of you.
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