After the Expedition...

There are many things I've grown to love and be proud of. Family, friends, kindness, my LP and the kids who chose to go to do some good for foreign children who have been abandoned by their parents and struggle to hold a simple conversation in English.

Familiarity is the the committee I spent 16 days with. Acceptance is the 13 kids who come from different backgrounds. Love is the sight of all of us assembled, laughing, smiling and sharing. Pride is hearing our kids express interest in wanting to do more of they did, how much they learned and seeing parents tear for joy for how much their difficult child has grown.

Sounds sentimental, but this was really what happened.

Here is a news article about us, and especially the kids, given editorial support by Zao Bao post expedition. Translation can be found below.



"Painting Beautiful Mural Art for the Orphanage"

They may come from dysfunctional families and may be regarded by society as "problem youths", but they have grown and learnt through an overseas expedition.

13 youths from different voluntary welfare organisations in Singapore participated in CampVision Expedition to Cambodia in December last year which was for a period of about 2 weeks.

CampVision Expedition's chairperson Serene Koh (25 yrs old) said the group of 10 adults leading this expedition are all volunteers, with the common aim of seeing personal growth and development in these youths - to hone their leadership, resilience and creativity.

The entire expedition costs about $30,000 and they relied on donations as well as sponsors to raise the amount. As there are five 15 and 16 year olds in the expedition team, YEP's lowering of age limit has allowed them to benefit greatly and receive more than $10,000 in grants.

The expedition team worked with a local NGO in Cambodia and in their two weeks there, refurbished the living environment of a orphanage, including its church, as well as painted beautiful mural art on the walls. They also brought the children to the Water Park for an outing.

In addition, they also visited the children at the Garbage Dump. One of the youths, Sky Kam (16 yrs old) said the living conditions of the children there shocked him. He said, "They do not have hot food and have to eat cold food all the time, but they are very contented. In the past, I have been wanting to own mobile phones, PSPs, but now I want to lead a simple life, and save whenever I can. I want to study hard, and when I earn more money, to go back to help more people in Cambodia."

For a glimpse of our 16 days journey, visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/campvision.expedition.2008

- By Lilyana