Sustainability and Growth

When children become accustomed to hand-washing with soap, always using the toilet and drinking clean water at school, these behaviours become ingrained and can last a lifetime……

I cannot remember a time when I didn’t have clean water to drink, a toilet to use, or even access to soap? It boggles my mind to think that so many children here have never seen a toilet, used soap, or have access to clean water…..Sure, it is not recommended to drink from the tap here, however that does not mean we do not have access to clean safe drinking water. Isn’t that a given right? How many times has Ari complained about the toilets at his schools back home? I used to tell him to hold it then and wait till he got home, or to ask in the office to use a toilet. Now, I tell him I never want to hear him complain about that again…Next week will be my first “Field Visit”. I have no idea where I will be going, or where I will be staying. I just know it will be for four days in the field visiting several schools and training the Teachers and Red Cross Youth Volunteers all about Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in school….

Most of the children in these secondary schools will have walked for hours form their villages to attend school. They are anywhere from 10-16 years old. Once they reach their school, they are responsible for building their own shelter using whatever materials they can find. Then they need to find their food. Many will have brought some sticky rice from home, but that’s it… They have no electricity, no wifi, nothing…They live in their shelters by themselves while they go to school Maybe if it isn’t too far, they will walk home on the weekends. Some don’t see their parents for a long time. I cannot even imagine Ari doing this. The kid can barely brush his teeth. It just boggles my mind.

I have no idea what to expect. I have no idea what I will see. What is there to eat? I have become a vegan who only eats sticky rice that I have brought lol. At least there will be beer. That I can count on. SO, come Tuesday, my birthday, broken leg and all, I will head with my team out to Phonexay. This is the reason I am here. This is what I signed up for. This is what excites me every day. This is what makes me want to stay here forever….

Let’s just hope that I still feel the same after I return at the end of next week.