Interview with Jayne Hanford
In February this year, six Sydney University students from Wesley College travelled to Sisaphon, Cambodia. They spent four days in office and in the field. Wesley student Jayne Hanford shares her experiences.
Austcare: What Austcare programs did you see in Cambodia, and what did you participate in?
When we arrived in Sisaphon we had an orientation meeting, then went out to a small village a few hours drive away where Austcare is involved in many different programs. We were shown some projects that allow families to become financially self-sufficient, such as growing mushrooms or fish for sale. Austcare had also established water storage tanks, which are very important as the villages in the area have a severe drought problem over the dry season.
The six of us divided into pairs to assist with different projects. We helped with some surveying work for a new road, did some gardening to help establish a vegetable patch for a family, and helped lay the foundations of a new school. The activity which had one of the most profound impacts on me was our visit to a mine-clearing site. We were given a short briefing about the mine situation in Cambodia, and then a demonstration of mine searching and clearing techniques. It was very eye-opening to see the sheer number of mines in such a small area, and also to see the impacts they have on the local people’s lives.
What struck you about Cambodia when you first arrived there?
When I first got to Cambodia, the first thing I noticed (apart from the heat!) was that the majority of people were really relaxed and smiled a lot, which was a really nice welcome. Then in the cities I started noticing the many poorer people begging or selling books to tourists, and the people who were obviously mine victims missing limbs. This was quite sobering, as it was something I hadn’t really experienced before.
What are some of the most profound differences between the way that communities around Sisaphon live and the way we live over here?
Apart from the obvious dramatic differences in buildings and roads (which were literally 4WD main roads) and animals wandering everywhere, the people in and around Sisaphon mostly seemed very happy and content with life, which is a quality I don’t generally associate with more developed countries. In the village they also functioned as a community rather than individual households. Contrast this with many people here not even knowing their next-door neighbours, and it was quite a different way of living.
Everyone had their specific role to play: one man was the only school teacher, one household grew the only mushrooms etc. Also, at the school (which is where I helped out) almost the entire village was there helping, because they saw it not just as constructing a building, but improving the futures of their children. Even all the school kids were there doing what they could (mostly we all carried sand around on hessian sacks from a hole to fill in the school’s foundation) and they were genuinely enjoying it, laughing and joking around all day with us and each other. This was an especially humbling experience.
Tell us about some of the people that you met over there. What sort of stories did they have to tell you?
The Austcare guys we were with were exceedingly friendly, had excellent English and a really great sense of humour, and made sure we were all okay and enjoying ourselves (which we most certainly were).
Despite the language barrier (as they spoke not a word of English) the people in the village where we were laying the foundation of the school were incredible. I couldn’t get over how friendly they could still be even though we didn’t understand anything the other said, and their nature made the day’s work enjoyable. They all wanted to carry sand with us and kept pushing in with each other to try and work with us because I suppose it was such a novelty. At the end of the first day the men there invited us to share some rice wine with them, a small fish one of them had just caught from the lake and a cow’s tongue. So we all sat around together on the ground sharing a small meal, and their generosity with what little they had was amazing.
Has this trip changed your perspective or your plans for the future?
This trip has definitely changed my world perspective, as I hadn’t travelled overseas before. It has so much more of an impact when you see firsthand the devastating effects of landmines rather than hearing little bits and pieces when you’re comfortably in front of the TV at home.
It has been very inspirational and has given me quite a bit of motivation for the future. I had never really considered working with people, but this trip has definitely shown me many opportunities I was previously unaware of. I’ve only been back in Australia less than two months and I’m already itching to get back to SE Asia.