Rewarding Visit to the Village

During our time in Chiang Mai this past week we met a professor from Seattle who has spent a number of years in Asia. He suggested during our stay here in Cambodia that we contact one of his former students who runs a hospitality program to help the nearby villages to improve the quality of life. Instead of just seeing the sights we wanted to lend a hand in any way we could.

This morning we traveled 1-hour to a nearby village and met a 66 year old grandmother who is caring for her 4 young grandchildren. We were struck by how little these people have and their struggle for daily survival. Through the program we were able to donate a 50kg bag of rice (a months worth) along with bottles of soy sauce and canned goods to her family. You could see the sheer joy and excitement in her face as she continually thanked us during our visit. It was equally touching for us and made us appreciate how blessed we are. For me (Jillian) it was an overwhelming and moving experience...so much so that it was difficult to fight back the tears when the family was gathered around us with the biggest smiles.

If any of you make a visit to Cambodia then you should definitely get in touch with the Shinta Mani hotel which coordinates this effort to give back to the community.