Texas City Girl Goes to the Cambodian Countryside

River Crossing to one of the villages

For  four days,  I a left both Phnom Pehn and my family to travel by van along with 18 other people to a remote district of Cambodia called the Chey  S’aang District in the Preah Vihear Province near the border of Thailand. We left on a Friday morning and arrived at our “guest house” that afternoon.   Our van ride started out on paved roads but eventually turned into pot hole filled dirt roads.  Our team was the staff from the Targeted Child Nutrition Program.  Next year, Samaritan’s Purse will be launching a new base in this region.  Our goal was to assess and evaluate the incidence of malnutrition in 4 different villages in this particular district in order to strategically design a plan to reach out to the moderate to severe malnourished children and expectant women .   My assignment on this trip was to assess and screen pregnant and post-partum mothers.

My teammates measuring children's heights

I was both excited and apprehensive about the trip. Since I was the only westerner on this excursion, I knew my traditional comfort level was going to be challenged.  I was secure in knowing that I just needed to pack my personal clothing, mosquito spray, and any personal toiletries (which that means TOILET PAPER ALWAYS!)  The chances of seeing a “western toilet” were zero, and so I mentally prepared myself for 4 days of a “squatty potty”.  My four day outlook was to focus on the needs of others and not myself along with listening to what God needed to do in my heart regarding setting aside my own personal needs.  

When we arrived at our “guest house” , I quickly realized I had no idea what the next four days would include.  I thought the Lord was going to reveal some great “Word of Revelation” to me on this trip. The scripture I humbly embraced became Matthew 6:25-34 “Is life not more than food and the body more than clothing?” Our guest house was a large oversized hut on stilts with the “kitchen” below on a dirt floor.  We had three double beds and 7 women.   I was overwhelmed with thoughts from my western mindset as I was staring at basically what some would call a shack made of wood planks, no air conditioning, no running water, and  3 hours of electricity by generator in the evenings.  “My” bathroom was a “squatty potty” outhouse with a bucket and large tub of water for bathing to share among about 15 people next to the pig stalls.  I adored the “cute” little scrawny “organic” chickens that ran around everywhere which I thought were to provide us with daily fresh eggs.  However, one afternoon as I rounded the side of hut to go to the outhouse, I saw a young Cambodian kid who obviously had just wrung the neck of one of those “cute” chickens and was plucking its feathers!  I suddenly realized that I was observing the elaborate preparation of my supper tonight which was later presented on the table right next to the pig ears!

Passing a water buffalo  

With all this in mind, my thoughts were centered around these findings at the end of the 4 days.  As a nurse, I assessed approximately 50 pregnant and post-partum women in all and found that around 20% of them were malnourished.  This being said, I am thankful to be exactly where I am. I am thankful  for this season in my life. I am being used as an instrument by Samaritan’s Purse to make a difference in the lives of those who are less fortunate than myself. Please pray that our team will develop an effective  strategy to combat malnutrition in the district of Cheng S’aang.