SFF 3: Tonle Bati & Teen Conference

Thanks to the Summer Fun Fund and Brunner Medical Missions, the Wat Opot family got to enjoy an outing to the Phnom Tamao Zoo and Tonle (Lake) Bati.  This being the third trip this year to the lake, it is the first time the weather was appropriate.  Back in April when we went, in the hottest month of the year, we woke up that morning to almost a cool breeze and overcast after 3 solid weeks of 100+ degree heat and overwhelming humidity.  This trip, however, fell on a hot day where the lake could be as refreshing as possible.  I recently made the following video documenting how the WatOpotians kept cool all summer.  The photographs and video footage are from our trips to the lake, the kids swimming on the Wat Opot property, and playing in the rain.  I hope you enjoy it!

While the kids enjoyed their day in the sun, the empty and child-free Wat Opot grounds played host to an HIV Teen Conference with some of the oldest Wat Opot residents and visitors from the district.  The all-day conference was put on by Wayne and newlywed volunteers Brittany and JR Johnstone from the US.  I stayed back to assist as twenty teenagers participated in total with the goal being to bring together a group to find support and encouragement in one another.  Among other events, Wayne put together a presentation on being the victor of HIV not the victim.  In one example, he showed a picture of a man with no legs begging for money on the street and in the next picture a man with prosthetic legs running around a track.  The idea was to encourage the teenagers to go out and overcome their obstacles instead of sitting around in self-pity.  Even in Cambodia, in fact 30 minutes from Wat Opot, is a free clinic where amputees are fitted and rehabilitated with prostheses (going back to the example).  That clinic is next to the free HIV/AIDS clinic where medication and therapy is readily available to those who chose to be compliant and determined to live a happy and healthy life.  Another major topic was sexual responsibility, a taboo but very necessary topic in Cambodia.  The teens talked about healthy relationships as friends and more, when to tell someone your status, and what exactly puts someone else in danger of contracting HIV.  The conference lasted most of the day and was very positive and successful.  I enjoyed seeing some of the Wat Opot kids open up and share their feelings and stories with each other, though at times it was very emotional.  As the age groups at Wat Opot get younger, the percentage with HIV increase.  There aren't many teenagers with HIV/AIDS so having a larger support network outside of the family is crucial.  I was happy to be a part of the day and hope that Wat Opot will host more in the future.

Brittany overlooks the group during an icebreaker.