Tuesday, December 28, 2010

November 18

Today is the last full this week, and its been a long week! This morning was again the usual, but the kids did not attend school. This weekend is the Water Festival and apparently the teachers give themselves time off at their convenience. It was great to have them around all day, I'm getting a lot better at learning their names and their stories. It's hard to hear how they got here and the lives they had (the stories of which we even know) before they came to Wat Opot. So many of them are so full of life that its difficult to understand how they came to this point from having seen their parents sick and dying, and many of the children lived in the slum areas of Phnom Penh. They really are amazing and inspirational kids and I've loved being around them.

However, I learned today that often those happy personalities become dark and we see sides of them that tell us a bit about their anger. This afternoon one of the children, little Nak decided to run away. I wasn't around for the events preceding him becoming so angry, but I heard he was holding a stick and playing with some kids. Eventually the playing got serious and he began hitting some of the others. One volunteer tried to take the stick away from him but he wouldn't give in. He became so enraged that he ran away, down the road that leads to the main road. We've heard some children have run away, none ever been so serious we could not find them. Occasionally, they run away to cool off and make their way back. I was worried because Nak is only 6 years old. He is positive, and although I don't know his story he is incredibly sweet and one of the most sensitive kids. In English, he is one of the fastest learners and I love him because he is so adorable. It was so sweet to see how the other kids became concerned. All of the little ones followed the volunteers and the older boys on moto down the dirt road. One of the other boys shouted 'Nak ran away, Nak ran away!' It was such a testament to the name children's community. After about an hour of searching, Nak came back on moto. He hadn't made it to the main road, thankfully. Like kids, some of the boys were teasing him and pretending to roundhouse kick him as he sat stone faced on the ground outside of the dormitory. Even me, as I'd held him that very morning in the bead room, he did not want to look me in the face. This is unlike any tantrum for any kid I'd ever babysat in my life. It was so strange to see a boy so small so enraged and angry. However, from hearing everyone else's accounts of how often this can happen, I knew that as soon as he cooled off he would be back to normal. And by dinner, he was.

After dinner we took Kunthea back to the volunteer quarters to give her another bath. I've noticed these past few days that she often wears a kroma, the traditional scarf worn by many Khmer especially in the fields. Its a thin piece of cotton designed with a blue or red gingham print and usually older women wear them around their heads in the rice paddies. Kunthea uses her kroma as a bonnet to cover her rash. We know this worsens the rash because it doesn't allow it to breathe. However, she seems to be so troubled by the cosmetic part of having the rash that she refuses to remove it. After the bath, we tried to tell her to take the scarf off. The tea tree oil is very refreshing and soothes the rash, so afterward she was without the kroma. We know the love and care that her favorite volunteer gives her makes her more confident and accepted. Its not possible to eliminate ridicule from the other kids, they're children. But I hate that she is so self-conscious about her looks and although this volunteer leaves tomorrow I see how important it is that showing them that we care gives the confidence they need to feel good about themselves.

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