fourth day

Today is the fourth day in Cambodia. The team, consisting of 21 members, was split into 2 groups. One group did painting. They were supposed to help paint the main building of Pouk High School. The rest of us had to stay in BBLC to teach English and Art. Everyone had fun, especially during the Art lesson! Who don’t like to be a kid and play with paint? But I think the highlight of the day – for me is when we help Uncle Jason, who is a Singaporean volunteer in BBLC, burn refuse! In Singapore, we can conveniently throw our waste into the dustbin, which is then disposed into the rubbish chute. Thereafter, we do not need to worry about the waste. It will be handled by the housing estate cleaners where the waste is transferred to the incinerator. We do not enjoy such luxury in Cambodia. Whatever we throw, we have to either recycle the useful materials such as plastics and cans, or burn the non-recyclable items, including disposal undergarments and sanitary pads. It was a disgusting sight, but whatever we were burning was what we had produced. It cautioned us to think twice before throwing any “rubbish” and possibility of recycling it.