Why did you decide to go on a solidarity leave?

I wanted to show more solidarity in my personal life, by doing something real in the field. During a previous trip, I had lived for two days in the home of local inhabitants, an intense experience that I wanted to live again.

Please describe a typical day in Takeo

Cambodian breakfast at 6:30 AM, then on the road to the construction site, with children cheering hello along the way. At noon: Cambodian shower, lunch and a nap or chats with the students. Back to work at 1:30 PM. As the job progressed, we were getting back later and later to stay with the children, play volleyball with the workers and students, or even stayed around just for a drink with the neighbours!

Then back to the dormitory, snorers included! Evening shower with a ladle... living conditions were very basic. But what a pleasure it was to discover unknown exotic fruit and taste the local (lukewarm) beer, all of which in the warm ambience of our little group of volunteers!

What contacts did you have with the local population?

The Cambodians were incredibly hospitable and the assignment opened up on a great diversity of encounters.

We always took our breaks close to the construction site, surrounded by children. And we ended up organising a school fair with games and candies.

It took a little longer to make contact with the workers, mostly because of the language barrier. But a warm complicity was soon established, particularly after long days of hard work in the heat. And we learned a few words in Khmer.

It was easier to talk with the students because we communicated in English. We played some great volleyball games together!

What will you remember most?

The toughest day was the next to last one when we had to finish a concrete slab before nightfall. We spent over 10 hours filling big buckets with sand and rocks and carrying them back and forth to the cement mixer. I really had to struggle to keep the pace! But we were all so proud when we did finish!  There were huge smiles on everybody’s face when finally all of us stepped onto the concrete slab that had already dried.

Do you feel that this assignment responded to local needs?

The students are girls who live far away in the countryside and cannot always afford to study in Phnom Penh. Now thanks to the boarding school, they can learn and live at the same place. And the new boarding students will also be new customers for the local shopkeepers.