Was in bed by 9.30pm last night and slept through to 7.30am. Woke up feeling like an elephant sat on my face, but a couple of coffees later and I was ready to face the day ahead.

Happy faces during the lesson.

As usual we jumped into our waiting tuk-tuk at 8.30am and headed for our morning session at LRDE. The journey we take each morning is more hair-raising than any roller coaster I've ever been on in my life. Traffic signs and road markings are scarce and, at best, serve as a rough guide for the more conscientious driver, otherwise it's pretty much a free-for-all.

Tuk-tuks and motorbikes zip in between massive unmarked SUVs and it's surprising that there aren't more accidents. Motorbikes by far outnumber any other mode of transport and these are used to carry anything from gas cylinders to fired-up ovens in a side car. Families of five are not uncommon, and the maximum we've seen was a family of seven. Helmets are, of course, optional. The other day, I spotted a bike with two massive live pigs strapped to the back, and Matthew and Anika had a close shave with someone on a bike with his mother riding side-saddle holding a drip. Just some of the madness of this amazing city.

Children being weighed and measured.

LRDE keeps piling on the surprises. It is such a wonderful and humbling organisation and if its director, Mr Chhiv, were Catholic, I'd nominate him for canonisation. Besides the support they offer families, single mums, and children of the community, they also organise haircuts every few weeks and medical check-ups every fortnight. But we knew that already.  Now they've come up with something new.  Kosal Leng is a former street child and one of the many success stories of LRDE. He is now gainfully employed and working in a bank, and has introduced a scheme for the children to open their own savings accounts with as little as $0.50c. Many children have subscribed and hopefully this, together with the education we are providing thanks to our sponsors, will result in some positive differences in their lives.

At the end of our session at LRDE today, the children were all sat down and one by one they were weighed and measured. This is done regularly to monitor their physical development. If one of the children is not in top shape, the alarm is raised, treatment is sought and any sponsors are informed. That's how strict the policy of transparency is at LRDE. 

It's always gives the group great joy when Matthew, an economist no less, manages to make a fool of himself. Last year we treated ourselves to a Thai massage and when he stood up from the mat, his trousers dropped to the ground. I died.

Children receiving rice from their sponsors.

This afternoon on our way to SFODA he screamed in delight, having spotted a random rhinoceros bathing in a puddle in front of a shack, and forced our tuk-tuk driver to turn around. Clearly, the heat must have got to him because it turned out to be a dozing bull. Our tuk-tuk driver now thinks we're all clinically insane and I wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't pick us up at the end of the day!

Lessons at SFODA were brilliant. We divided the students into two groups, including a ‘kindy’ class. The new students - around eight of them - cottoned on to what we are trying to achieve remarkably well, and it just goes to show that the Helen O'Grady system works and that drama transcends language and abilities because, what it boils down to, imagination in children is universal and it's just a shame that as adults we tend to lose ourselves in reality. Unless we're imagining random rhinos, cause that's just silly.

Tonight we're going out for dinner. The neon lights of our residence (and the stifling heat of the living area) can get a little oppressive so we've decided to treat ourselves. Not sure what's on the menu or whether we'll be feasting on tarantula or deep fried grasshoppers, but we're all looking forward to it.

Going out tonight means I have to get this blog ready before 7pm, but before I close off I want to let those people who have sponsored children from SFODA and LRDE know that their godchild is fine. We've met up with all of them now and apart from an extra bit of height, a different haircut and an additional tooth they haven’t changed a bit!  They are all doing great and this is largely thanks to their continued assistance and support.

If there are readers out there who are thinking of sponsoring a child out here, please do. The cost is approximately €275 annually - that's less than €1 a day.

I can't stress enough what a massive difference you will be making in the lives of these amazing children.

Alan Montanaro