I'll be writing today's blog in two parts because later this morning we are being whisked to Neak Leung, a ferry crossing on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. LRDE runs another community service there having identified a number of families - all urgent cases - in need of assistance.  

I suspect that Neak Leung will be another milestone experience for DO Cambodia as we are introduced to yet another facet of Cambodia.

But before that, we have classes to give at LRDE, and the street children are eager to start the third segment of the lesson: dance. Today, Chiara and Anika are teaching the children a new routine that will expand their vocabulary to include words like jump, clap, stamp, spin, laugh and play among others.

One of the victims of war

From my vantage point in the LRDE office, I can see children fresh off the street who never participated previously cautiously working their way into the group to join in the fun. Why? Because, although structured and disciplined, fun remains key to our classes, and it's one of the reasons why the children love every minute of our lessons.

My time in the office also gives me the opportunity to look into the backgrounds of some of the children we have grown to know and care for in our short time here.

Sokserey is a scrawny six-year-old. He sells flowers at traffic junctions with his brother and sister to help his grandmother afford the rent for the shack they live in. He goes to school but sometimes he must work late into the night and it's not uncommon for him to sleep at his desk the next day. He needs help.

Chen Sophea has never had it easy, but her life took another bashing when her alcoholic father abandoned the family. Her mother found work in another province picking peppercorns, so Chen now lives with her grandmother. Her mother used to visit her once every few months but the visits dwindled and suspicions are that she has since remarried.

Sophea’s grandmother used to sew clothes for a living but severe rheumatism made it impossible for her to handle a needle and thread. The family now scavenge for survival. She also needs help.

There is a new boy named Manh. He turned up for the first time last Monday, our very first day of teaching. LRDE don't have any documents about him yet, though they know he sleeps on the street with a group of other children in the environs of the Russian Market.

This boy has taken to me in a big way - probably he sees me as the father figure he craves but clearly doesn't have. He is watching me as I write this and gives me a big grin and a wave whenever I catch his eye. I have asked for information on this young boy because, I am tempted to sponsor him myself (something that Gaby might find out after she reads this blog!)

Ok. That's part one of today's blog over. Now for Neak Leung…

 …Just back from the two-hour drive back and we are mentally and physically beat. To say that the dock is crazy would be a gross understatement. It is an assault on the senses with people selling anything from deep fried beetles and bugs to roasted finches. It didn't help that the temperature was well into the 40s.

Our first stop was a family with a background I didn't quite grasp. I know that the grandfather is a war victim and lost his leg some years ago, and the father fell from a construction site that left him with a spinal injury. Consequently the mother has to work to scratch a living. Having no education to speak of means the work is manual and that takes its toll.

 LRDE have a sponsor for one of the sons of this family, and today also happened to be his birthday so we came bearing gifts from his godparents which included clothes and a bicycle which will get him to school on time and will hopefully help break the poverty cycle in this family.

As a quick aside, our van wouldn't restart to take us to the next family. But no problem, the entire village came to give a hand and a push!

the villagers throw shampoo into the sewage to disguise the disgusting smell

The second family we were introduced to had to move across the road to a ‘lean-to’ when the shack they were living in across the road got flooded with raw sewage. We were taken to see the original home which seemed to be floating on a sea of foam.

It was explained to us that's the villagers throw shampoo into the sewage to disguise the disgusting smell. Not that it works because the stench is overpowering, and caused our eyes to burn. Also we were all beginning to tilt slightly in the sweltering heat.

There is just one other case I would like to mention: Sela is a beautiful 11-year old girl with a sunshine smile. She lives in a dark, dingy shack with her great-aunt.

Both her parents died of AIDS some years ago and her grandmother couldn't take care of her so her great-aunt took her in. Sela also has HIV and has to take medication daily but, as the saying goes, she is living with the disease, not dying of it. But her case is unique and there is a further twist to her story in that Sela lives her life as a boy.

She keeps her hair short and refuses to wear skirts and looking at her, beautiful as she may be, you wouldn't guess that she is female. I am not qualified to diagnose gender identity issues, nor am I particularly keen to endorse the cliché that she is a boy living in a girl's body, and I suspect that life will throw many obstacles her way, but she does have a short support line with LRDE and there is hope there.

 We have just learned that tomorrow morning we are being taken to yet another project outside of Phnom Penh. I can't describe how humbling it is to witness these people’s lives, and how honoured the DO Cambodia team is to be invited to these places that not many people get to see.

 This morning, Mr Chhiv gathered us together to tell us how grateful he is for DO Cambodia’s collaboration so far and for the priceless support from the Maltese sponsors of the children. He went on to say that he hopes we would be willing to collaborate even further. Judging by the many new projects LRDE is exploring, we can only see our involvement growing.

ALAN MONTANARO