Haircuts.

We purchased some supplies from the best stationery in the world and headed off to LRDE to find the place buzzing with activity: student hairdressers were giving the boys a short back, and sides while medical students under the watchful eye of a doctor were cleaning and dressing the wounds of the week. It's amazing how this place functions like clockwork.

Today I swore I wouldn't mention the boy with the big eyes for the third day in a row, but things are happening so fast with Sokham and I have to write it down just so I can understand the speed of this boy's development.

At LRDE he was sitting around a table with another group of children – practicing writing. This is the boy who, up until a couple of days ago didn't speak to anyone let alone socialize with others. He looked up, waved, gave me his best grin, and showed me his copybook before getting right back down to it.

Mr Chhiv explained to the boy that if he wants to return to school, we will be happy to sponsor and support his efforts. And Sokham was thrilled. He showered at LRDE and came out smelling of Lux and wearing some of the clothes we'd donated.

Sokham at work.

We took him with us to the SFODA orphanage today to see how he would fit in with the other children or if he even wanted to be there. Keep in mind that this is a feral boy, for want of a better word, who lives on the streets and might not take well to the structure and discipline of SFODA.

The first 15 minutes where a little shaky compounded perhaps by the fact that he'd slept on me on the tuk-tuk ride to the orphanage. At first he stuck to me like glue but very slowly he started to emerge and integrate with some of the other children.

We still have no idea what this boy's been through but we do know that his sense of self-esteem and self-worth must have taken a severe beating over the years. Getting to believe in himself again and trust others is a process that he is going to have to go through if he is to make any progress. We are doing our best to put a support structure in place to make his journey a little bit easier.

He was invited to spend the next couple of hours at the orphanage but unfortunately, that was perhaps a little too much too soon and he didn't want to stay there without me.

Setting up the computer lab.

So on our way back to our residence we dropped him off on the promenade close to the bridge where he sleeps and drove off, leaving him grinning and waving to us until we were out of sight. He is really doing my head in.

After a quick lunch we headed back to SFODA for our afternoon session. Everyone is in a bit of a mood today. The place isn't yet up to scratch and the children are still settling in among the building works.

Matthew spent the best part of the afternoon setting up SFODA's first computer lab to make sure that everything is working perfectly before our time here comes to an end (boo!).  Computers, donated by a Maltese benefactor, were wired up together with other computer equipment which we bought to have a fully functional tech joint.

Hopefully this lab will open a small window into the world out there for children who are otherwise living in a very primitive environment. We had a word with Sothy, the children's carer whose desk has been strategically positioned for her to be able to monitor's the children's computer use. And we also agreed that she would set up a roster for all the children to have a go at using the computers. Our plans are to use this lab to give the children computer skills, allow them to be in touch with the world and even Skype with their sponsors. On a personal level, it also allows us to keep in touch with the people we have grown to love so much.

Cambodia been hit by a heat wave like nothing I've ever experienced and the humidity level is through the roof which is making everyone a little tetchy. But we are professional. We have a job to do and something as petty as 38 degrees Celsius in the shade and a bit of boob sweat isn't going to get in the way of giving the best drama lessons in the world.

Alan Montanaro