Day 5 – PIO (People Improvement Organization) School

This morning we took about 9 tuk-tuks to the PIO main office to drop off our CIS (Canadian International School) uniforms -20 (10 kg) bags of clothes.  Then we continued to the school on the dump.  Yes this school is next to the city garbage dump and serves 315 children and their families who are forced to scavenge on the dump.  There is also an orphanage of 55 children ages 3-18.  CIS has been involved helping this school for about 7 years. 

Phymean Noun was a former United Nations worker and she started this PIO.  She was honored CNN’s Heroes Award in 2008 - http://articles.cnn.com/2008-05-29/world/heroes.noun_1_trash-dump-trash-heap-poorest-children?_s=PM:WORLD  She told us about the NGO and we had a tour of the orphanage.  Then we all had brought things from Singapore to do an activity with the children.  Dorthe and I had straws, pipe cleaners and clay for the children to explore and create with.  Others did face painting, water colors, cards, making masks.  Afterwards the children of the orphanage performed some traditional Cambodian dances for us.

After lunch, we all boarded 4 buses for our 4 hour caravan ride to the province of Pursat.  We stayed in a sketchy hotel in the middle of nowhere before going to the village to do our house building the next day.