Saturday, February 19, 2011

KEP : keptrio

i went to cambodia with some girl friends in february to do a charity bike|run to raise money for the village of kep.
it was so interesting to take the 3.5 hour bumpy bus ride out to kep from phnom penh and see the dry countryside, skinny cows, meat out in the open market, and beautiful people.

there were eight in our group this year. i can't wait for next. who wants to join in?


it was such a neat feeling to come over the last hill and see the school children all lined up on the road to the finish line clapping and cheering.




80 bikes were given out and at least $30K was raised to help this small seaside community. there were many donors, but that's pretty great for only having around 150 participants.
we got to browse around their school and mingle with the cute kids.
"how old are you?"
"what is your name?"

they even had an excel poster in one of the classrooms. steve would agree that excel is a very useful program to know.:)



i gave the bike i rode to this boy. he reminded me of my dad.

our group rented out the raingsey bungalows. they were so cute. everything in cambodia is cheap. especially compared to singapore. i think i paid around $35 for a night stay and three meals.


however, we did have to wait for the water pressure while everyone showered after the race. no problem. we'll take a dip in the pool. :)

dinner at the sailing club.

tiny toones break dancing crew that came out from phnom penh.


the 10K run the next day didn't quite go the way i envisioned, but we finished! thanks jessie for being such a sweet running partner!

this was such a great event. at the closing ceremony, they awarded the winners prizes for people in the community with things like a family well, community pond, new toilet, a cow, chickens, pigs for the community bank project, training course in food hygiene and packaging for tourists, training in fish raising, veterinary services, 4 family water filters, training course in leadership and management, and even a newly renovated home. pretty cool!
(thanks jessie for the list!)
we learned a little about their culture, history, and circumstance and helped in a very small way. ♥

2 comments:

Jessie said...

Great post! The pictures of the boy you gave your bike to our gorgeous.

Stina said...

What an incredible experience. Thanks for sharing your experiences.