On Thursday the 24th of September, a football tournament was held on the outskirts of Phnom Penh with the purpose of raising awareness for the forced evictions occurring in Cambodia’s capital. The sun was beating down and mud was flying, but the atmosphere was one of enjoyment and friendly competition. It was a fantastic chance for us UWCSEA volunteers to not only participate in such an event (which was covered by the main newspaper of Phnom Penh a few days after), but to see some of our students in a completely different setting. Even kids who are quiet and timid in class seemed to have fun and be more carefree, whether it was on the pitch or just mucking about in between their matches.
Several of the teams included students that we teach; there was a team from Tiny Toones, two from the existing relocation site of the evictions, two from the Boeng Kok Lake community and one from Kep Province (we don’t personally teach these kids but down in Chamcar Bei is the location of another BABSEA project).
One of the Lakeside teams came first – which we were all expecting since they were fantastically good players – but that didn’t prevent us from wagering on our own teams! Emil lost the bet – and his punishment? He had to clean his room for a week! It was great, the smell from the boys’ room didn’t waft into ours during that time!
Li howy,
Gayatri
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