I came to this country to teach English, but quickly realized that there were so many other areas of daily life that needed my attention too, a major one being the concept of environmentalism. I noticed it immediately when I arrived in Siem Reap. At restaurants, people would throw all their napkins on the floor, and the waitresses would just sweep them out on the street. This was shocking. How hard is it to get a few garbage bins. In big cities like this, they have garbage service. Why not use it?
When I got to my village, it was even worse. There is not garbage service here, and not only do people throw all their trash on the ground without a thought, but the trash that is collected is burned.
Over the course of the year, I've taught my students how to throw trash in the bins. Cynthia and I bought 14 extra garbage bins, and I created a recycling program at our school. I've also taught my 1st and 2nd graders vocabulary related to nature. After teaching about leaves, I took my 1st graders outside, and asked, "Where's a leaf?" "Where's a flower?" etc.
I know I have made some impact, but it will take many years for these habits to really change. I took this photo last week...two days after I made my students clean this exact area. You can imagine my frustration with this. I should also point out at there is a gigantic garbage bin about 10 feet from this spot.
You know the old saying about everything and the kitchen sink. Yeah, well, the broken sink from the bathrooms now lives under a banana tree. It's been there for two months and will probably be there for the next two years. Did Laum bother to get a new sink? No, of course not. There is a giant pot of water in the bathroom now for "washing." All the students put their dirty hands, arms, and heads into this pot. Thank God I live on campus and have my own bathroom. After every class, I immediately retreat to my little piece of heaven and wash my hands...with soap.
No comments:
Post a Comment