Last Friday was International Women’s Day, a day when we recognize the enormous contributions made by women to… well, to just about every aspect of life. It’s a time to thank our mothers, wives and daughters for everything they do, but also and especially to reflect upon the great achievements of women in the workplace – in business, medicine, art, education, and political and cultural leadership.
In this vein, we wish to express our heartfelt appreciation to the awesome women who make Little Hearts the thriving and productive community that it is: our devoted caretakers, Roxanne and Rosahlee; our long-time chef, the indispensable Ma Khun; our laundress and weekend cook, Auntie Keo; and the newest addition to our staff, Kimlin, who joined us nine months ago as the Level 1 English teacher for our youngest kids and the community students. Without their commitment, creativity and hard work, it would be impossible to raise, educate, feed, clothe and inspire so many children.
Women’s Day was a public holiday here in Cambodia, so we made the most of it by taking all the kids (except for two older ones who had prior engagements) to Garden City Water Park just north of Phnom Penh, where everyone had oodles of splashing fun in the big wave pool, the lazy river and especially the water slides. (We thank the management of the park for giving our group a very generous discount!)
Before going, however, there was household work to be done – it was, after all, Friday, our cleaning day. The boys chivalrously decided to relieve the girls of their part of the chores in honour of Women’s Day, so they mopped, scrubbed and dusted on their own, while the girls got to laze around and play till it was time to go. Roxanne and Rosahlee made sure that this gentlemanly behaviour continued all day long, encouraging an effusion of curtsies, favours and attentive gestures from the boys to all the girls. Our caretakers hope that the boys are now more accustomed to acting like Prince Charming, and will continue to be thoughtful and caring towards girls during the rest of the year as well…