Day 6 - Goodbyes are never easy

With a blink of an eye, we ended our last day at Watrotka Primary school. And even though our Cambodian adventure is winding down, the memories gained from our short 3 days at the school has left us with memories to last a lifetime.

The day started on a happy note with the birthday celebration of our team member Gordon. Happy Birthday Gordon!

We were treated to a lovely morning assembly by the kids at Watrotka Primary. They sang their national anthem with gusto despite the sweltering heat. This was followed by a prize presentation ceremony for the top academic performances for each grade.

For our last day at Watrotka, we treated the kids to a games day full of fun and games. It was a joyous occassion with fun for both students and us. Just look at the happy faces below.

We showed them nostalgic games from Singapore such as Chapteh and Jump rope. In addition to this games, we also got time to spend quality time with our students, making goodbye so much harder to say.

But our day was not all about fun and games. We also completed the kitchen we built for the primary school. Having seen the state of the kitchen on our first day, we are incredibly proud that we were able to donate a fully sheltered and functional kitchen complete with the neccessary utensils. 

We got to personally hand over the kitchen to the principal of Watrotka Primary. He mentioned that our contribution would greatly help in feeding the children breakfast and lunch before they start class. This made us feel good about ourselves having contributed to the lives of the kids that we grew attached to.

Today was definitely a beautiful end to our Cambodian journey. We came here as clueless students but left as people who have impacted another life.

Goodbye is indeed a hard thing to say. We will always remember the smiles of our students and their earnestness to learn. They have taught us more than we had taught them. We will remember you in our hearts forever Watrotka.

Reflections from Day 6 -

"This trip impacted me especially when they remembered and called my name. After day 2, they started to warm up to me and asked me to play with them. Today impacted me the most as we had to leave them. My students called out my name as we were leaving. It has only been a few hours but I miss them already." - Juzairy (3N1) 

"What impacted me most was completing the kitchen for the kids. Before we came, there was no kitchen at all and the kids must have gone hungry before class without it. I know how it feels to be hungry and the feeling is not one I want anyone to have. Now, with the kitchen we have built, I hope that the kids will be able to go to class with a hot meal in their sotmachs and this can help the, study better." - Priya (3N2)