AMBER DOUGLAS

High School Student from Canterbury College QLD Australia speaking about her experience on the World Challenge Exhibition where she and 22 of her classmates came to visit and donate their time and energy to the Green Gecko project.

Personally, the World Challenge Expedition endowed me with a wealth of appreciation for all the things we totally take for granted - our comfort goods, our hygiene, and our safety. We don't have to worry about land-mines, about the endemic corruption in society. We have a roof over our heads, we have sufficient food in our tummies, we have families that have, generally, not been decimated by war. How fortunate we are to have not had endless wars on our soil, to have had to fight for survival in a country in which civil war quartered the number of our population. In Australia, we are in heaven - we are blessed.

Personally, I have seen how families have been fragmented with rife domestic violence, how children are sent out to raise a living for the family either through prostitution or by begging. At the temples in Siem Reap, we were transfixed by musicians who sat there with limbs missing through land mines - many children wandered the streets on crutches, or with arms or hands blown off by these deadly instruments. In spite of all these dangers, the Cambodian children are bright and absolutely endearing - they have touched our hearts to a degree we didn't think possible. We have learned from them that no matter how bad life can get, there is always a tomorrow and there is often a hand put out to help you. These children were so warm and loving that they stole our hearts. When we returned, there was a degree of anti-climax and emptiness inside us - we were so filled with so much love from giving, that there was a vacuum because there was no longer that urgent need to give. 

Personally, I have grown up through the experience of our travels; I have become of age as a young adult, so I can look my parents in the eye and fully appreciate the wonderful opportunities they have given me. Travelling to Cambodia and Vietnam has given me a sense of perspective for which I will be eternally grateful. I have been blessed with this life-changing experience.