Cambodian Adventure Gives PhilaU Coach a Worldly View
Cambodian Adventure Gives PhilaU Coach a Worldly View
By: Sarah Punderson
Photo
Gallery
Story in the Roxborough Review
On May 13th, 2009, Philadelphia University women's soccer assistant coach Dana Kalmey'05 departed for the hot and humid city of Siem Reap, Cambodia. She would spend exactly three months in the Southeast Asian country on a volunteer project working with local street children, quitting her job as an architect at Cope Linder Architects (Philadelphia) in order to fulfill her dream. She didn't know the language (Khmer) or anyone in the country. What she did know was that she was ready for an adventure.
"I've always wanted to live somewhere abroad and as a fall coach I had the opportunity to go somewhere for a few months before preseason at PhilaU started up again," said Kalmey.
Kalmey connected with Bunac, a non-profit work/travel website that connects prospective travelers to volunteer projects and destinations worldwide, to make her dream a reality. Matching her resume to the volunteer projects that were available, the organization gave her three travel options: South Africa, Peru or Cambodia.
"I chose Cambodia. I already had some knowledge of people and culture in Cambodia due to my 30 page research paper I wrote in college about Cambodia and architecture for my contemporary perspectives class- which is the capstone college studies class at PhilaU," said Kalmey.
The project Kalmey was assigned to in Siem Reap was the Green Gecko Project (GGP). This project is an initiative founded by an Australian woman to benefit the lives of street children in that city. Siem Reap is located in the north-west of the country and home to one of the greatest wonders of the oriental world- ‘Angkor Wat'. Due to the tourism in the city, child beggars are prevalent. GGP strives to get children off the street and keep them safe, while providing a structured routine including school and physical activity.
"It's not safe for the children to be begging, especially when it's late at night and the town is full of drunken tourists," Kalmey said. "Unfortunately it's a part of the culture in Cambodia," she continued.
It is common for children to be the bread-winners in their family, as begging tourists can be a lucrative trade by Cambodian standards.
"I don't know exactly what the average salary is for someone in Cambodia, but it may be something like $1 a day," said Kalmey.
Kalmey is not far off the mark according to an article that appears on MSNBC.com, the average income in Cambodia is less than $300.
An average day in Siam Reap for Kalmey was similar to what the student-athletes at PhilaU experience, on a third-world country level. The day's routine would begin at 8:30 a.m. with most children attending English or Khmer speaking school. At 10 a.m. GGP would have their first activity of the day with the children separated into groups based on age. These groups would become much like teams, with members learning to work together and look out for each other outside of structured activities.
One of the activities that Kalmey taught was based on her participation in a program called ‘Architecture in Education' (www.aiaphila.org) in Philadelphia. This program brings architects, landscape architects and other design professionals into classrooms to help young people understand what it takes to make buildings and communities work for the people who live in them, according to their website. The organizers of GGP saw this on her resume and were interested in having Kalmey use her architectural experience in Cambodia. A side project Kalmey worked on with the kids at GGP incorporated architecture in learning- to build a seventh lunch hut, using native materials such as bamboo, palms and building techniques such as thatched roofs and an open air design (see photo gallery).
Continuing on with her daily schedule, at 11 a.m. the GGP kids went to a general assembly for about an hour before eating lunch at noon in each group's specific lunch hut (see picture) where they were encouraged to practice their English with a GGP volunteer. Kalmey would eat a rice-based lunch while the kids napped at 12:30 and then got ready to lead more activities from 1:30 p.m.-5 p.m.
"School is only 2-3 hours in Cambodia, so the 70 or so kids at Green Gecko are lucky to be in a program that exposes them to such a well-rounded education," said Kalmey.
From 6:30-7:30 p.m. it's homework time at GGP as Kalmey and other volunteers help with English homework, then eventually off to bed. GGP is funded entirely through donations, including group tours on weekday mornings.
One break from the usual routine came as the rainy season approached in late May. During that week, Kalmey spent time planting rice with the rest of the group, which will be harvested in October.
As a life-long athlete, Kalmey found a way to stay involved in soccer nearly 9,000 miles away from home. She joined the GGP co-founder Rem, who already coached a team on Saturdays and became his assistant.
"Cambodians aren't used to seeing women play soccer, it's more of a male sport there. But Rem kind of adopted me as his little sister and I coached with him," said Kalmey.
She helped to run a seven vs. seven mini soccer tournament in Siem Reap and also designed the ‘Green Gecko Soccer Club' flag using her design skilled picked up at PhilaU. Like many other third-world countries, Kalmey saw many of the local children playing barefoot, even when they had the option to wear cleats.
An added bonus to Kalmey's trip was witnessing the architectural feat of Angkor Wat. On the World Heritage List and considered to be one of the greatest wonders of the oriental world, Angkor Wat is an ancient temple that is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods in the Hindu and Buddhist religions. She already knew of Angkor Wat's existence because of her research paper in college, but seeing it in person was something she will never forget.
"Angkor Wat was only a few miles away, so I visited it a few times and it was just as impressive each time I went," said Kalmey.
Now that she's back in Philadelphia, the former Lady Ram student-athlete keeps busy getting the women's soccer team in shape for the 2009 season. She's also working out the minor detail of deciding what she wants to do with the rest of her life.
"Going on this trip was definitely life changing," said Kalmey. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do next, but I would love to blend my passion for travel and soccer together somehow," she said.
For now, she'll take life one ‘goal' at a time.
