extracted.

"“If you’re expecting to be a
Superman and save the world, this trip is not for you”, said Mr Paul Ng, lecturer-in-charge of Serve Cambodia 2008, in a matter-of-fact manner to the 60 student
enthusiasts from the School of Business & Accountancy (BA).
He explained that the prime objective of the trip, held between
Sep. 25 to Oct. 9, was to learn from their hosts, the Solid Rock Baptist
Church and the Full Gospel Assembly Church, about the
Cambodian culture and society. The 20 students, handpicked
from 60 applicants, soon found out that going on
this trip would not a breeze. For a major ity of these
students, this was their first mission cum cultural trip.
For star ters, they learnt basic Khymer. “The younger
ones couldn’t communicate in English. So it was beneficial to
learn their language so I can interact with them better,” says
Rastus Chow, 18, a Banking & Financial Services student.
Students also put their first aid skills to use by attending to
minor wounds of the Cambodian children as well as their own peers.

laStinG imPreSSionS

While the students enjoyed working together to build roads
to improve access and paint murals in the Bright Arrows
Children Centre in Kampong Thom, it was the local children
who left a lasting impression. “It’s not as etched in our
hearts as mingling with the Cambodian children,” shares
Rastus’ twin, Rasmus Chow who attends the same course.
In the two weeks, they experienced rural life, helping
out at two children’s centres by educating the children on
basic hygiene and dental care on top of teaching them English,
Chinese and mathematics. They also helped to remove
head lice from the children’s hair with treatment shampoo.
Ser ve Cambodia 2008 is organised annually by BA CARES,
a BA community outreach committee. During these trips,
students are encouraged to be committed members of society.
Lum Feng Lim, 18, a secondyear Business Studies student,
was so touched by the gentle and gracious nature of the
Cambodians that she, together with the rest of the student
volunteers, hopes to take a trip back there again to meet their very
much missed Cambodian friends and engage in more volunteer work for the communities."