Before moving to Cambodia, 22-year-old Eric Faas from Zaamslag, Netherlands, had never been far from home. But Eric decided that his last year of preparation as a social worker should be spent in one of Southeast Asia’s most wounded nations. An internship in Cambodia would help him gain some invaluable experience—as well as give him a chance to serve. So Eric signed on for a year with Mercy Teams International (MTI) He arrived in Phnom Penh last August.

“I started out my first two weeks with a local family who were quite poor, and lived in just three wooden rooms. It was good to see how people here actually live. The Asian culture—the heat, food, language, way of thinking, everything!—was new, of course, so the first weeks were difficult,” he admits. Now Eric is more accustomed to his lifestyle. He shares a team house with other recruits and travels to the MTI base by motorbike taxi, a popular method of transport in the city. Although rice has replaced potatoes he enjoys most of the food.—One day he may even work up the courage to try the fried spiders and cockroaches available in the market!

Eric’s first months were largely spent in intensive Khmer language study, but he has also had some opportunities to participate in MTI’s efforts to help children at risk. Nearly 43% of the Cambodia’s population is under age 15, and child labor, abuse and trafficking are all too common. A weekly club at the “White House,” the MTI base, helps staff get to know neighbourhood children and identify their problems. About 120 boys and girls happily converge to take baths, get their hair washed or cut, receive first aid, play games, and listen to lessons.

Eric has made good friends among the Cambodian staff members, some of whom are also social work trainees. In January 2006 Eric will be involved with them in a new drug rehabilitation program. “This is also a new area for me, so I’m learning a lot. Drugs and alcohol are big problems here and there are few facilities to deal with it.”

Years of war, cruelty and corruption have left deep scars in Cambodia. “It’s a land with many natural resources,” asserts Eric, “but they are not being used properly. Spiritually, Buddhism is the majority religion. Pray for this country, that people see the love of a personal God and Saviour.

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