Day 9 - Happy Football, New Hope & Au Revoir

On our final day, we woke up bright and early and by 7:00 a.m. we were walking to a local soccer pitch to meet up with the group from Happy Football Cambodia Australia.  HFCA works with marginalized youth and teaches them soccer skills and instills a pride in them that comes with being a member of team.  We provided HFCA with a financial donation to support their club as well as soccer balls, uniforms, shin guards etc. and after the formal introductions, presentations and a traditional Khmer dance, we had ourselves a little 'friendly'.

The first match of the day pitted the CIS boys vs. a boys team from HFCA.  Our guys got off to a quick start and scored first, but our hosts clawed their way back for a 2-1 victory in a good, competitive match.

The second match saw our girls take on the HFCA girls' team and in another high spirited game, we once again came out on the short end, this time by a score of 2-0.

The scores were entirely irrelevant though, as these matches were more about building camaraderie and mutual support and there was plenty of that to go around.   Players would help one another up off the pitch if there were any collisions or spills and handshakes and group photos abounded after the matches.

We returned the hotel for a shower and some breakfast and checked out of the hotel around 10:30 a.m.

With all of our belongings on the bus, including a substantial amount of additional donations, we headed out into the countryside to a place called New Hope for Cambodian Children or NHCC.   "Our Village", as it is also known, is a charitable organization that provides for orphaned or abandoned children infected with HIV/Aids.  While we were there, we learned how NHCC meets the medical, nutritional, educational needs of the residents, who number close to 200.  We spent the entire afternoon at "Our Village" playing many of the games we had brought with the children and providing memories that would last a long time for everyone involved. 

We said our goodbyes to NHCC and parted for the airport, just in time for our late afternoon departure from Phnom Penh and our return to Singapore.  In nine days, the entire group had seen most everything that Cambodia has to offer and in return we offered our time and commitment to making a difference in the lives of everyone we touched, either directly or indirectly, through our tireless efforts and donations.

Au revoir, Cambodia. 

Akun (Thank you)