The colors of Cambodia

A trip to Siem Reap taught one girl that the world would be a lot better off if more people did their part to give back By: Mary Gostelow Leonie Von Ugern-Sternberg (seen with her younger sister) describes how a visit to Siem Reap inspired her:

We arrived one sunny hot day in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in the Monsoon time of Summer. The driver told us about the history of Cambodia and its terrible war. We arrived in the Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor Hotel. My parents and my sister went to the reception to check in, But me, of course, (always in my own world) didn't follow them, but went closer to a poster, which said ¨Help The Children of Siem Reap, every cent saves¨. I went to a small desk in front of the restaurant to a friendly looking gentleman, who turned out to be John Spooner the Guest Relations Manager. ¨Excuse me Sir, but how do I get to that hospital that's on that poster?¨ I asked, shyly. ¨You would like to see the hospital? No problem, I'll take you there!¨ Mr. Spooner responded. I asked my parents, and my mum, my sister and me were ready to go. (My dad, as always working, poor him, stayed in the hotel). It started to rain. I saw about a hundred children and parents waiting outside, a few kids drinking the disgusting water on the streets. ¨That is how they get diarrhea¨ my mother explained as we stepped out of the car to meet a very nice gentleman, in front of Angkor Hospital for Children, ¨Well hello there fellas, I'm Eugene Tragus, the surgeon, pleased to meet you" he said, smiling at us. ¨Hello sir. May I ask, do you always see so many people?¨ I asked. ¨Far more dear.¨ He answered. We went inside, and Dr.Tragus showed us everything. As I passed, I stopped and stared at a boy. He was about my age back then. I looked at his arm, saw blood on the floor and gasped, His bone stuck out. ¨He fell off a tree about 100km away from here. He's lucky he survived. Its not easy reaching this hospital without a car and 100kms away.¨ I quickly caught up with my mum, and saw all of the children lying down, with nothing. No cushions. No duvets. Nothing. Nada. Nichts. ¨Err, You better not go in, just in case you catch a disease.¨ Dr. Eugene said. We shook hands, and went back to the hotel. The next morning my parents were ready to see the temples of Angkor Wat, but I refused to go, instead, I wanted to go to the hospital once again. This time I told my father about it, and how touching it was. I still had got 400€ from my grandfather, but my father gave me 100€ as well, So I thought, ¨Do I really need this money? For what do I need it?¨ and after a while, I thought to myself, ¨I have everything a ten year-old girl can ask for, but some aren't that lucky.¨ and so I decided to give the money to the hospital.

I arrived at the hospital, once again with John Spooner, and I gave the envelope with 500€ to Dr.Tragus, then he gave me as a gift a pace maker, it was really cool though, it was big, and had this yellow-ish liquid inside. We left Cambodia the next day, back to Europe. After that I decided to make some more money for the hospital. I got a lot of money by doing these things: -Selling shells at the Marbella Club -Selling my old toys in a school bazaar -Babysitting -Washing cars -Putting all of my pocket money together -Working temporarily at the concierge desk at the Bayerischer Hof in Munich. One day I spoke Arabic with some visiting princesses, telling them where the Gucci and Prada stores are - they gave me 50€! If everybody would help a little bit, the world would be much better. Personally I have always been interested in saving the world, and when I was in the second grade, I got a lot of money for Iraq. I love school - apart from maths. I especially like art and music and hope to go to an art and music school. So far I have lived in Cairo, Dubai, Hamburg and Marbella. I must say that I have seen a lot of the world, and I really want to go to America. My mother is really awesome and cool and tells me anything I need to know. When I am 16 I will be able to volunteer to go back to Siem Reap and help Dr Tragus at the Angkor Hospital for Children. Leonie Von Ugern-Sternberg currently lives in Dubai, where her father is importing Chinese cars into the Middle East and North Africa. Her mother, who has a Doctorate in Art History and History, is a consultant in Dubai for German-Arabic industry and commerce exchange. Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor, Angkor, Cambodia See other hotels in Angkor (5) Sign up for Confidential Newsletter Send this article to a friend View other Around the World Articles