By Michael Gagne
LITTLE COMPTON, R.I. — A recent trip to Cambodia proved an eye-opener for 19-year-old Nina
Kenyon, who admits she may be “a little bit of a tree-hugger.”
There was a language barrier between her and the villagers she visited.
Nina, who hails from Little Compton, R.I., didn’t speak Khmer, the
official language of Cambodia.
That didn’t mean communication was impossible — a man fluent in English
served as a translator. They also communicated through gestures. But it
may have been Nina’s curly hair that started the conversation and
interaction with villagers. It was an unusual sight, and delight to
villagers, most of whom had straight hair.
She allowed them to touch her hair, while they laughed and made “monkey faces,” Nina said.
She made the 18-day trip with her grandfather, Jeff Kenyon. They
visited a village near Siem Reap, Cambodia, a large urban tourist
destination filled with history and ancient ruins in the northwestern
region of the country.
Those villages outside Siem Reap have little in the way of modern amenities, including clean water and electricity.
Jeff and Nina brought filters to families so they could have access to clean water.
Having access to clean water means survival, especially for the
youngest Cambodians, Jeff said. One in five children in the country will
succumb to waterborne diseases.
Jeff and Nina went with members of the Middletown Rotary Club, as part
of the non-governmental organization Water for Cambodia, which so far
has installed about 11,000 bio-sand water filters, designed to purify
contaminated water through a layered system of sand and gravel.
The filters remove bacteria, protozoa and many minerals, Jeff said.
They work by trapping bacteria and parasites in layers of sand. The
organisms eventually die as oxygen levels diminish in the lower layers
of the filter.
The filters are relatively low-maintenance. Families receive
instructions on how to use the filters and get educated in basic hygiene
and sanitation.
In a place where bottled water is too expensive or unavailable, these filters help, Jeff said.
For Nina, a cultural anthropology major at Bristol Community College, it was her first trip outside the United States.
Maintaining community is important to the Cambodian villagers Nina met,
including a grandmother, who though she had little food, wanted to feed
her guests.
“They need the group to survive. ... They are very warm people,” Nina said. “I would love to take the old woman back with me.”
She rode the back of a moped through the villages, and learned how to butcher a frog.
The people she met don’t plan too far into the future. Their lives are
day-to-day, Nina said. Villagers survive by selling homemade goods,
fresh-caught fish and recently harvested food in open-air markets.
It led her to wonder whether in the United States, “people over-plan things.”
Nina has a more worldly perspective: “I’m young and I’m able to help, so I should.”
After college, Nina said she would like to join the Peace Corps.
But not looking so far down the road, she would like to return to Cambodia.
“It may be way too hopeful too say this, but I’d like to go back next summer,” she said.
Nina also brought donated children’s clothing, from her mother India’s
store, Cutie Curls at 3952 Main Road in Tiverton, to give to village
children.
In fact, she packed lightly to make room for the donated goods.
India, a mother of three, previously made her homemade children’s items
out of her own home. She opened her store, Cutie Curls, which is
part-consignment and part-boutique, on Dec. 1.
Cutie Curls features used clothing, accessories and toys for girls and
boys from infants to teenagers. The store sells original children’s
items designed by India Kenyon, as well as jewelry and accessories made
by other area residents. Forty percent of proceeds from consigned items
go to the consignee, or the charity of their choice, India said.
Among its wares, the store is now selling scarves, pocketbooks, bags
and jewelry, handmade by Cambodians from the villages Nina visited, with
proceeds from sales benefiting the Water for Cambodia campaign.
More information about the Water for Cambodia initiative can be found at waterforcambodia.org.
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