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Maureen, a volunteer staff team member just returned from Cambodia, came back with her faith renewed; not just in the mission, but in what’s possible when the right people work together with the right intentions.

“The Cambodia trip restored my faith in working with a partner who carries out its promises,” she reflects. The work started by the November team had been completed to a high standard…high ceilings, tiled floors, electric fans, and a shaded canopy creating exactly the conditions young children need to learn and thrive. A design so well considered, Maureen believes it should stand as the blueprint for every classroom that follows.

Despite the heat – a relentless 35°C – the small team of three threw themselves into the work, painting classroom exteriors, laying bricks for perimeter fencing, and connecting warmly with the children at every school they visited. They were particularly moved by the SMILE orphanage, impressed by the care and facilities on offer.

Some moments were harder. A visit to Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields cast a long shadow, as it always does. “It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve made these visits,” Maureen says. “It is extremely chilling.” But understanding Cambodia’s history, she believes, is essential to understanding its present.

And the present holds some wonderful stories. A question asked on a Friday morning about what could be done with a patch of wasteland next to the school had, by Monday, become a levelled volleyball court; 21 truckloads of soil, a local farmer with a tractor, and a community that simply got it done. “The look on the children’s faces when they arrived at lunchtime was a picture.”

There was also the story of a young woman who grew up in Happy Village, was supported through university by Serve Cambodia, and now works for them as an accountant. Quiet, lasting impact…exactly the kind Mission Direct exists to support.

As Maureen puts it: “It is truly amazing to see what can be achieved if you just have the faith to believe anything is possible.”