Power of the Community

A Farewell to Banteay Prieb

Banteay Prieb was my home for 10 years after my first trip to Cambodia. At first there, I was illiterate and was like a deaf. Without someone’s help, I could not go anywhere. I was awkward in getting help from others, and I was uncomfortable in those situations. It was impossible to live without the help of others, and there were many trials to admit it. I could not say a word, but I had to work with them. My strongest language was laughter. I laughed if I understood it, and laughed if I did not understand it. It was the only expression I could express. Sometimes I felt like a fool and I was frustrated. But as the things I could express became simpler, my life became simpler and my heart started to become simpler.

In December 2009, my trip, which was a one-month schedule, has passed three months, and I attended the graduation ceremony of Banteay Prieb. At that time, I already knew I would be back here. I saw something in them. And it was so powerful that I could not deny it. My friends thought I lived in Banteay Prieb to help people with disabilities in Cambodia. But I did not want to help people with disabilities in Cambodia, but I wanted to live with them. The people of Banteay Prieb were poor, handicapped, and alienated from society. What they learned at Banteay Prieb, who are called by the name of the disabled and who are discriminated against, was not a skill for eating and living, but ‘living a normal daily life together,’ which reminded me of the universal values ​​and diversity of life that I had forgotten.

Banteay Prieb goes beyond the meaning of a school that simply teaches skills to get a job, and acts as a home that gives comfort and comfort to the wounded. Becoming friends and family to underprivileged people. ‘Together’ has the power of’ healing’. Living together is a process of understanding and acknowledging others, and understanding others create the strength to acknowledge, forgive, and recover yourself. How to live I realized that the fundamental question I ask is not to blame the environment around me, but rather to ask myself. I learned a little through them how to treat my life as a human being, and it influenced my faith a lot.

Many people passed by Banteay Prieb. There were people who came and stayed on a trip like me, others left in search of something, and others prepared to share with the poor. But we were all strangers and strangers. Banteay Prieb was a healthy community that welcomed and accepted strangers and tried to solve any problems together. It was not about being perfect, it was a community that made things possible because we were together. It is not the power of any one person, but I think it is the power created by the affection of many people who passed through Banteay Prieb. Banteay Prieb shared the strength of the community with many people.

To draw comfort and be consoled from people who could not live ordinary lives was not just about comparative advantage, but it was rather a mystery to realize how wonderful everyday life is by looking at their attitude in life. I hope that the “power of the community” shown by Banteay Prieb will be a hope for us today as well.