Chae-Un (June) Sin, a 24-year-old architect and eMi volunteer, put her drafting and design skills to work for 10 days in Cambodia to help a local community.
I worked on an eMi team of volunteer design professionals. Our daily activities in Cambodia consisted of visiting proposed sites to build a new school campus, meeting with staff to develop a design, and meeting local people to learn how traditional materials and cultural elements could be incorporated.
One day we were working near a floating village and saw a lot of children who were not in school. Instead they were playing with dirt, selling goods, or begging. One girl approached us to sell some muffins. After a while, a boy came and asked for food. These children needed help from people who would share their time, energy, and talents to provide a better life and education to those living on the streets.
Being part of a team that wants to meet such needs was a wonderful experience. I can still remember the smiles of the children we helped. Once a school is built, some of the children by the river may play on that school campus. The girl with muffins may receive education. The boy who was begging may be fed.
When the time came for us to leave the country, I knew that 10 days was not enough time to change the entire world, a nation, or even a city. However, due to eMi’s volunteers, someday one child’s world will be a different place. He will have food, go to school during the day, and sleep under a roof at night. Someone will call him by his name and show him love. Maybe changing the world starts with changing the world for one single soul.
