“You went where and did what?” I hissed through clenched teeth.
“But I thought that visiting an orphanage would be doing good work,” replied Andrew, my unsuspecting friend who was visiting from Australia. He had gone along to one of the many residential places suggested by the tuk-tuk driver and taken along a bag of rice. It was a good scam as the rice cost twice what it should so the driver would have earned a good kick-back.
Next to sex tourism and the garment industry, orphanages are the biggest business in Cambodia. The problem is that most tourists just don’t get it. They see the abject poverty and want to do something to help. Or at least throw some money at it to ease their occidental guilt.
Teens & Tweens Dungeons & Dragons continues throughout the summer for both teens & tweens. Everyone can join in on Nintendo Switch tournaments featuring Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mario Kart 8. There are also going to be a variety of fun community service opportunities for teens over the summer, including a pen-pal exchange program and weekly book reviews. The
library’s blog and social media accounts will feature weekly activity ideas for adults & teens.
Adults For adults, the library will be offering two adult Crafts to Go programs this summer, both of which focus on upcycling. Registered patrons will learn how to create something beautiful out of recycled materials. Virtual Tech One-on-Ones will continue throughout the summer. Many book clubs from around the regional district will continue to meet remotely. The library’s final author event for the season will take place on July 8, featuring Vancouver-based screenwriter and author Roslyn Muir.