When it rains....it monsoons

This year's rainy season seems to stretch a little longer than usual, according to some of the locals. It's been raining, on average, about an inch or so per day.
Most of the time, we are chased away from the site by a rainstorm, after having done most of our day's work, and scurrying to pack up and leave before getting drenched. There are times, however, we were simply forced to work through it...
...taking breaks in our makeshift haven.

KAP

taken from downstream, looking northeast into the reservoir (background)

The KAP unit takes launch again, trying to capture images of the reservoir and completed watergate from the sky.

Monks In a Trunk

A comment made by Jenn Lohr, when we were planning on picking up several monks from HRND and Wat Trach, on our way to the opening ceremony. During the ride, i had a long discussion with Sareeta (front right), who expressed his gratitude in the dam. He explained how many villagers will benefit greatly from the dam, including his very own family from the PropKot village.
Hearing such stories directly from the ones who grew up from the village definitely puts many things in better perspectives.

Improvements

A large portion of the road to Trau Kod (the site) have changed since we've last been here about 9 months ago. Apparently, a Thailand company has proposed, and are currently building, a road from Siem Riep directly into Bangkok. This road used to be riddled with deep pot holes, and barely wide enough for one oxcart, thus, causing our trip to be an hour and a half long. Now, our commute is within the hour.

Additionally, the road is now often entertained with the sight of school kids making their way to the Wat Trach school. This school was part of the literacy program directed by Human Translation, and recently implemented a few months ago. It has been very succesful in bringing many local villagers of various ages to come to the school.
Changes such as these clearly indicates the growth of the community.

Read All About It

l-r: tobias, bouny, jenn lohr
click to read article

The day after the ceremony, the Phnomn Penh Post had an article about the dam project. The journalist, Erica Goldberg, had met up with us a few days earlier to learn of the project.

Opening Ceremony

Bryse takes a piece of the ribbon

The opening ceremony was an amazing experience. Over 600 attended, including many villagers, community leaders, and the provincial government. They came to share their gratitude to all who have helped made their vision a reality. Through their speeches, they extended their thanks to all who were not present, acknowledging the many more people that were involved on this large project. This note of thanks was definitely also intended to all the EWB-NYC members.

The event concluded with a ribbon cutting at the watergate. As everyone walked towards the gate, school kids lined along the embankment applauding. The experience was joyful, and absolutely surreal.

Let There Be Water

the reservoir and the watergate
more photos by jenn lohr

We visited the site yesterday, and were excited to see the reservoir partially filled with water. It was definitely an amazing sight.

Rivalry at Thai Border

Modern conflict near ancient ruins
photo and article from the BBC

In recent news, military breakout at the Thai/Cambodia border claimed two soldiers. Events as such have posed small delays on the Dam project in the past, often postponing meetings, review of our work, and/or obtaining approvals to proceed on some tasks.