Continuing from my recap of our Good Gigs Trek in Cambodia Week 1, here some of the highlights from our second and final week working with JWOC in Cambodia. Week 2 was going to be a critical week not because it was our last but it was going to be the first time the teachers will be using the new software and training material that they have been working with both the STEAM and English teams. It would also be the first time the computer labs will be used since the refresh and it will finally be put to the test by the students. Lastly, our videographer Michael Bainbridge will be arriving that week to help capture and share the many inspirational stories of the staff and students at JWOC.

Here are the additional photos that I took during our Good Gigs Trek in Cambodia.

Day 6 & 7 (Monday 11/17 & Tuesday 11/18)

Anne and myself spent both days working on getting the Rosetta Stone Tell Me More server and client software installed. Since neither of us have worked with this software before, it took a bit of trial and error to fully understand the requirements and the documentation did not always contain what we needed, so that also made it challenging. I have to say Anne did a fantastic job of persevering through all the challenges and never let a road block stop her. One thing that came in handy while we troubleshooted in the computer lab was leveraging VMware Fusion and installing both the Rosetta Stone server and client which allowed Anne to work with the teachers during their training hours and that also provided her more familiarity of the application.

As we continue to make progress on Rosetta Stone, we had a slight set back on the main lab system which required us to re-image the operating system, patch it and reinstall all the software that we had brought along. However, we could not re-image the system right away because we had the first set of computer classes on Thursday and we were out on Wednesday, so we did not want to risk the first set of classes and wanted to wait till the classes were over on Thursday before we re-installed everything. This was an unexpected challenge, but it was not the end of the world and by this time, we pretty much knew all the applications inside and out. We also had the support of Chunnlay and the VMware team to do what was necessary on Thursday to ensure we have the lab up and running in its final configuration, so I was not too worried.

Since we could not touch the computer lab due to the upcoming classes and spending the majority of my time in the lab, I decided to go downstairs to see how the other teams were doing. I know both Melina and Laura have been preparing for the Lego WeDo labs and I was lucky enough to see their work in action. It was really awe-inspiring to see the curiosity in their eyes and sparking new ideas as the students collaborate together on the Lego kits and experimenting by asking questions like "what if we did this?"

While moving around in the Library to take the photos above, I was also very fortunate to have been able capture one of my favorite moments of the day. It was Kea, one of the teachers at JWOC, who was surrounded by several students of varying ages watching an educational video in the back of the library. No words needed to be exchange between us, we both knew what we were witnessing and it was such a special moment for me because you could see the impact the teachers at JWOC were making on the lives of these kids.

Another inspirational story that I learned about later in the week (thanks to Mike for sharing this story) was of a picture that I took that day. The picture might appear simple, a woman studying with her books and her computer. However, this is a very special woman with an amazing story. Her name is Konthea and she has been attending JWOC's Free Classes program for the past two years. She did not know English but being a curious person, she decided to learn it so that she could interact with foreigners. She is now fluent in English and have moved onto learning about computers, she had such an interesting outlook on life.

The thing that struck me the most about Konthea was her dedication and whether it was rain or shine, it did not stop her from coming into JWOC. We got to see this first hand earlier in the week when we were driving up to JWOC and we saw Konthea (at the time we did not know her) and she had one hand holding onto her books and computer and the other hand holding the hands of someone driving a motorcycle. Konthea did not live close by, so the trek coming in was quite laborious as you can imagine and someone was kind enough to give her a hand, so that she did not have to manually wheel herself up the dirt road which was not paved and filled with potholes.

Day 8 (Wedesday 11/19)

There were no classes on Wednesday, but this was not a day off for us. In fact we had a packed schedule for the day which started off around 4am in the morning to see the sunrise at the Angkor Wat Temple. Our tour guide again for this trip was Reath Kanha and we were all excited because she did an amazing job on our first tour.

Next up we visited the Landmine Museum, which was very sad to hear about but also quite inspirational after learning about a remarkable man named Aki Ra who wanted to make a difference in his country after the war with the Khmere Rouge. Aki was also recently awarded with the CNN Heroes in 2010 and I think it is a story worth learning about.

Our final two destinations for the day was visiting the Ta Prohm Temple and Angkor Thom Temple. Ta Promhm Temple was also known as the Tomb Raider Temple because the movie Tomb Raider was shot there. The temples were all magnificent and the majority of them had been restored due to being abandoned and being taken over by nature. Here is a group picture we took at the entrance of where the Tomb Raider movie was shot.

Day 9 (Thursday 11/20)

Today was going to be a very important day for the computer lab, because the first set of computer classes using some of the new software such as British Council and Rosetta Stone would be taught with the actual students. We had all been working very hard up to this moment and once we saw all the kids run into the lab, all we can do is hope that everything wold go smoothly and that they would enjoy the new lab and course material.

As the students entered the room, they were all filled with excitement, curiosity and smiles on their faces. Everyone was quick to jump onto a computer and some were even quick to put on their headphones (which was required for Rosetta Stone) and started exploring around the desktop. Both classes completed without any problems and the teachers did a fantastic job leading the classes. I even remember a comment made by one of the students at the end saying how excited they were for the classes, so much curiosity and eagerness to learn. This moment, was what it was all about and seeing the kids smiles made it all worth it!

Day 10 (friday 11/21)

Friday was going to be a half day for our us because we were going to get a tour of JWOC's Clean Water Program in one of the nearby villages. Half the group would go in the morning and the other half would go in the afternoon. I was part of the afternoon group because we still had a lot of prep work to do on the workstations prior to re-imaging the main server. Along for this trip, we were also joined by Alex the managing director of JWOC, Seng Sok who manages the Clean Water Program at JWOC and our videographer Michael.

During our ride to the village, we learned a bit more about the Clean Water Program from Seng and how a village would qualify to be in the program. There were three main criteria: inaccessibility to clean water, inaccessibility to clean drinking water and illness in result of not having clean water. Seng and his team would assess a village and ensure it matched the goals of the Clean Water Program and they would also check with the village chief to ensure that they would be willing to work together. I was very impressed at how thorough the program was and the additional training and follow-ups that the Clean Water Program provided to the villages to ensure they were successful.

The tour consisted of walking through two villages and we got to observe houses that had government funded wells which were sorely lacking. If the families were lucky, the sides of the well would be a couple feet off the ground to ensure animals, runoffs and even kids would not fall in. The government wells did not include well covers, this meant that even with a clean water source, it could and would easily get polluted with things falling in like leaves/etc. Some families had to even build their own well covers to keep things out, but it usually did not help much and the water would still get contaminated.

The next well that we saw was from JWOC's Clean Water Program. We could see a proper well cover that completely seals the top of the well and that they also provide an easy mechanism to pump out the water out instead of relying on a traditional bucket that would be used.

It was definitely tough walking through the village and seeing some of the living conditions the families had to endure. One thing that really surprised was that I did not expected the families to not be so friendly or welcoming since we were outsiders coming onto their properties. The very first house that we visited, I remember there was an elderly woman who walked out near us and I was expecting her to tell us to go away. I saw Michael, our videographer slowly go up to her with a smile and a hand wave, she immediately returned a smile back. I did not expect in such conditions that everyone was still just as friendly and all you had to do was smile or wave and you would be greeted right back. The kids in the villages were just like any other kid in the world, they ran around and played with each other.

One memorable moment for me that day was when Michael was taking a picture of a young boy harvesting rice and he asked him if he wanted to take a look at his picture. It was such a happy moment for everyone and nothing but smiles on the mother's face, the young boys face and our faces.

Day 11 (Saturday 11/20)

Saturday was going to be an all hands on deck for the team because it was the second to last day before we would be heading back home. We had to re-image the main server, re-install all the software and re-configure the workstations to point to the new server. Though the task was daunting, I think we learned a lot about how the system worked the past week and with the support of the team, we all collaborated towards a common goal. In no time, we had the entire lab fully functional minus a couple tiny configurations. We even ran a couple of stress tests utilizing the new network infrastructure that Mike has been working so hard on and it just ran beautiful.

In fact, the teachers were so excited about the new software and content, they had even asked for additional training classes to be held. You can see from the pictures below, that both Anne and Ina were leading classes while we were finalizing the lab, talk about multi-tasking!

Day 12 (sunday 11/21)

Being our last day, you would think we would be taking a break after working for two weeks straight? Nope! We still had a couple things to wrap up in the lab as well as finish re-imaging some of the older workstations and existing staff laptops. We had a nice game plan for the day and we started bright and early at 8am. Just when we were about to get into the groove of things, the power went out! Yep, you heard right. We lost power even on the very last day we were there for. Everyone's morale just dropped and we all wondered if this is how we would be leaving JWOC? The lab itself was already fully functional, but there were still a couple of configurations that we needed to make, though minor it would have been nice to finish prior to leaving.

There was nothing more we could do without electricity at JWOC. Part of the group decided to head back to the hotel which still had power and internet access so that we could at least finish the installations on the staff's laptop. Mike was also just finishing up the installation of the SIMS application before the power went out, he decided that he could at least perform the installation on a Virtual Machine running on Fusion and then export the database once he was finished. If the power returned, he could then re-import the database to the production system and no time would have been wasted.

As we all waited around in our hotel room, I could not help but think we may not finish what we had set out to do. It was already 5pm, if the power was out like the previous Saturday, it may not return before we had to fly out that evening. Just when I had thought all hope was lost, a message appeared in our WhatsApp group chat. It was a note from Julie who was still at JWOC and it looks like the power had been restored and that she was heading back to the hotel to pick us all up. Once we got to JWOC, everyone was firing on all cylinders and we worked all the way up till around 6pm. We got the majority of what we wanted completed including a complete SIMS installation, a new squid caching server that Mike came up with to help reduce the load on the network and couple of desktop application configurations.

Looking back, I was sort of glad we had the power outage. I think it really put things into perspective for everyone, I know it did for me. Even though we completed what we had set out to do and we could go home feeling happy and accomplished, the truth is, the power outage is just one of the many obstacles the staff, the teachers and the students at JWOC must endure and live with on a daily basis. This is their reality and that has not changed. I can only hope with the little amount of time we were there for, we were able to make a positive impact. I really admire and respect the staff and teachers at JWOC, I think they really are making difference in the children's lives and I am glad we had the opportunity to work with such amazing and inspirational people.

I will never forget my time here in Cambodia and building great memories with such a talented group of individuals from VMware. I could not have asked for a better team to go on this journey with. I am also very grateful for the opportunity the VMware Foundation has provided us all with, the opportunity to help serve others. When I think back on our time in Cambodia, it will not be the memories of working in the lab, installing software or troubleshooting network problems but it will be all the special moments our team had with the children of JWOC and their smiles.

As some of you may know, I was currently halfway around the world in Siem Reap, Cambodia for two weeks taking part in VMware's Good Gigs Trek hosted by the VMware Foundation. Earlier this year, the first official Good Gigs Trek took place in Vietnam which several of my colleagues: Duncan Epping and Kamau Wanguhu attended and have written about their experiences here and here. I am very honored and humbled to have been selected among eight other VMware employees (Melina McLarty, Steve Schwarze, Mike DiPetrillo, Ina Dala, Anne Holler, Uta Haller, Chirag Aurora and our fearless leader Laura Bellamy) to be given the opportunity and privilege to help serve those in need.

For this trek, VMware has once again partnered up with Team4Tech which is an amazing organization that helps improve education in developing countries through innovative technology solutions. Our team was also very fortunate to have Julie Clugage, from Team4Tech join us again on this trek. On this trek, we worked with the JWOC (Journeys Within The Community) foundation to help strengthen English-language learning, digital literacy and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics) programs for underserved youth and adults in Siem Reap, Cambodia. We have been working extensively for the past six weeks to gather requirements and try to better understand the needs of the JWOC foundation. Of course, no amount of preparation will prepare you for the journey we were about to embark on. In fact, we were told several dozen times to expect the unexpected and embrace and be flexible in all ways, shapes and forms.

The past two weeks has really been an amazing once in a life time opportunity. For those of you interested in the Trek, below is a small recap of our first week in Cambodia. I will also be following up with another blog post recapping our second week in Cambodia. Here are the additional photos that I took during our Good Gigs Trek in Cambodia.

Day 1 ( Wedesday 11/11)

The team had just arrived into Siem Reap, Cambodia late Tuesday evening after spending more than 18hrs+ traveling, some even longer. I probably only got a couple of hours of sleep before waking up in the middle of the warm and humid night. Luckily, our first day in Cambodia was not hitting the floor and running due to JWOC being closed on a Wednesday (open 6 other days). This provided us with an opportunity to learn more about the local community and it's people through cultural orientation and sightseeing. Our itinerary for the day was to visit the Floating Village, Angkor Silk Farm, Old Market and the Killing Fields Memorial.

Before we had even left our hotel, I already had my first memorable moment when we first met our tour guide Reath Kanha who was also a previous student at JWOC. She was so happy and welcoming to everyone and had even brought each of us a gift which was a beautiful plaided colored scarf (which you can see in the picture below). She said she really enjoys wearing colorful scarfs and that it made her very happy so she wanted to share that experience with all of us. We were complete strangers to her, yet she treated us like family and I was just completely blown away by her generosity and friendliness. This really was my first impression of the Cambodian people.

Throughout the day, I continued to witness the friendliness of the Cambodian people who actively said hello or waved from a distance, especially from the younger children. This was especially surprising to me, after seeing some of the living conditions in the Floating Village and learning about their tragic history of the Khmer Rouge, which was really not that long ago. You never would have expected to see so many kids smiling and playing in such conditions, yet it was completely the opposite. At the end of that day, I felt a sense of hope and perseverance from people of Cambodia.

Day 2 (Thursday 11/12)

After the many weeks of preparations and conference calls, we finally arrived at JWOC! We got to learn more about the JWOC teachers and the staff through an orientation they provided us. Sitting there, listening to the staff talk about their background and experiences, the only words that came to mind was inspirational and selflessness. It was clear to me that the teachers and staff understood and valued the importance of a good education and that they truly cared for their countries' well being, especially the children's education. To improve the current economic conditions and strengthen their country, they must start with the children and ensure that they have a good education. However, just having a good education would not be enough. In addition to their Free Classes Program being offered at JWOC which includes English, Art, Science & Computer Literacy, there is also the Clean Water, Microfiance, Scholarship and The Community Liaison and Assistance programs. By providing these additional crucial services, the hope is that it should remove any barriers that would prevent the children from getting a complete education. I now understand why they named their organization Journeys Within Our Community which is quite fitting as they are doing everything they can to improve their community, the country of Cambodia.

My most memorable moment of the day was when we had just returned from the computer store picking up all the new hardware. We had just finished packing everything in the van before it started to rain while heading back to JWOC. We needed to unload the hardware into the office which was towards the back of the campus and the only way in was through the front. Due to the amount of rain, we needed a way to get the van closer to office without getting the new equipment wet. However, we had an obstacle as the motorcycles and bikes were blocking the main path and not to mention vehicles normally do not go into campus. While both myself and Mike was waiting in the van, we had noticed Alex Plummer, the managing director of JWOC run straight out into the pouring rain and she started to move the motorcycles to make a path for the van to drive in. This was such a selfless act and just showed how much she cared for the kids at JWOC and that no obstacle could get in her way. This just reaffirms the passion and dedication the JWOC staff have for their students.

Day 3 (Friday 11/13)

Fortunately, the next day the weather was back to its normal and humid self which was good thing because we had a huge task ahead of us that day. The computer lab at JWOC was located on the second floor and before we could bring the new equipment up, we had to take apart the old systems and move them downstairs. This would have been a pretty daunting task if it was just between myself, Mike and Chunlay (the computer lab manager at JWOC). Luckily, we got some help from both the JWOC staff and the rest of the VMware team and everyone just started pitching in and helping us disassemble the old lab and we took everything down in a matter of no time. It was quite impressive to see this organic collaboration happen so seamlessly without much discussion between the two groups. Together, we also came up with the idea of creating a human conveyor belt to help reduce the inefficiencies of walking up and down the stairs carrying the new computers. I thought this was a very cool moment and everyone just had big smiles on their face, all working towards a common goal.

Day 4 (Saturday 11/15)

Everything seemed to be progressing quite well, the new computer lab was taking shape and the STEAM and English teams have been working hard with the teachers and training them on the new course material and curriculum that was developed. A portion of the team was in a meeting with some of the JWOC staff and all of sudden, the power just went out! This was the first of many challenges ahead of us, however everyone persevere through and Mike who was leading the presentation did not even skip a beat and continued on as he was just using his laptop which was luckily fully charged.

Power outages is something the JWOC staff must deal with on regular basis and other than the computer lab, the other classes do not stop because of the lack of power. The teachers continue to teach and students continue exactly where they left off. This is the reality that many Cambodians must live with and our team rose to the challenge and got creative in light of the situation. We found out we needed to re-image some of the older systems to be re-purposed and that meant we required power and access to the Internet. Chirag, who was on the English team came up with a creative idea of leveraging his mobile phone which had a data plan and great LTE connectivity. We just needed to head into town to re-charge his data plan and start the download of the Windows 7 image which JWOC was migrating to from Windows XP. Even though the team could not get anything done while the power was out at JWOC, we could at least be prepared when the power did return.

As you can see from the above picture, Mike is using his laptop to connect to Chirag's iPhone 6 and we were pleasantly surprised that we were able to get up to 20Mbps for download. Sadly, the power did not return that day but at least we were able to embrace the challenge that we were presented with. Hopefully the next day we will be more productive!

Day 5 (Sunday 11/16)

Electricity returned the next day and having lost part of Saturday, the team was eager to get an early start and arrived roughly around 8am at JWOC. Everyone knew what they needed to work on and we just hammered out the work. For the SIMS (Student Information Management Systems) and Lab team, which both myself and Mike was part of, having only two people on this team meant that we had to divide and conquer. Mike primarily focused on upgrading their network infrastructure and improved their LAN connectivity by migrating their old 100Mbit switch to a new gigabit switch as well as replacing their old wireless access point with a newer unit that supported more clients and stronger signal strength.

 
I mainly focused on getting the computer lab up and running and getting all the new software installed both on the new desktop workstations as well as couple of new laptops that were purchased. We had the computer lab up and running by mid-afternoon with the majority of the software installed which allowed the other teams to start working with the teachers on their solutions in preparation for their first classes early next week. Here is a picture of the lab with Chirag and Uta demo'ing their solutions, British Council to a couple of the teachers at JWOC. It was very excited to see everyone's engagement and curiosity!

While we made some good progress that day, there was still a ton of work to be done, especially with one piece of software which both Anne Holler and myself was still troubleshooting, more on that later. The highlight of the day for me was not so much getting the lab setup, which everyone was definitely excited about, but It was actually while taking a break downstairs that I got an opportunity to learn about one of the solutions the STEAM team had developed using Lego's Education WeDo. Melina was just about to set up one of the kits and she was kind enough to allow me to help beta test the process that included building a Lego alligator that uses levers and pulleys along with a light sensor unit to open and close the alligator's mouth. Once the Lego alligator was built, there was a simple drag/drop program (think a simplified version of vCenter Orchestrator) that the students would need to build that activated the Lego alligator. I thought this was a really cool solution that provided some basic computer literacy as well as demonstrating basic programming and best of all, it was quite fun! I hope the kids will enjoy the Lego WeDo as much as I did later in the week when it will be used in the Science classes.

Overall, I thought we had an amazing first week! The teachers and staff at JWOC were super friendly and eager to learn from us as we did from them. Every corner of the campus, we saw kids running around and playing with big smiles on their face. How could you not be happy working in such an environment? I know everyone was definitely looking forward to the following week and stay tune for a summary of Good Gigs Week #2.