Just Go Places Magazine Cambodia Cambodia | Page 24

Sue

I N T E R V I E W

GUINEY
Sue Guiney is an
American living in
London with her
husband. Her work
reflect her travels
with much of it now
focused in Cambodia,
both as a writer and
teacher Sue has
founded a writing
workshop for street
children at the
shelter Anjali House
(www.anjali-house.com)
in Siem Reap,
Cambodia where
she teaches for a
portion of the year.
She also serves on
the Advisory Board
for Anjali House.

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JUST GO PLACES (JGP)
spoke with author
Sue Guiney (SG) about
her new book, Out of
the Ruins, and her
interest in Cambodia.
JGP. Why did you decide to volunteer in Cambodia
with your son when he was a teenager?
SG. Our initial trip to Cambodia was completely by
happenstance. We went there because a group of
families from my son’s school had arranged a trip
and the volunteering, and they had space for one
more family. We had not been planning a trip at all.
But you never know where these seemingly simple
decisions will takeyou.
JGP. How have you seen the children in your writing
program benefit from your involvement with them?
SG. It helps them with their English, which here in
Cambodia is the key to getting a job and breaking
the poverty cycle. Doing work like this [creative
writing] that they don’t think they can do, and then
standing up in front of the class, in a fancy room full
of fancy people and speaking to them and reading
their work in a language which is not your own takes
courage. If you become braver in one thing, your
bravery grows in other things as well. For them to
believe that their thoughts and feelings have value is
a huge step. And now we have children who can
imagine doing things with their lives other than
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