Have tuk-tuk, will travel: Koun Sen

10 Bucks for a Tuk-Tuk?

 Local man hopes to change the life of a Cambodian monk

When most of us come home from travelling, our biggest concern tends to be paying off the trip we’ve just taken. But when local counsellor Jeffrey Godine got back from a vacation in Southeast Asia, he returned inspired to help change somebody’s life. Not just anybody, mind you, but a young Cambodian monk he met at the famed temple of Angkor Wat. But how does a Canadian counsellor assist a Cambodian monk? By helping him buy a tuk-tuk, of course.

What’s a tuk-tuk? If you’ve ever been to Asia, you’ve likely zoomed around in one; but for the rest of us, tuk-tuks are those three-wheeled motorized rickshaws that zip through the streets, ferrying tourists hither and yon. “Anywhere you walk, people will call out, ‘Tuk-tuk? Tuk-tuk?,’” chuckles Godine. “They pick you up from the airport and take you to your hotel, then that’ll be your tuk-tuk for the duration of your stay, acting as driver and tour guide.” For young men eager to learn and practice their English on tourists, Godine says becoming a tuk-tuk driver is often the quickest road to independence; but the average $2,200 price tag remains very expensive by Cambodian standards. “The driver we had, he had a girlfriend but had no prospects of marrying her because it would take so long to pay off the debt from buying his tuk-tuk,” he says.

But back to Angkor Wat. Upon arriving, Godine met a young orange-robed monk named Koun Sen, who was eager to practice his English with visitors. “We certainly met many monks on our travels, but Koun Sen’s presence was so soft and sincere,” recalls Godine. “We spent quite a while talking with him at Angkor Wat.” At the end of their time together, Koun Sen asked for Godine’s e-mail address—and for $20 to help with his education.

“Asking for money from Westerners is like going to the ocean and asking for water; why wouldn’t you?” says Godine. “I know we’re seen as having unlimited finances, so we were happy to give him that. If you can help people make that kind of change in their life, it’s just a nice thing to be able to do.” Upon arriving back home, Godine began what has now become a two-year e-mail correspondence with Koun Sen, now 23, learning more about his life (becoming a monk at 17), his family (six brothers, three sisters) and his hope to one day have his own tuk-tuk.

“Having a tuk-tuk is kind of the only way he could have an income for himself, and then be able to help his family and possibly evolve into having his own family.” But since Godine didn’t have the finances to buy him one outright, another plan came to mind.

“The idea came to me that if a whole bunch of people gave $10, it would be effortless to buy this man a tuk-tuk and offer him an opportunity in life that he wouldn’t otherwise have. I mean, $10 in our society is negligible—it’s what we spend on a couple of cups of coffee.”

And so began the $10 Tuk Tuk To Go project, which has so far raised $1,200 of the $3,000 that will cover the cost of the tuk-tuk, as well as a cell phone, business cards and operating expenses for the first year. Friends have warned Godine that the money may not be spent how he hopes it will be, but he remains confident in Koun Sen. “My trust of and sincerity for this man, whom I met only briefly, has grown over the past two years as we continue to correspond.”

Godine, who also supports a child in South America, clearly believes in what he’s trying to do for Koun Sen. “When we do these kinds of things, it’s a gift to ourselves as well as the person we’re helping. It feels like a good thing to do, and I know when this project is over, I’ll start up on something else,” he says. “We live in such abundance here.”

Visit tuktuktogo.com to make a donation or to find out more about the project.