Jenny_Brockie

Jenny Brockie. Jenny Brockie is the presenter of SBS television's Insight, 7.30pm on Tuesdays. MY DAUGHTER deferred university last year to backpack through South-East Asia. She left with a beaming smile, boyfriend by her side, waved away by a posse of loved ones. "I arrived in Bangkok at 10pm last night. It's crazy, fun, energetic and dirty! We're staying in a nice hotel for about 7 bucks a night ... It feels weird being away from you on a holiday without family. I love you so much." She seemed set for the carefree holiday befitting any 19-year-old. On Thailand's islands, her early experiences were just as they should be - hedonistic and exhilarating. She was taking flight, full of joy. "Here we are on Kho Phi Phi - honestly the most beautiful place I've EVER seen. The sand is like silk and you sip cocktails as the sun sets. It's paradise ..." But she was absorbing more. "It's such a bizarre feeling, though, because it's so affected by the tsunami. You go into town ... they haven't cleared all the rubble and it's a mess. It's such a weird contrast and quite confronting. It's really good we're here, 'cos we're helping bring the tourists back. I feel so ridiculous lying on the beach and swimming all day." She emailed every second day, increasingly intimate conversations canvassing love, relationships, lost wallets and sea urchin bites. "I got very homesick last night. There was a storm outside and I really missed you." Eleven days later, confidence was growing. "I get quite homesick sometimes but I'm finding it really rewarding being here and getting through things." Before she left I urged her to visit Cambodia. My trip several years earlier prompted thoughts of human nature, cruelty, dignity, survival. When she decided to travel to Siem Reap I was delighted, emailing an impassioned description of the temple complex, the country's haunting beauty, a quick history of Pol Pot and motherly warnings about personal safety. "Cambodia so far has been the most difficult place we've travelled," she replied. "It's hard seeing all the landmine victims, beggars, little kids and watching out for whether you're being ripped off all the time. Surprisingly though it's been my favourite place for many reasons - it's so different from anything I've seen. I find it so raw, so breathtaking at random moments." Two days later that rawness hit home. At a roadside stall small children were begging for drink cans and the store owner drove them away with a whip. "It was so awful, Mum. The youngest was about three years old and so tiny and malnourished and got the worst of the whip and hid behind the bus bawling his eyes out. I couldn't help myself, I just ran up to him. He was shivering and crying really hard and I gave him the rest of my drink and hugged him and stuff. ... It was the saddest thing I've ever seen." I ached for her as she grappled with the gulf between her privilege and that tiny Cambodian life. Two days later she and her boyfriend arrived in Phnom Penh. They found an orphanage for disabled children, and began helping out as volunteers. "Most of the kids are severely disabled. They can't move at all and sit there all day. You just have to touch them and stimulate them otherwise no one would. A little boy I saw the other day was so sick. Turns out he's 10, he looked two, couldn't move and was so white he was nearly see-through. They think he has cancer but are not sure and the hospitals won't take him so he's almost just waiting to die. God. "There are problems with the carers, as well, not giving the kids enough access to water and shovelling food down their throats at dinnertime to get through as many as possible." Four days later, she had a plan. "We're still working at the orphanage and it's becoming more and more rewarding. I actually really miss it when we're not there and on the weekends you find yourself wondering how the kids are. Tomorrow we've gotten permission to take the younger HIV kids out for the day which should be s great. A lot of them have never left the walls of the place." She and other volunteers paid for a banquet for the children at a local guest house. It would be a rare day of shared pleasure. "Today has been one of the greatest days of my life. Seriously. We arrived at the orphanage at nine and they were already all lined up and ready to go. They looked so eager and cute. They all had their best white hats on and best clothes and little shoes. We hired tuktuks for them so they could go on a ride around the city and they could see where they live! They were absolutely stunned, their little eyes all wide and their mouths open ... By the time we got back to the orphanage they were amazed. I've never seen kids looking so happy." Just days later my daughter's precious journey was cut short unexpectedly. She insisted on returning home, her boyfriend following. She is an extraordinary young woman with a fine, true heart. She is honest, brave, deeply connected. She knows it is the integrity of our actions that ultimately defines us as human beings. Jenny Brockie is the presenter of SBS television's Insight, 7.30pm on Tuesdays. .