No Ordinary Boy
Ream Odom is no ordinary boy. He very rarely disobeys his Mother. He is hardly ever sick. And most importantly of all, he is always very clean.
?I always remember to wash my hands before I eat,? the 13 year-old proudly claims. 
"I also know that it's important to wash food before you cook it, clean the house at least once a week and avoid catching worms or malaria.?
Odom?s unique awareness of his personal health and hygiene does not stem from any obsessive compulsive disorder. Nor is it the result of authoritarian parents insisting that he adopt abnormally high-standards for a teenage boy. He is clean and health-conscious because he wants to be and because he knows that it could potentially save his life or the life of someone he loves.
He details how he contracted typhoid at the age of eight as a result of the way that he and his family were living at the time. ?It was really bad,? he says. ?I had terrible stomach pains and was so sleepy and hungry all the time. I also had to stay inside the house for several weeks and that was not nice at all.?
The fact that his sister also had typhoid at the same time caused alarm within the family, prompting his parents to find out how the family could avoid catching diseases that were common in rural Cambodia but also potentially deadly. That vital help and information ended up coming from a most unlikely source ? Odom himself.
At the age of eleven, he began attending health education classes run by AOC staff at a nearby friend?s house. These classes use creative teaching methods such as games, videos and prizes to make learning about personal health and hygiene more attractive for teenagers. Since attending his first class, Odom has not looked back and his health has shown a marked improvement.
Odom?s motives for attending the weekly sessions are no doubt mixed, with the schoolboy admitting that he likes ?singing the songs? and ?getting a prize when I get the answer right.? But to assume that Odom?s new-found keenness on matters of personal health is purely selfish would be to overlook the fact that he is equally keen to share this information with others, be they elders or peers.
?He is always reminding his friends and family about their health,? his Mother says, explaining how visiting relatives rarely escape without a reminder from the youngest member of the family about how to avoid unwanted problems such as worms and typhoid. His persistence appears to be paying off, as his Mother proudly reports that there has been no sickness in the household for a number of months.
The impact that the AOC Health Education Program has had on Odom has been deeper than just the physical. As his Mother puts it: ?I think it?s good that AOC is Christian because after Odom is taught from the Bible, he listens to me a lot more and is much more helpful around the house.?
With the gentle encouragement of his family and the knowledge he receives from staff at AOC, Ream Odom is fast becoming an ideal role-model for his village ? and he has only just turned thirteen.