AsiaLIFE

A leap of faith, love, and strong conviction are what brought Katie Goad to Cambodia. Now mother of a toddler and co-founder of Epic Arts in Cambodia, her journey from London to Kampot has not been without its challenges. Words by Nora Lindstrom.

Originally from England, Katie Goad arrived in Cambodia as a newlywed in December 2003. “We boarded the plane for Cambodia with our rucksacks, and I’d been crying all the way to the airport thinking “What are we doing?” she says of her initial flight to Cambodia with her husband, Hallam. “That tiny little ‘yes’ to marriage, and suddenly we’re moving country!”

She was not without a plan, however. Inspired by the example set by her disabled father, and stirred by an integrated dance company’s performance, Katie had trained as a dancer to be able to share the joy of movement and artistic expression with people with disabilities.

Beginnings and Returns

“My father had polio when he was four, so from when I was born I always knew him as disabled,” she says. “But I never thought of him as disabled because he never thought of himself as disabled.” Katie had always loved the arts and wanted to dance, but never had the opportunity. “Then I saw a performance by CandoCo, an internationally renowned integrated dance company, and suddenly I knew – that’s it, that’s what I’m going to do,” she explains. Together with friends from university, she established Epic Arts in London in 2001 under the motto Every Person Counts. “We do not want people to be hindered by their disability, instead we want to encourage society to see ability, not disability,” Katie says.

In following her husband to Cambodia, Katie’s aim was to bring the concept here. Yet she found it tough settling in Phnom Penh, without a job, language skills, or friends. “So I just went around on my bicycle with my CD player to different organisations offering movement workshops for people with disabilities,” she says. Few understood what that meant, and being able-bodied herself, the concept was hard to demonstrate.

Then she was fortunate enough to meet Kim Sathia, a former professional dancer, who was working as a receptionist at Cambodia Trust. Sathia had been injured in a traffic accident and became a wheelchair user. Initially, Sathia was hesitant to work with Katie, having decided that since the accident, dance was in her past. After Katie started teaching at Cambodia Trust, Sathia’s interest slowly grew. “Then one day she said to me, “I want to dance again,”” Katie recalls. The two set to work the very next day, exploring movements and finding a common language through them. The result was a small piece aptly titled 'The Return.' “That piece really helped lift the face of Epic,” she says. “It helped us to show what it really was about.”

Setting Down Roots

Katie and Hallam move to Kampot in 2005. “When we first went to Kampot we thought it was too nice, but then we realised that was a silly reason not to live somewhere,” she says. Even so, leaving the urban lifestyle of Phnom Penh for rural Kampot was not easy. The final decision was based on the lack of opportunities for people with disabilities in Kampot, as well as links with the Deaf Development Programme already working in the area. “It felt like the right place to be,” Katie reflects. Epic Arts Café was opened the following year.

“It was a bit of shot in the dark, because none of us knew how to cook, but it just seemed like a good idea,” Katie smiles. Three years later, the café is not only a commercial success but has become a focal point for the deaf community in Kampot. It is helping to alter people’s preconceptions about disabilities. “When people come to the café they’re surprised that our deaf and disabled staff are being paid,” she says. “Hopefully the café will serve as a positive example.”

The organisation’s new, fully accessible centre, was opened in April 2009, completing Katie’s dream from university days. “It feels very overwhelming,” she says. “The day before the centre opened I was sitting on the steps of the building. There was this amazing rainbow over Bokor Hill and that just said it all to me somehow, it was a sign of promise and hope.”

Katie plans eventually to return to England. For the next few years, however, she is committed to staying in Kampot and, like a mother, watch her project grow and mature. “I’ve seen the change in these kids from when I arrived, from when we started out in Kampot,” she says. “The deaf kids who used to be so shy and timid, now they’re in the café teaching foreigners sign-language,” she marvels. “At Epic we’re like a family,” Katie adds, acknowledging that when the day comes, it will be very hard to leave.