A regular Cambodian sensation is that of being a ball of molten lava on legs. Thankfully this is the time of year when on most days, at somewhere between 4pm and 6pm, the rolling cumulo-nimbus clouds burst open and a cataclysm of water plummets from the sky, cooling everything down almost immediately. Construction workers have … More Project Update
This morning’s blazing sun is glistening on the muddy waters of the Mekong, evoking impressions of being in a tropical paradise. It’s tropical but it could never be accurately described as a paradise. I remind myself daily that the rewards of being here for me, really exist at least in part because I have a … More Economies of Scale
One of these people will travel far to sing to small children in a forgotten community. One of these people will recruit a team of grandmothers to bring love to the poorest orphans. One of these people will fight for a safe haven for children in a dangerous town. One of these people will plant … More The Birth Lottery
“Another guy on the construction site, yesterday he fall down and die”. This was the translated reply when I asked after Dara’s parents yesterday. Googling to find out more about construction worker safety, the top search results are: Construction Workers’ Lives Hang in the Balance (November 2014, Cambodia Daily) Construction Worker Falls to Death at … More Hair Raising Inspirations
They are late and still building momentum but the Monsoons have arrived in South East Asia. With a bit of fluctuation, the Mekong River is rising steadily. Slowly surging out into the delta, rising waters are transforming the lowest level green fields into massive brown lakes. Soon many villages will become submerged in a combination … More Cultural Chasms
If I wasn’t so familiar with Cambodia, I might have been afraid. Samantha, convinced that “being in the forest” would be frightening to me, asked over the phone “are you afraid?” and I assured her honestly, not at all. For starters, I wasn’t exactly “in the forest”! Listening to music on the bus I’d missed … More It’s Calling Me Home
When you get as old as me everyone starts to look young. Over 50% of the Cambodian population are under the age of 24 years old. Coming from a country where 40% of the population are over 50 years old, it is no wonder that I spend my life wondering why I’m surrounded by twelve … More We Can Survive Another Day
The first case of HIV in Cambodia was detected in 1991. In March 1992 the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) began arriving in the country. Over 20,000 military and civilian personnel from 100 countries were deployed to oversee normalisation of the country as decades of civil war was officially brought to an end. … More Wat Opot
All our knowledge has it’s origins in our perceptions Leonardo da Vinci I regularly tell people in Cambodia that I come from a rich country, but that I am not rich. Each time I hear these words from my mouth, I wonder how someone from a poor country who has never experienced societal prosperity, processes … More This Week’s Perceptions
As a young child I remember seeing footage on the television of scenes such as this coming from Cambodia. My enduring memories include a guy called Pol Pot, said by Mum to be “a very bad man”, and soldiers in black pyjamas with a checked scarfe. With the exception of the occasional elderly person, the … More The Krama
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