Just a quick funny to demonstrate the service you sometimes receive here. Most if not all of the wait staff in restaurants along the riverfront in Kampong Cham are young villagers who have been employed because they have some level of English, which can range from a skerrick to fluent. They earn between $80 to … More Cambodian Rosë
To everyone who contributed to the construction of a toilet for Dara’s family at their rural village home. Yesterday afternoon Chom picked me up on his moto and we went to check out the completed work. We went via Shackville where we spotted Dara and another little boy so we stopped for a quick chat … More One Finished Toilet
Wat Hanchey, also known as “The Fruit Temple” because of the large statues of colourful fruit garnishing it’s grounds, is a beautiful collection of small temples on a flat hilltop about 25km north of Kampong Cham town, in rural Kampong Cham Province. It could just as easily be dubbed the “Animal Temple” as there are … More Idyllic Days
These are wise words from a good friend and ex-colleague from MSF who works with me on the Board at Phter Koma. About ten years older than me, he was a young boy when the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia in 1975. When Lisa visited me in July last year she purchased a book … More Two Plus Two Does Not Equal Four
The more global citizens there are, and the more active and effective they are, the more progress the world will make. We hope you will show your support by signing up, because we believe that people can and must work together more to make the world a more equitable place. In fact, we’re betting on … More Toilet Village to Tuk Tuk City
Today Bea and KT from MSF came with Chom and I to Dara’s grandparents’ village for a toilet inspection. Chom was on his moto with 3yo Microphone (because he’s so loud!) at the handlebars. The three expats were on our bicycles. Thirty kilometers and a sore rear end later, we made it home with new … More Generosity and Skilful Infants
While I base myself in Cambodia on leave-at-half-pay, unsure what exactly 2015 will bring as I “stress” about how to spend my year off work, three of my colleagues from Australia’s Northern Territory are in Sierra Leone, working in an Ebola Treatment Centre. The standard duration of Ebola missions is six weeks. Considered to be … More My Nurses Are Already Dead
Today the normally-clear, blue skies above us in Kampong Cham seemed to reflect the murky brown waters of the Mekong. As the sun slowly set, I cycled back from my afternoon teaching session surrounded by motos purring around me in disorganised politeness. A tourist riverboat slowly made it’s way out from the shore and cruised … More Early Days as a Volunteer
It’s really difficult to know how it would feel to be a person living in poverty, or how people in poverty perceive the “rich” people they occasionally encounter. These thoughts regularly occur to me as I cycle or drive my way through remote villages being smiled, stared and even laughed at like the alien that … More Perceptions of the Poor
Strangely enough I started this blog days ago, before the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Of the many dozens of cartoons I’ve seen in the past couple of days, perhaps my favourite is this, which translates as “Mahomet overwhelmed by fundamentalists” and the prophet saying “It’s hard to be loved by idiots”. I think it’s perfectly fitting … More Loving to Hate
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