While it’s not health systems that save populations, but healthy and equitable economies allowing a decent standard of living for most if not all, I still like this quote by Dr Paul Farmer. He is the founder of Partners in Health (PIH), a Non-Government Organisation who work in the poorest parts of the world, having … More Falling Through Gaps
Chinese New Year is a fairly big celebration in Cambodia. The streets come alive with (illegal) fireworks which have frightened me out of my skin a number of times today. The funniest of which was as I was cycling down the street after this morning’s English class and a young boy stood in the road, … More The Year of the Sheep
I have European friends in Phnom Penh who went broke helping people. They are closer to retirement than away from it and they are in debt with no assets despite having well paid jobs as professionals with international organisations for many years. They have lived in a few different developing countries over the past twenty … More Different Degrees of Broke
The way that Cambodians name their children can be really amusing to a westerner. One family of five children I know are named Danay, Danneth, Panneth, Panna and Dany. The girls are “D” and the boys are “P”. When I met them I was seeing them everyday and it took me a month, first to … More Insidious Power Play
HIV rates in Cambodia peaked in the late 1990s at around 2%. This was one of the highest rates in Asia and was considered to be a burgeoning epidemic which could easily have progressed in the same way as epidemics seen in many sub-Saharan African countries where rates have soared to as high as 20%. … More Carrying the Stigma of HIV
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
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