Cambodia has an impressive total of 28 national holidays per year. That’s another 5+ working weeks of days off added to the annual leave people can take. Not that most people are entitled to annual leave given that less than 20% work in occupations which follow the labour laws. Most people work seven days per … More Millions of Monks
Life-changing, terrible, amazing, love-drenched, enlightening, emotional, sickening, indescribable. These are a few of the many adjectives deserving of a mention in my attempt at summarising the year I just spent living in Cambodia. There are a million ways to measure my year. The number of people able to fit on a single motorbike is a … More Measuring a Year
Today I had my first contact with someone in Australia introducing me to the beginnings of what I hope will not be a quagmire of red tape around trying to raise desperately needed funds for our small but functional home of 12 HIV orphans. This evening I visited the children and had my arms draped … More New Beginnings
It’s now over a week since I saw the homeless lady with her baby. I like to think that she was able to find a safe alternative and has gone onto better things, kick started by the money earned from selling her hair. In reality it’s just as possible that she has been trafficked to … More The Difference a Little Can Make
This afternoon I was invited to visit one of our cleaners in her village a little way out of town. With 75% humidity and 35C temperatures I decided to be lazy and booked Chom’s tuk tuk for the journey instead of cycling the c.20km round-trip. Just before Chom picked me up I was out on … More Hair Apparent
This afternoon one of my colleagues came to the house and brought his young children to meet me. The cycle home before our meet-up was – as always – interesting. I stopped in at the bank on a corner where crowds were gathering on the road at the roundabout. Through the masses I could see … More A Hungry Ride Home
As my project with Medecins Sans Frontieres draws to a close, reflections about the year laid out behind me prevail. I am only leaving Cambodia briefly but my departure and the end of my work commitment here have me feeling very philosophical about this beautiful and catastrophic nation and the incredible experiences I’ve had here. … More Dealing with DRTB
We only have what we give ~ Isabelle Allende This morning I cycled into Shackville en route to work and the mother of my little amputee friend called to him that I was there. In a flash at high speed from around the corner of their shack he appeared and sprinted up a small hill to … More Ghosts and Giving
Living in a house full of people has it’s joys and it’s woes. We have a big beautiful home with a balcony overlooking the Mekong, our own cook and cleaner and a very comfortable home life. A joy! We each have our own ensuite bathroom – another joy. Except for the poor soul who happened … More Crashing With Courtesy
These are a shortened alteration of words written by Martin Luther King Jr, the famous American Civil Rights leader. They are words that have always struck a chord with me. In quoting them here, I researched where they came from and it’s an interesting story. In Birmingham Alabama in April 1963, during demonstrations against racial segregation, … More Injustice Anywhere Threatens Justice Everywhere
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