Three Cambodias

Over the last three weeks, I have experienced what seemed to be three completely different Cambodias.

The first Cambodia: Phnom Penh. This crazy city I am calling home is a bustling centre of jarring juxtapositions: orange-clad monks skirting speeding scooters; gated buildings looming over open street vendors; scents of Kentucky-Fried Chicken blasting out of air-conditioned buildings to mingle with the fish oil, deep-fried bananas, dust, and sweat in the humid homes next door.

The second Cambodia: the urban slum. Just over a week ago, I had the opportunity to visit one of Samaritan’s Purse Cambodia’s project sites in a community on the fringe of Phnom Penh. This area was settled several years ago by people displaced from their urban homes due to the lack of effective land rights legislation. I was shocked by the amount of litter strewn between houses—and my visit followed an extensive clean-up effort in the community!

This community has received so many hand-outs from so many NGOs since its inception that there is very little sense of community ownership or responsibility; the people expect solutions to be given to them. However, there are some who really do want to change their community for the better. Some of these were parents of children in a childhood nutrition program run by SP, which we got a chance to observe. This involves not simply handing out food, but teaching about proper nutrition and how to obtain the nutrients needed for healthy childhood development once NGOs pull out of the community. Here is one little boy getting measured to determine whether the nutrition program is helping him to grow.

The third Cambodia: the rural village. This week I was able to spend my first two days in the district where AOC works. I will spend 2-3 days there each week, traveling to and from Phnom Penh on the back of a motorcycle—which should get increasingly interesting as the rainy season progresses. 

 Crossing the Mekong to reach Lvae Em

Compared to the urban slum, this district is remarkably clean; it is obviously a poor area, but is well cared for and has many leaders who are eager to make a difference. AOC works to train local community leaders, who then organize the bioSand water filter construction and monitoring, small home churches, and other initiatives.

Playing a game of bowl behind the AOC staff house on one of our many breaks