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May 26
Mar 07
The slums in Phnom Penh hide well. Squeezed among layers of developed land, it sometimes takes an eagle eye to spot the hidden hole that leads to a self-built community imposed to live in ragged conditions. One such community dwells by the Mekong River. You wouldn’t know it existed unless someone showed you.
I first visited this community back in October, but when I came back this trip around, the picture had slightly different markings. In October, the rains flooded the area, and I was forced to walk across frail, tall, wooden planks that connected homes, always careful to avoid plunging. This month, though, the water dried and I freely roamed the ground.
Walking through this community you hear wonder stories. One family – that’s five people – dwells on a raft idly floating under their roof during the flood season. Another begged a favor from a neighbor to cut the umbilical cord of their newborn after they self-delivered. One more was on the verge of having their home drown in a landslide. Sometimes, the conditions these people live under makes you wonder how they manage. Because one striking characteristic common among slums is how depressing they can be.
Slums, by definition, are made of people who have no home. Typically they have no entitlement to the land they sit on and can be evicted at moment’s notice. In other words, they are a displaced community within a wider functioning society.
After several visits to these communities, a stringing thread seemed to connect them: trash. One particular visit I witnessed a mother meticulously sweeping garbage out from her home into the puddles out front. “People don’t often care about the wider effect trash has on the rest of the community, as long as it’s not in their space”, one NGO’s program manager mentioned. Indeed, trash accumulated everywhere, eventually floating into craters of water.
Unkempt trash leads to disease, disease leads to debilitation, debilitation leads to ineffectiveness, ineffectiveness leads to poverty.
But this then begs the question why such apathy exists? Why in some places people have a can-do attitude while others repeatedly adhere to “it’s not my problem”? “Ownership”. That’s the word I remember Jack Sim, founder of WTO (World Toilet Organization), enthusiastically expounding on during his talk at Social iCon.
When it comes to ownership, though, the slum communities don’t have it. Home means nothing. They’ve already been stripped. Perhaps the trash endemic is a metaphor for their predicament.
I walked out the slums. A gated mansion towered over. Parked outside was a Benz. A Lexus swooped by. What then was that a metaphor of?
Feb 18
Pedro belongs to the poorest community in the province. His mother is blind and lacks the means to support him. How would you like to sponsor him for as little as $1/day?
That’s the general gist of any child sponsorship program – do some good, adopt a child, and now that child can live life. There’s a story, there’s a face, and a dire circumstance – who wouldn’t want to give? But how effective is this in solving the situation really?
Take, for example, a program out here in Cambodia who offered $15 to individual drop-outs to get back into school. Noble goal, but the net result was that more kids dropped out. Why? Because they wanted the $15.
First, there’s the ethical issue of individual sponsorship. Should a child be so publically exposed along with their struggling situation? How fair is that to the child? And where do you draw the ethical line for a child to feel “entitled” to a donor half-a-world away?
Second, there’s the logistical issue. A child is rarely an isolated incident and is more likely to be amongst a group of children in a poverty-ridden community. Should one child receive the benefit over another? If he or she does receive surplus treatment, what about the jealousy factor among peers? And if not, then wouldn’t that make child sponsorship artificial – advertising that your dollar is helping one child, but in reality, the money is distributed?
One mission head of a development agency in Cambodia aptly summed it up: “Individual sponsorship is not development”.
Indeed, development projects that are systematically monitored are often the best remedy to a child’s circumstance. But here’s the big but– projects don’t sell as well as a story and a face. Projects sorely lack that human touch.
Here’s some food for thought: How does one balance the need to raise funds by tugging heartstrings, while also being true to the programs that best help?
Feb 09
In this research trip to Cambodia, Phnom Penh has been very rewarding. I learned about the local culture while meeting some inspiring individuals working on amazing projects. More importantly, I witnessed the drive of the young Cambodians.
During our visit to a province an hour away from Phnom Penh, we had the opportunity to spend a few days with an NGO working on community development in that area and fighting against human trafficking. We lived under the same roof with about 20 other children. It gave me a wonderful opportunity to learn more about their lives.
On one of the nights as I was about to head to bed around 12:30am, I peeked outside my room and saw 2 of the boys still reading their textbooks. These guys had to wake up at 5am the next day to prepare for the day. Each morning, they do housework and attend different classes to learn English, agriculture, computer and so on. In the afternoon, they attend school between 12pm to 4pm, and their school is about an hour bike ride away from where they live.
I had the opportunity to speak to a few of them about how they felt about school. They always reply with such zest when asked about learning. Going to school, in their own words, is a privilege and they feel really lucky to be able to attend school. From the village which they come from, most of the children do not even attend school. The families in their village simply cannot afford to send their children to school. Despite all these, there is a deep-rooted belief that learning is the way for them to move above their life circumstances.
Back in Phnom Penh, I befriended a guy who is working as an administrator in one of the guesthouses. When he was younger, he used to work as a stall vendor in night markets while attending school in the day. Today, he attends night classes on Accounting and Business Management on top of his regular job which requires him to be working for more than 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. When asked about his motivation, he felt that normal schooling is generally not enough to equip him with skills for a job as a knowledge worker. The only solution is to make full use of any time he has to attend classes to improve and learn some useful skills.
“Stay hungry. Stay foolish” popularized by founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, seems to be living within the youth here in Cambodia. Just as I was reflecting on this on a tuk-tuk (popular public transport in Cambodia), a motorcycle whizzed past, and a girl was reading her school notes while riding pillion. I hope that we will one day be able to bring education to every child in this world.
The Cambodian Youth areis Hhungry
(“youth” is used collectively for a group, therefore, plural)
In Tthis research trip to Cambodia, Phnom Penh has been very rewarding. I learned a lot about the local culture of the society and metwhile meeting some really inspiring individuals working on amazing projects. More importantly, I witnessed the drive of the young Cambodians.
During our visit to a province an hour away from Phnom Penh, we had the opportunity to spend a few days with an NGO working on community development in that area and fighting against human trafficking. We lived under the same roof with about 20 other children. It gave me a wonderful opportunity to learn more about their lives.
On one of the nights as I was about to head to bed around 12:30am, I peeked outside my room and saw 2 of the boys still reading their textbooks. These guys had to wake up at 5am the next day to prepare for the day. Each morning, they do housework and attend different classes to learn English, agriculture, computer and so on. In the afternoon, they attend school between 12pm to 4pm, and their school is about an hour bike ride away from where they live.
I had the opportunity to speak to a few of them about how they felt about school. They always reply with such zest when asked about learning. Going to school, in their own words, is a privilege and they feel really lucky to be able to attend school. From the village which they come from, most of the children do not even attend school. The families in their village simply cannot afford to send their children to school. Despite all these, there is a deep-rooted belief that learning is the way for them to move above their life circumstances.
Back in Phnom Penh, I befriended a guy who is working as an administrator in one of the guesthouses. When he was younger, he used to work as a stall vendor in night markets while attending school in the day. Today, he attends night classes on Accounting and Business Management on top of his regular job which requires him to be working for more than 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. When asked about his motivation, he felt that normal schooling is generally not enough to equip him with skills for a job as a knowledge worker. The only solution is to make full use of any time he has to attend classes to improve and learn some useful skills.
“Stay hungry. Stay foolish” popularized by founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, seems to be living within the youth here in Cambodia. Just as I was reflecting on this on a tuk-tuk (popular public transport in Cambodia), a motorcycle whizzed past, and a girl was reading her school notes while riding pillion. I hope that we will one day be able to bring education to every child in this world.
Nov 02
During the last few weeks, we had the opportunity to visit several organizations in Cambodia to see some of their work up close. And for that, we would like to say a big thank you to them all for hosting and inspiring us with their passion.
Sao Sary Foundation (www.ssfcambodia.org)
Prevention is the most cost-effective solution to any problem, and SSF’s foray into fighting human-trafficking is no exception to this rule. Focused on prevention rather than intervention, SSF works with rural families up close to identify and reduce the risk of having their child trafficked through a combination of education and income generating activities.
Future Cambodia Fund (www.futurecambodiafund.org)
Building a sense of home to a community who has no home, FCF works at the Andong site and serves a community of people numbering well into the thousands who have been forcibly evicted from their prior dwellings. Established the “Happy Garden Centre” to connect this displaced group, FCF runs several projects to educate the children, train the women in water sanitation, health and hygiene, and runs an emergency program to assist those who are victimized or in life-threatening health.
Changiville (www.changiville.com)
A guesthouse, but more than a guesthouse. Changiville uses their quarters as a training ground for girls from the neighboring slums in Phnom Penh. Whether it’s English, computers, cooking, or customer service, Changiville is teaching these girls how to take matters into their own hand. Eventually, says co-founder William Chua, these girls will wield the skills to develop a franchise and run this business all on their own.
Aide et Accion (www.aide-et-action.org)
Every team needs a big player, and Aide et Accion is just that organization to be that critical link. By partnering with several local organizations, channeling funds into their projects, and monitoring their impact, Aide et Accion is ensuring that quality education is in fact reaching the local populace and that each and every one of those barriers impeding Cambodia’s progress is being lifted.
Riverkids (www.riverkidsproject.org)
Child trafficking is ugly, and many victimized communities have lost their trust with outsiders. This puts Riverkids in a unique position to work with these communities. After six years of building ties, Riverkids tirelessly prevents the sale of countless of children and finds alternative labor for these families to boost their socio-economic status. The extra dance and English classes they run onsite is a testament to their commitment to the well-being of these precious kids.
Digital Data Divide (www.digitaldatadivide.org)
A school and a business, DDD trains poor Cambodians in computer literacy and the art of digitizing, and has weaved this into a sustainable model by leveraging these high-tech skills for media clients. DDD is putting back the advantage for the disadvantaged in these prestigious positions. But what’s more is their work in creating jobs in a job-scarce world and giving people a chance to earn decent wages where many cannot.
Mr.Sothea’s orphan project
Home is where the heart is. A volunteer with a compassionate tie to his village, Mr.Sothea personally runs a project for orphans who have no home, supporting their education and finding families to host. Once having to wade through kilometers of jungle waters just for school, Mr.Sothea wants to instill that same passion into his kids and community and help lift them into prosperity.
Mr.Sothea's orphans
Oct 23
Sixty-one years ago, UN leaders declared education a human right. This assertion permeated the veins of academia worldwide. But this theory, bold and sensational, was interrupted by a few blood clots known as war, disease, colonization, famine, corruption, and discrimination. What’s left are 113 million children who presently have no access to primary education and 880 million illiterate adults worldwide. This 880 million is about 2.5 times the population of the U.S. alone. What do we do now, six decades later, when theories on education need a little vitamin boost to make the practice of attaining a quality education real?
The opportunity for a child’s education is linked to his/her country’s overall quality of life. While there’s no international definition of “good quality” and “bad quality” countries, the UN lists 38 high income countries and 155 emerging market countries. Of these emerging markets, the path one navigates for any type of education can be fraught with several barriers like those social “blot clots” mentioned above.
Families need kids to contribute to household income; commuting to school might be a 2 hour trek (by foot) down the nearest main road; the nearest main road is in a war zone, children lack concentration due to hunger; school houses may be ill-equipped, perhaps non-existent; teachers are underpaid and under-resourced; the list continues.
Cambodia is in the middle of this experience. While there is a long history of formal Buddhist education (prior and concurrent to French colonization), the country has battled against a waning educational system through various government administrations. French – some semblance of Western educational structure. Khmer Rouge – physical labor in, all academics out. Current Parliament – commitment to universal education, challenged ability to carry this out. In an article from last week’s The Phnom Penh Post (“Challenges Crippling Cambodia Education”), the author discusses Cambodia’s issues, many of which take place in dozens of other countries.
“Cambodia’s education system is plagued by a range of detrimental factors including an absence of suitably qualified or trained staff, rampant corruption and a lack of morale among low-paid teaching staff coupled with the high cost of schooling…Efforts by the Cambodian government to improve education in the country should be recognised, but the work has been inconsistent and greeted with mixed results.”
While the government pledges that “education is the key to sustainable development of a nation,” there have been many challenges to make a universal education, well, universal. Many NGOs are working alongside the country’s leaders to advance the efforts more rapidly and agree that we need a conduit to make the human right of education a reality – today! There are remarkable non-profit leaders spearheading supplemental educational programs. Contending, often times, with limited resources, they too are in a precarious situation to significantly boost enrolment and retention numbers in the face of pervasive poverty.
Looking at our 113 million children worldwide, the question still remains, what do we do now? The possibilities are infinite. Some of us have the talent for political action and others for philanthropic action. So, what do we do? We do what we can because we can.
References:
Dakar Framework for Action, World Education Forum 2000
New Trend and Present Situation of Adult Learning and Education, Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport
Oct 16
“Let’s go to the villages.”
I looked at Vichetr and saw him smiling, anxious to move. It was only hours ago that I set foot in Cambodia, exhausted by the heat and morning flight; but this was why I came, and I could not pass this opportunity. Minutes later, I found myself back-strapped on his motorbike whipping through the wind.
Vichetr is the director of Sao Sary Foundation, a local Cambodian organization that is dedicated to achieving lasting improvements for children living in poverty. He spends his time roaming through the poorest villages, finding families to support and children to send to school. All of these families live under $1 a day; meaning, they are lucky enough to eat rice for that day, if at all.
“Where’s Sreyown?” Vichetr asked in Khmer as we parked our motorbike and stepped through muddy ground. Several people came out of their huts to greet us, smiling, and with praying hands raised in front followed by a slight bow. Moments later, a young girl of about twelve appeared and followed suit with this traditional South Asian greet.
Vichetr began to interview her in Khmer and then translated her story. He told me that her father died of AIDS eight years ago, and the HIV status of her mother is unknown. Because of her father’s death, their only source of income was cut, and they have no assets. Her aspiration is to graduate from medical school so that she can one day take care of her mother’s flailing health.
“It’s very common for the kids to want to be doctors. Many of them have a family member who’s ill but can’t afford healthcare”, Vichetr mentioned, “When they’re sick, they can’t work.”
“These families work hard but many times they’re exploited by loan sharks or simply lack the education and know-how to do anything about their situation. It’s a trap.”
“How do you help them?” I asked.
“What we want to do is to show them how to generate financially sustainable activities. We help them start a business, providing the necessary start-up capital, and then work with them to bring this business to profit. That way, we can self-empower the people to lift themselves out of poverty.”
Several days later I would visit a family who Vichetr helped start a sweet rice business. The startup capital was $100. The family now earns profits of $5 a day selling their sweet rice squares to the local market.
After we finished our interview with Sreyown, I refastened on Vichetr’s motorbike and we headed back down the long road that lead to the village.
Passing through the wind, I stared out at the open land filled with trees, mountains and rice fields, green and full of life. Alongside, kids splashed in pools formed by the afternoon rain while mothers nursed their babies in the comfort of shade. It’s hard to imagine that amongst such pristine land and laughter the hardships that many of them endure. But indeed, people worked, and they worked hard. This was Cambodia at its rawest. As we drove along, I was reminded of what Grameen Bank’s founder Muhammad Yunus said: “The poor themselves can create a poverty-free world… all we have to do is to free them from the chains that we have put around them.”
The question then is, what are those chains and what can we do about them?
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- Man tending the rice fields with his cows
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- Kids splashing in the pool from the rain
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- One of the family houses
Oct 14
“Traditional philanthropy and nonprofits generate a social gain, but they do not design their programs as self-sustaining business models. A charitable dollar can be used only once. A dollar invested in a self-sustaining social business is recycled endlessly.”
– Muhammad Yunus
There is a growing belief that the traditional method for doing good, giving money to a large charitable foundation, is broken. To confront this fracture, increasing numbers of passionate individuals who are motivated by doing meaningful work have started a new movement to launch self-sustaining, value-driven social enterprises. These enterprises epitomize entrepreneurship in its purest form, which is solving common social problems in an innovative way. Social entrepreneurs pioneer new approaches to address unmet needs while charitable recipients benefit from better investment in their human capital. In sum, social entrepreneurship is an all-encompassing way for multiple parties to build social value together, leveraging an initial investment and creating a sustainable social venture out of it.
Joseph Schumpeter, an Austrian Economist, wrote about the spirit of entrepreneurship and defined an entrepreneur as someone who identifies a commercial opportunity and organizes a venture to implement it. Similarly, social entrepreneurship is also about value creation. The motivation for a social entrepreneur is not financial payout but social change. Instead of creating economic value, social entrepreneurs focus on seeking out opportunities to create social value. They gather resources to solve issues, needs and problems that are not fulfilled by either the governments or the private sector.
Furthermore, social entrepreneurship brings together deep collaboration between the non-profit and business world. Social enterprises are beginning to operate with more business vigor to create a broader more definitive social impact. Knowledge of the business eco-system helps drive social enterprises to be more effective and efficient. In order to create a sustainable organization, there is a need to have a business model that has an immense focus on value creation. This model ultimately trickles into charitable beneficiaries’ daily lives. Specifically, they become active participants in social change rather than passive recipients of donation dollars.
Just as entrepreneurship is instrumental in the advancement of the economies, social entrepreneurship is crucial to the progress of the societies as a whole. There is an increasing importance in promoting social entrepreneurship and providing support for social enterprises. Social ventures are generally considered to be small-scale change tackling a small social problem. This is going to change. With the emergence of successful social ventures such as the Grameen bank, we have witnessed that social entrepreneurship can equally create significant impact, changing the lives of millions of people.
That is the value of social entrepreneurship.
