Cambodia: Progress?

In recent years, South East Asia has become a hot tourist destination. I personally love this part of the world. I find the people charming, the culture fascinating, the food tasty, the colors, sounds and sights enchanting. South East Asia cast it's spell on me years ago and has been luring me back ever since. Kenyon and I were married in this part of the world because it is simply my favorite destination. I've been to a lot of places, and in my opinion there is just something special about South East Asia.

In Cambodia, poverty is rampant, but progress is being made. Cambodia has some amazing sites, the most amazing being Angkor Wat.

The country is trying very hard to attract tourists and develop industry. I applaud those efforts, but am not a fan of all of the tactics being used. Sex tourism is being promoted and the exploited are not protected. Poor people are being displaced in high numbers. If you remember my post about looking for a house on the internet, I briefly mentioned this problem. My mom recently emailed me an article highlighting some of these actions. The development that is happening is creating major disparities among those living in the country, it is very clear who are the haves and who are the have nots.

In January, we started a program to help families being relocated to the slums. I helped write the proposal last year and oversight of the implementation will be one of my responsibilities in the new job. I love doing work in rural under served populations, but I also welcome the opportunity to do some work in an urban area with burgeoning need.