Prey Sala relief distribution

In September, our staff participated in a relief distribution in one of the urban resettlement communities around the city where I live. I've tried, unsuccessfully, to post photos of that event...until now.

In Asia it is very common for people to flash the peace sign while taking a photo. This is a beautiful girl attending the distribution with her family.

These kids were so cute while playing. The problem is, they were hanging from one of the support beams of the tent set up for the event. They almost brought the house down, literally.

This is my favorite photo from the event. After the men had unloaded the rice, sardines, oil and salt from the truck, the boys had to go check it out. One has, obviously, forgot his pants.

This photo features the primary way Khmae people move stuff from point A to point B. We would never think of loading down a motorbike in such ways...if only I had my camera everytime I saw some of these sights. This guy has loaded his booty from the distribution and is on his way home.

This sweet little one is getting ready to go in to the water toward her home. Picking up her skirt, while carrying salt for her family.

I try to learn a new Khmae word every day. It helps when they are contextualized. On this particular day I learned to say "you're welcome." Though this distribution was completely led by the national staff and all I did was show up in order to step away from my desk for a while and interact with people - everyone would come to me to say "thank you." In Khmae, thank you is "a-coon" and you're welcome is "mun aye tay." By the end of the day, I could have said you're welcome in my sleep.