working poor

Children in Cambodia go to school six days a week. Usually, half days. Why so many days? Because their parents work a minimum of 6 days a week, generally from just after sunrise to just before sundown. There is a small siesta in the afternoon, but this is a very hard working country.

Most people run some kind of private business. It is not unusual to see small shops run out of the first floor of someone's home. Small businesses and start-ups are common. Entrepreneurship is everywhere!

The majority of people have a job - driving a tuk or a moto, collecting recycables, working in a shop, the best jobs are working at restaurants frequented by foreigners or in an office. The best jobs require an ability to speak English, computer skills and, thus, some level of education.

Though I don't know the exact figure, the unemployment rate in Cambodia is low. Unfortunately, these are the working poor. Can you imagine working six or seven days per week and still not making enough to feed your family? It is a tradgedy.

I am starting to believe the answer to Cambodia's economic problems is increasing industry. Most products here are imported from Thailand, Vietnam, Korea or some other more developed place in Asia. Cambodian's aren't lazy, they just need jobs that pay a fair wage and some larger industry to support their efforts. These are the working poor. I pray their labor is not in vain.