Ewwwww!

Kenyon and I recently rented a U-haul truck and drove the remainder of our furniture to Virginia. We picked up a passenger along the way. In the rural communities of Virginia among the peaceful farmland when we were nearly at our destination I heard a very loud THUMP. I was looking around to figure out what could have made that sound, and to my dismay I saw a large insect with it's head lodged in the windshield wiper. It was looking right at me. At first I thought it must be dead based on the force of the impact and the position it was currently placed, then it's little bug legs started to move and I knew it was alive. I asked Kenyon to stop and free the passenger we had picked up since it was still alive. Instead, Kenyon decided to turn on the windshield wipers to see if he could set him free that way. That strategy didn't work and I imagine the only thing it succeeded in doing is to make our passenger dizzy. Kenyon wouldn't stop driving until we reached our destination and I had those little bug eyes staring at me the whole way - very unnerving! When we arrived we were quickly distracted by unloading the vehicle before nightfall. In the morning we needed to return the truck to the rental place so we loaded up and that is when I saw the bug eyes again and was reminded of our passenger. By this time the life had been drained out of him and little bees were swarming him, though I don't know enough about nature to understand why bees would be attracted to our passenger. When we reached the rental place I took a photo. What a way to go!

This post is in memory of the passenger we picked up on the road during our move. That isn't a super close-up shot, it really was that large. What is it? If you know, do share, because inquiring minds want to know...

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.

Cambodia: Genocide

In the early 1970's, Cambodia was involved in civil war. The end to that war came when the Pol Pot regime came in to power in April 1975. The people hoped for peace, instead what they got was genocide now known as the Khmer Rouge.

Pol Pot established a communist nation and the citizens became their slaves. Creating a society where the citizenry worked as peasants in the coutryside was the ideal. "Peasants were seen as simple, uneducated, hard-working and not prone to exploiting others. Their way of life had not changed for centuries, yet they always managed to survive...The Khmer Rouge felt that new people had made an active choice to live in the cities and thus declared their allegiance to capitalism. All city dwellers became enemies of the new communist state, a status that would cost hundreds of thousands of them their lives." (The Khmer Rouge Years)

As I understand it, this viewpoint is what made the Khmer Rouge so destructive. Though the regime may have lasted a short time (I believe they were in power four years), infrastructure was lost for decades. Education was not valued, thus it was not encouraged and often not available. A generation was raised with a lack of access to education. Those with education were targeted for elimination because they were enemies of the state. Imagine a country that lost it's entire professional class. All doctors, lawyers, teachers - gone. That is what happened to Cambodia. The "intellectuals" were either killed, or they fled to other parts of the world and most have not returned.

This lack of educational opportunities makes our work difficult. We need a highly skilled labor force to accomplish our tasks. Every employer needs skilled workers. The skill set is limited in Cambodia because the educational infrastructure still has not returned at a prominent level. This demonstrates a lack of capacity, but not a lack of ability.

It is my belief that every person on earth wants meaningful work. It is my belief that if given the opportunity to learn, most rise to the occassion. I have seen this happen in other areas lacking infrastructure. It takes more work on our part because we are starting from a low level of base knowledge, but I am convinced that if we are willing to make the investment in individuals, train them up to do a professional job, they will respond positively and do what it takes to accomplish the task. Did I mention this isn't easy? Because, it's not. Frankly, I wouldn't be so interested if the task was easily accomplished. Personally, I love a challenge. What better challenge than to invest in individuals to help them make a better life for themselves, their families and ultimately their nation? I can't think of anything more noble to dedicate my life to.

Cambodia: Human Trafficking

I thought I would spend the next few days highlighting some of the issues in Cambodia, a place I will soon be calling home. One of the things that has drawn me to this place is the issue of human trafficking. Poverty contributes to this evil, because despite the warnings individuals are willing to risk everything to believe empty promises of traffickers due to their desperation. The lies quickly become bondage and by the time they learn the truth it is too late to get out. In the book Not for Sale there is an entire chapter devoted to Cambodia because this is such a serious issue.

The impoverished masses of Cambodia represent the economic challenge [to abolition]. At least one in three of Cambodia's 15 million people live below the poverty line today. Cambodian women above all, do not get the chance to study formally or learn vocational skills; 41 percent of the country's adult women are illiterate. While finding a job in Cambodia can be difficult under any circumstances, an uneducated and impoverished woman does not fit the profile that most legal employers seek to hire. Desperate to secure the well-being of their parents or perhaps their own children, a poor woman can become easy prey for a trafficker.

That is an understatement! My employer is looking at ways to increase our impact on this issue. We have submitted a grant to do work in a northern region of the country to provide alternatives for income for desperate women before they are snatched up by traffickers. We are submitting two more grants in October (one in Cambodia and one in Myanmar) to do similar work. For years we have supported partners that help women leave this life and reintegrate in to society. Specifically, the programs help women who want to make a better life for themselves or their children. It gives them business opportunities and so much more. If you want to learn more about the work of these agencies, click here and here.

Quoteable Quotes

"This is the true joy in life, being used up for a purpose
recognized by yourself as a mighty one;
being a force of nature instead of a feverish,
selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining
that the world will not devote iteself to make you happy.
And also the only real tragedy in life is
the being used by personallly minded men
for purposes which you recognize to be base."
~ George Bernard Shaw