Observations of Cambodia On Our Recent Mission Trip - January, 2025

I have been to Cambodia a few times. This time my spouse also came with me and he has a few interesting observations on our most recent vist to this tropical country.

Since my husband is a coffee drinker, he needs his fix every morning no matter which country we are visiting. While in Cambodia, he noticed that there were quite a number of nice coffee shops throughout Phnom Penh, the capital city. However, a cup of coffee in Phnom Penh was more expensive than what we would pay in Toronto, Canada. A cup of coffee from a steeet vendor costs US$2.00 or more. Since the average Cambodian worker makes about US$180 - $550.0 a month from entry to mid level jobs, coffee is defintely a luxury item not for the poor.

We also noticed that though coffee is considered a luxury drink for most Cambodians, we found many young people doing their computer/ design work in these nice coffee shops. Something which I didn't see a decade ago. This is possibly due to the growth of the middle and professional class in Cambodia. A good thing to see indeed!

When we were in Phnom Penh, we also experienced high poulltion. The city was shrouded in a smog for most of our days there. Cambodia's public transportation system is not well developed yet, therefore most Cambodians depend on their motor bikes when going places. The pollution could possibly be due to the high number of gasoline powered motorbikes on city streets. S. had some difficult days as he was coughing the entire time we were there.

On the postive side, there appeared to be a few more bible training classes for young Cambodian Christians in the rural area.

We visited a couple of bible training classes and training facility for new pastors in the rural area. We were encouraged by this good news and development.

What really impressed us most were the creativity and efforts of the bible school staff.

Running the bible school on a limited small budget but creatively using old tires and bamboo poles, the school staff was able to recycle these materials into swing seats, benaches, flower pots, ladders, plant stands, fences etc to beautify their school buildings and turned it into a tranquil and inviting environment. I couodn't help but had to try out the swing seat myself! Two thumbs up!

Since the 1980's there have been numerous NGO agencies operating in Cambodia. Our roles have also evolved from conducting summer camp activities for young people to providing training, educating and developing leadership of Cambodian educators in schools and community organizations. The Christian organization with which we are associated in Cambodia realizes that in order to implement effective plans to alleviate poverty and preventing girls/ women from becoming victims of the crime of human trafficking in Cambodia, education is an important component of the plan.

Therefore, the roles which many NGO's play to help Cambodian young people to further their education and hence improving their future lives are essential and crucial for this country's future.

We are blessed to have a small part and are able to provide some assistance to the young people in Cambodia in the area of education and teacher training. Cambodians are very firendly and respectful to everyone; we enjoyed our stay there. We hope to be back in the near future and work with them again!

RT Phnom Penh, Cambodia