My interest in Cambodia
Wat Preah Keo Morokat (Silver Pagoda, Temple of the Emerald Buddha) in the Royal Palace - Source: Bernard Aw, 2005
My interest in development economics began when I worked in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for six months in 2005.
I was attached to Phibious Advertising (a creative agency managed by a Singaporean family) on a diploma internship that I have to complete to graduate.
It was the first time that I lived in a developing country for more than a couple of days. During that six months, I would go on to experience and observe the fledging economy (still mainly dependent on agriculture produce and garment factories) amid the wide-spread poverty and social problems in the Southeast Asian country.
The 6-month internship opened my eyes to a world beyond my fairly comfortable and sheltered life back in Singapore. I was not from a priviledged family but never have I been starved because I don’t have money for food or lived on the streets because I don’t have a home. Nor was I denied a basic education because I have to work for the livelihood of my family.
The effects of poverty was up-close in my face. Everytime I stepped out of the bungalow house (my boss’s home) in my chauffeured Honda CR-V or Accord (my boss’s cars), poverty stared at me. She would show me homeless children or families living in a 2mx2m attap houses or mine victims or corrupt enforcement officers stopping people for bogus offences (I have to pay USD15 to absolve myself from an “offence” for wearing a jungle hat). In Singapore, poverty is not so apparent.
Opp: Wat Moha Montrei on Sihanouk Boulevard - Source: Bernard Aw, 2005
During my stint at the ad agency, I’ve worked on a HIV/AIDS communications campaign called “Klahan” (which means “courage” in Khmer) with Population Services International (PSI) that aims to create awareness to the importance of using contraceptives for protection against AIDS. I was also given a research project that examines the local consumers behaviour where I have to plan and execute with another Singaporean intern within four months.
Through these projects, I’ve learnt about the average Cambodian and looked at some hard figures (HIV-AIDS affliction rates, poverty level, GDP per capital etc) from a macro perspective. Admittedly, my knowledge of them is just scratching the surface. I still hope to – one day – work with an NGO or an international institution to alleviating poverty and addressing social problems in Cambodia.
Yesterday, I chanced upon a facebook advertisement by RiverKids Project, a Cambodia-Singapore NGO that works towards preventing child trafficking by working with families that are identified to be high-risk for trafficking. Their main modus operandus is to put these high-risk kids into the Riverkids schools.
Besides canvassing for donations to fund their operations, they have an online gift shop called “The Riverkids Shop” to supplement the donations. You can purchase a couple of gifts for your friends and at the same time, contribute to the funding for the Riverkids Project.
Perhaps Riverkids project might be my ticket to working in Cambodia. Who knows? For now, I would just buy some plump daff pussy cats as toys for Patches, my girlfriend’s 11 weeks old kitten.
Source: Riverkids Shop
