Another week in Cambodia

Whilst this is my fourth week working in Phnom Penh, it has been a week with a significant difference in that Sue has now joined me here and is also working for the Cambodian Children’s Fund. However, I am housed at what is formally known as CCFED – the Executive Director’s office – but colloquially know as Scott’s House because it is where Scott Neeson also lives. Sue, by contrast is moving from CCF school to school in Steung Meanchey working alongside some of the Cambodian teachers. So while I am working at a more strategic and organisational level, Sue is on the ground working directly with the kids. The dinner conversations this week have been filled with all manner of CCF reflections!

My week has been spent working in a range of tasks, from addressing organisational development issues with the Global Human Resources Manager, to assisting in scoping a leadership program for those transitioning to further study, to being involved in the redesign of learning spaces. I have also had conversations concerning the restructure of some of the international governance functions of CCF. It is very varied!

During my time in Cambodia, I have frequently reflected on my experiences in the mid-1990’s when I was involved in the design and implementation of a major educational initiative in Thailand. The project aimed to provide a world-class education in English for future Thai leaders, but teaching the Thai Ministry of Education curriculum in a technology-rich learning environment. It was supported at the highest level by members of the Thai royal family; the Chair of the Board of Governors was the former Prime Minister, Prem Tinsulanonda.

At the time, and then on my return to Australia, I wrote a number of articles on the issues that arise in trying to graft culturally-bound, Western approaches to education on other cultures, in this case a Buddhist-heritage country with a unique social history. Aside from exploring the implicit assumptions that drive the belief that Western models of learning are better, I also looked at the unintended outcomes that emerge from the best intentions in achieving educational reform.

I have revisited this work as a consequence of my recent experiences, for there are distinct parallels, despite the different cultures, and the fact that I am now engaged with some of the most impoverished in the region, rather than with the elite. I have reflected in previous posts on the Cambodian government and its deep dysfunction, corruption and self-interest. For Cambodian society to effectively develop, there needs to be a fundamental shift. Yet, few are prepared to challenge the status quo; the consequences are stark, immediate and can be fatal. Even well-educated Khmers, out-spoken in private, are reticent to speak in public about their views, in case they are over-heard and subsequently punished.

In this context, CCF’s aspirational goal is to develop the impoverished students from the slums of Steung Meanchey into tomorrow’s transformational leaders. Hence, the challenge in the leadership program is to enable young people in such a way that they can seek to make a consistent and impactful difference in Cambodian society, but without the unintended consequences that an unfiltered model of Western leadership might provide. In the current political climate, they simply cannot be as outspoken, nor as politically active, as they might be in the West. I suggest that there will be ongoing discussions around these tensions – how to effect positive and transformational change without being deemed subversive. In Australia, we are fortunate that, in the relatively libertarian society in which we live, these are conversations that we do not need to have.

On a more practical level, living in Phnom Penh continues also to have its challenges. There is no public transport system and there are very few taxis. Most local residents travel by motorcycles – motos. However, there are plenty of tuk-tuks to get around in, and many moto riders are for hire for short journeys – I am yet to do this! Each country in SE Asia seems to have its own unique design of tuk-tuk. Cambodia’s, I think, are particularly classy.

Phnom Penh tuk-tuks

I am fortunate enough to have a regular tuk-tuk driver who picks me up each morning to take me to work. He is there at the end of the day as well. He and I have difficulty communicating any change to arrangements however: his English is marginally better than my Khmer, and this has led to some confusion!

I have put together a short video of my morning tuk-tuk journey into work which can be accessed through the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7uwu5afp2cnq042/2013-02-23%2015.44.21.mov. I think that it captures that traffic challenges well and illustrates why I have opted not to commute by bike as I had originally planned!

My early morning bike rides have also been significantly curtailed – even at 6.00am, at around dawn, traffic is still heavy and subject to the same absence of road rules, and it is hot and humid, and the air is dusty and fume-filled. I recorded one early morning ride, and an edited version can be found at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5hmt70iwidfuivh/Video%2017-02-13%203%2044%2026%20PM.mov. It is a far cry from the beauty of the riding the relatively empty roads and spectacular landscapes of northern Laos and Vietnam only a few weeks ago. And, Beach Rd seems a distant cycling paradise! I think that I will return to Melbourne with reduced bike fitness, but an increased obsession for cycling.

On Friday night, we went to the monthly “dance party” at CCF’s Community Centre in Steung Meanchey. Hundreds of children, CCF students and others, gather to play games, see traditional Cambodian dance, collect food vouchers and then food, and finally dance to a range of music – well Gangnam style. What is particularly moving are the way in which the kids, especially the younger ones, gather around we few foreigners and try to establish some sort of contact. The very young ones want to be picked up; the slightly older ones just want to hang on. Almost all have some English, and they all want to find out your name, where you are from, and how old you are.

Here are a few images from the night:

The kids of Steung Meanchey, Gangnam Style!

Sue and a new friend from Steung Meanchey

Me and a new friend

This weekend is a (yet another) long weekend in Cambodia. Monday is a significant day in the Buddhist calendar: Meak Bochea Day, which celebrates the Buddha’s last sermon. Sue and I have travelled down to Kep, about three hours’ drive from Phnom Penh on Cambodia’s south coast. It is very different: quiet and tranquil. A fitting antidote to the pace and emotional intensity of Phnom Penh.

Restaurant lights, Kep

Fisherman at dusk, Kep

Jetty, Knai Bang Chatt, Kep