Homes of the City

Once we are on the Mekong River and living on the boat, our surroundings will be quite different than here in Phnom Penh. Life on the river will involve simple villagers and poor fisherman. Here in the city, there are some pretty impressive buildings. Homes of NGO personnel, foreign businessmen, and other government officials are big and beautiful. The first two pictures above are of some of these homes and they are rather simple. It is hard to see these homes because, as you can see, they are behind large walls. All of these homes are surrounded by high walls with razor wire on top. Day guards and night guards are hired by all households. The need for guards is mainly to keep out thieves. The locals know that wealthy foreigners live in these homes.

The next level of housing is more difficult to determine. I know the next two pictures look like something out of our slums, but I think a middle-class Khmer would live in something like these. They are made of cement and probably have running water. I certainly haven’t consulted the Ministry of Housing but just by observing the levels of living accommodations, I think this would be considered decent housing. Every morning on the way to school, I watch the street families wake up. They sleep in their metal carts that are used during the day to pick up recyclables. Men and boys sleep on their motos and on their cyclos, I assume to keep them from getting stolen and/or they have no where else to sleep. Then there are still the wooden shacks that would be considered poverty level. Still most families in the city are considered better off than the families that live in the villages.

In the paper today, statistics were given that 38% of the families in Cambodia live on less than $1.00 per day. That would be 17 cents per person per day.
One sad statistic noted today said 60% of the children do not continue past the 9th grade.
Even with the lack of material possessions, smiles are on faces and there is a determination to work hard. May we never forget that people are more important than things.