Mythical monster guarding more than the temple

A girl sleeping under the watchful eyes of a mythical monster guarding the temple.

Chong Kneas - Cambodia

Chong Kneas is a small village on the Tonle Sap Lake and is an important point of passage with boat connections to Phnom Penh and Battanbang. On a piece of recently reclamed land, a market was established, geared mainly to the inhabitants of the lake returning home.

Prek Toal - Cambodia (15)

Paddling at the first morning lights.

Prek Toal - Cambodia (13)

A girl on one of the decorated boats.

Prek Toal - Cambodia (12)

We were greeted by an impromptu gymnastic performance!

TIP: When traveling to such destination, bring along bags of colourful balloons. They are lightweight, do not take any space and are great ice breakers with the kids (and their parents). The place is then filled with laughter and it is really heart warming to see all the children interacting and enjoying themselves. On the other hand and considering the state of local oral hygiene, I would not advise offering sweets.

Prek Toal - Cambodia (11)

While the parents are occupied at the temple, the children play hide and seek on the raft that is used for recess by the primary school.

Prek Toal - Cambodia (6)

Her face brightened when her little (well fed!) brother came back home on her mum's boat. It was with a lot of pride that she presented him to us.

Prek Toal - Cambodia (5)

Prek Toal - Cambodia (4)

Up the Sangkae River, we stopped at a floating shop house and this girl became my unpremeditated model for a few photos! Here is the first shot when she came paddling back home.

Prek Toal - Cambodia (3)

End of day at the secondary school. Most kids return home by paddle boats. Some, living too far, are having their canoes pulled in lines by small motorboats.

Prek Toal - Cambodia (2)

There are two schools in the village of Prek Toal, both are floating buildings. Here is a group of school girls paddling to their lessons.

Beatocello - A thought before the glitters of Christmas

When visiting Siem Reap, I strongly recommend attending the concert of Beatocello at the Jayavarman VII Children’s hospital. Concerts are held every Saturday evening by Dr Beat Richner in support of the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospitals. Entrance is free but donations are welcome. Dr Beat Richner in turn plays cello and describes the work of the children hospitals in the country, with a short film (in French with English subtitles) to illustrate their activities.

Dr Beat Richner was first sent to Cambodia in 1974 by the Red Cross to work at the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital in Phnom Penh. His mission was curtailed as the Khmer Rouge invaded the country. In 1991, he was requested by the new government to rebuild and manage the hospital, which had been destroyed during the civil war. He accepted the job and since, it has been a success story. There are now 4 Kantha Bopha hospitals in Cambodia where all children till 18 year of age are treated free of charge as well as one maternity ward for HIV positive mothers. From 1993 until 2008 the Kantha Bopha hospitals treated 8,2 mio outpatients, 650'000 inpatients and did 90'000 chirurgical operations. It is estimated that 550'000 children would not have survived without those hospitals. In the process, 2’600 Cambodian have been trained as doctors and nurses. All staff from cleaner to doctor receive a decent salary for the country to avoid the corruption that is rampant in the government hospitals (additional under the table payments are requested by doctors to secure treatment as base salaries are mediocre - in a country where the average population is just too poor to afford any treatments, the result is that farmers used to sell all their assets, being ox, land, to have their children treated, to return to total absolute poverty with no mean of subsistence).

The yearly operational costs of the Kantha Bopha hospitals amount to USD 24mio. Currently, USD 2mio per annum are contributed by the Cambodian government, USD 2.5 mio by the Swiss government and the balance by private donations.

I salute the work of Dr Richner, a great man.

For more information on Kantha Bopha, click on the following link: http://www.beat-richner.ch/Assets/richner_present.html

Children playing around a pagoda - Cambodia

Construction of a pagoda - Cambodia

The towel is being fixed by a young monk as a protection from the sun while working on the roof.

Construction of a pagoda - Cambodia

Young monks contribute to the building of a new pagoda in a country village. These pagodas may take years to be built as construction is funded by the villagers and advance as and when funds are available.

Sleeping in hammock - Cambodia

Babies sleep in hammocks and enjoy it!

Cycling in Cambodia

Cycling is the most common mean of transport for the children in Cambodian villages.

The family oxes - Cambodia

We often see young boys taking care of the family's oxes, moving them from pasture to pasture.

Children in front of their house - Cambodia

The elder sister is taking care of the younger kids while the parents are out in the fields.