Cambodia the Gift that Keeps on Giving

Article by: George Dunford, October 2005

At some point, every traveller gets the guilts when they're approached by a beggar. Often it's the human face of a much larger poverty that has you shamefacedly digging in your pockets. As one of Asia's poorest economies, Cambodia's social problems are more endemic than anything that can be fixed with a street snack or a few spare US dollars.

Lonely Planet author and Phnom Penh resident Nick Ray has witnessed many of these problems firsthand. Nick believes travellers can create long-term change by thinking about where they eat, or buy gifts for the folks at home. As Nick sees it 'Our readers are intelligent and have got money to spend'.

One spot Nick pulls out for special attention is Friends - a cafe staffed by ex-street kids who are being trained for careers in hospitality. Pull up a seat at Friends and you can instantly see where your dollars are going: a school out the back full of healthy kids running everywhere and causing mischief.

Pull up a seat in Friends cafe and you can instantly see where your dollars are going

The brightly coloured decor is a rainbow in a blender and cheerful staff talk you through the specials as well as being well-versed in hygiene and tourist-friendly banter. Sony, a Khmer server, has almost completed his course. He tells us, as he brings over a towering iced coffee, that he's hoping to get placed in one of the city's big hotels.

Next door to the cafe is the Friends and Stuff shop, which sells handicrafts and clothing made in the school's workshops. They've started branching out into the beauty industry. 'All the training we've got is based on market research,' Justin Butler, a British volunteer at Friends explains. 'If there is a need and we can find employment for people, we do it. This is not to keep them busy, it's to reintegrate them.'

For Phnom Penh's community of more than 20,000 street children, Friends is an opportunity to work or to be reunited with their families. Its outreach team invites street kids to come to the school, and provides vocational training that leads to job placement. As Justin says 'The children that study in this restaurant also work here and get paid a more than reasonable wage for doing so'.

Reintegrating into everyday life in Cambodia can be a difficult. Victims of landmines, widows of war and, more recently, those with HIV or tuberculosis find it difficult to make a living. Like Friends, other shops sell products made by various disadvantaged groups in Cambodia. 'A number of these organisations are getting much more savvy about the tourist market,' Nick reckons. 'The designs are getting more professional, more international'.

The charismatic Dr Beat 'Beatocello' Richner - a paediatrician and musician - plays a regular gig that draws crowds to a hospital that offers Cambodia's children free medical treatment. Between Bach and his own compositions the charismatic doctor talks about the tuberculosis, dengue fever and the health crisis in Cambodia. 'The concerts are like a window for the Western world,' Beat says. 'That’s why it’s important to have these people here as guests.' In a crowd of fifty odd, only two travellers sneak out before the conclusion when donations are asked for.

The young guests I ask for blood, the old guests I ask for money

'The young guests I ask for blood, the old guests I ask for money. The ones in between I ask for both,' Beat chuckles. Both forms of donation keep the Kantha Bopha hospitals (including two more in Phnom Penh) running, with 80% of its funding coming from private individuals, and over 800 blood donations from travellers per month.

Much like the school at Friends, blood donations are a direct way of supporting Cambodia's street children who are particularly prone to HIV and tuberculosis. Donations of healthy blood help them long after you've jumped on the plane home. As Nick says 'Tourism has the power to create and fund these positive projects'.

Friends

215 Ph 13, Phnom Penh; www.streetfriends.org

The original and the best with some of the friendliest staff in Cambodia. Grab a serve of grilled fish with salsa verde before popping next door to the Friends and Stuff store to snap up a snazzy silk skirt or lamp made in the school just behind the shopfront. Treat yourself to a manicure.

Boddhi Tree

50 Ph 113, Phnom Penh; www.boddhitree.com

Opposite the harrowing Tuol Sleng Museum, this cafe will feed you up like the Buddha with a roasted aubergine, goats cheese and mango chutney sandwich. They also offer guesthouse-style suites that allow you to stay off the beaten track, and can include cookery courses and market tours.

NCDP Handicrafts

3 Norodom Blvd, Phnom Penh

This unexceptional shopfront hides some exquisite crafts with an eye for sophisticated international markets. Clutch purses, silk scarves and cards are just some of the treasures all made by victims of Cambodia's landmines.

Nyemo

33 Ph 310 & Shop 10, Psar Tuol Tom Pong, Phnom Penh; www.nyemo.com

With a range of gifts that includes silkwear, locally grown spices and famous Kampot pepper, these two stores are tourist favourites with profits helping injured women return to work.

Lyda’s Shop

Ph 1, Battambang

This shop stocks gifts and silk goods from several NGOs including the Blind Society of Myanmar and the local women's collective, Rachana. There's bike hire, plus they've recently started a local guide service that tailors tours around Cambodia's second largest city - including temples or the rice fields around Battambang.

Beatocello

Kanda Bopha Hospital, www.beatocello.com

The hottest ticket in Siem Reap and it's free. Show up at 19:15 to hear the remarkable Beatocello play cello and deliver his message about health in Cambodia. You'll come back the next day to give blood.