"Same, Same but Different"

Those who have travelled to Cambodia will recognise this well know saying from the area. For me it accurately sums up how I felt about visiting a community development project near Seim Reap. Many of the  principles of community development in Australia and Cambodia are the same, with some notable differences.

The Community Support Association is run by a young Cambodian couple who have both come from very poor backgrounds and now are endeavoring to make a difference for others. Rathany and Bophay both have full time jobs and a 3 month old baby, but spend all their spare time (and money) supporting the villages of the Chansor Commune near Siem Reap. It's still a very young organisation (started in March this year) but growing rapidly. Read their latest newsletter and check out their facebook page.

I went with a Hillston friend, Allison Van Noort, who met Rathany on a previous visit to Cambodia and has been instrumental in encouraging Australian sponsors.

One of the most profound differences is that projects such as this one are very much a matter of life and death and feeding people is quite a focus. Currently 11 families are under sponsorship, which means that they receive some extra food each month, which in turns allows the children to go to school instead of having to work to bring in food. Like Australia education is seen as vital to reducing poverty.

Free English classes were started a few months ago and it originally planned to have about 30 or 40 students but currently 92 are turning up each evening after school. It was amazing to be able to spend time with such eager students and see how much they value education.

Good health is also very much a matter of chance in the village. We visited a family where 7 yr old So Platong caught Dengue fever a few months ago. Allison was able to send the $50 needed for a Dr and medicine and it was special to meet this now active 7 yr old who is very much alive. It is heartbreaking to think a child can die for the lack of $50.

Encouraging and empowering individuals is fundamental to any good development project and in Cambodia we saw examples of people starting duck farms (a self sustaining project where a family is given 6 ducks and then gives back 6 ducklings from the first batch of eggs) and vegetable gardens. Of course all this needs to be supported by farming tools and wells. A visit to a Cricket Farm (crickets are considered a real delicacy) was an amazing experience and we a looking at how small cricket farms might be started in the village.

To visit somewhere like Cambodia as we head towards our usual materialistic and extravagant Australian Christmas is very sobering and a reminder to all of us that while we indulge our greed, children are dying. Please consider not buying gifts for people who will not really miss out if you don't and give the money instead to organisations who help those in poverty and make a real difference in peoples lives. Many organisations have special Christmas gift schemes or give your money to the Community Support Association, but whatever you do, don't just shrug off the very real issue of poverty. As Christians we are called to give sacrificially, generously and joyfully.