via CAAI News Media
Published: February 18, 2010
Caritas is a Latin word for love, and love was clearly evident in the work that Caritas Australia is doing to support some of the poorest of the poor in Cambodia.
Our group flew into Phnom Penh on a rainy afternoon last November. The bustling capital city of about 1.3 million people, despite pockets of obvious affluence, is clearly "developing world".
Rubbish and powerlines are strewn between the shacks and sheds that pass for houses and shopfronts. Motor scooters are everywhere and many have three, four or even five people crammed onto them.
On the day we arrived, people were huddled together beside the road under whatever shelter they could find to wait out the storm.
A police officer asked our driver for money in order to be allowed to pass through an area of the city that was closed off due to the annual water festival, but the driver declined, refusing to be part of the corruption.
Despite the obvious challenges, people seemed to be happily going about their business. Happy, peaceful and dignified were qualities we found consistently among the people we met during our 10 days in this intriguing nation.
An estimated 36 per cent of Cambodia's 14.2 million people live below the poverty line and about 85 per cent of these live in rural areas. The average daily income of Cambodians is less than $1.20 per day.
Among other health issues, about 170,000 Cambodians live with HIV/AIDS and more than 60,000 children are orphaned by the disease.
Caritas Australia, known in Cambodia as Australian Catholic Relief (ACR), has been working there since 1979 when the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime collapsed.
It now provides assistance to 560 Cambodian families with 2746 members in 73 villages and one urban slum area. Support is also provided to 114 people living with HIV/AIDS and 162 orphaned and vulnerable children.
FULL STORY Experiencing life in Cambodia (The Catholic Leader)
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