Despair and hope - June 28, 2007

A few weeks into my volunteer stint at CRDT, I realized it's quite easy for NGO workers in Cambodia to become very cynical and disheartened. Corruption is endemic in Cambodia, from the policemen sitting on the city corner taking "fines" from passing motorists to senior government officials pocketing huge bribes from foreign companies to take land away from Cambodian farmers. At the top of the heap is Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge, whose violent repression of opposition parties and ruthless disregard for democractic freedoms are legendary. The NGO industry in Cambodia can be just as bad - development is a huge business, with some Western consultants making $20,000 a month! And after 15 years of pumping billions of dollars into Cambodia, the country is still rife with devestating poverty, derelict health care and non-existant social services.

Almost every night, I hang out with the expat community over beers and dinner, and they regale me with horrific stories of greed and incompetence. Like the high ranking government official who accepted $59 million from the Japanese government for their supporting vote at the recent International Whaling Commission to restart whale hunting. The most recent disheartening news was that the government has given the nod to a Chinese company to construct a hydroelectric dam on the Mekong River, 30 minutes upstream from one of the river's most important freshwater dolphin habitats. The dam will surely spell the end to this critically endangered animal and endanger countless other species, not to mention the devastating effect on the poor communities living along the river.

Yet...

For every moment of despair, there is always a moment of hope. For me, that hope lies with the Cambodians I've been privileged to work with over the past two months. Time and time again, I've been struck by their dedication, their welcoming and warm nature, their intelligence and their commitment to the people they are trying to help. CRDT was not the brainchild of some well-intentioned foreign aid worker; it came about because four Cambodian university students wanted to put their rural development education to good use. And what amazes me is that they are all still so young... The executive director is 30, the average age of the 19 staff members is just 27! The staff at CRDT give me a glimmer of hope for Cambodia's future. And I really will miss them when I leave CRDT in a few weeks' time.

Here's a photo of me with just some of the CRDT gang. The guy sitting next to me is Mao - his is an amazing story. He was born into a very poor rural family. When he was young, his father left his mother, and his mother was so poor, she had to give him to a wat so that the monks could take care of him. Somehow, he fought past the poverty that encased his life, went to university and became a founding member of CRDT. He is great guy, sharply intelligent, with a wonderful rapport with the villagers he works with - and he's just 28. Mao embodies the kind of leadership that is so desparately needed in Cambodia.