The Children

I took a picture of this young girl at the school in Toul Srae. She kept looking into this classroom with a very inquisitive face. I don't know if she had a sibling in the class, but she seemed very curious about what was going on inside. She wouldn't smile no matter how many times I would smile at her. I kept wondering why she wasn't in school and what her home life must be like.

This boy was not shy at all. When I asked if I could take a picture of him he sat down and gave me a big smile. Even though this is a public school, all the kids must wear a uniform. A majority of Cambodians in rural areas don't have access to water or electricity. I'm not sure how they can keep a white shirt looking white. 

Cambodia has one of the highest infant mortality rates in Southeast Asia. In 2012, it was estimated that 55 out of 1,000 did not survive their first year of life. A lot of progress has been made in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge, especially through foreign aid but the country is still just getting on it's feet again. 

Many communities do not have access to toilets. This is becoming a big issue especially for young girls. An increasing number of girls are not attending school because there is no toilet on campus. These two smilies happen to be sitting inside a concrete cylinder that will be used to finish the construction of a new toilet for the children.

Although they look happy to pose for a picture, I feel a heavy burden for these children and countless others in Cambodia. These kids are street vendors. Instead of enjoying life as a normal kid, they are put to work by their families in order to provide income. And they are really good at what they do. Professional sellers. They learn a decent amount of English so they can talk with foreigners. And they know just the right words to convince you to buy something. So many Cambodian children are put into this role. It was difficult to turn them away. 

This might be one of my favorite pictures. This is 8-year old Biyaya (which can be translated as "Blessing" in Tagalog). She's a pastor's kid. We met at a small church in a rural area outside of Siem Reap. Her father is Cambodian and her mother is Filipino. I loved meeting this family. They are an inspiration to me. Giving their lives for a greater cause. For some reason we just connected from the start. I got to see her on a few different occasions throughout the week. This was at a buffet dinner. She came at the end of our meal with her dad to pick up some Cambodian bibles our team had purchased for their church. I asked her if she wanted to come with me to get some dessert even though she wasn't really supposed to be eating. She said, "How about some fried rice?". So that's what we got.