20 more futbols to Cambodia!

In the Cambodian village of  Phlong, a toddler clutches a big beautiful One World Futbol.

Hello, friends.
This is gonna be quick. In a few hours I'm boarding a plane for the long flight home. But I'm not leaving Cambodia without proselytizing for the One World futbol. Many of you readers paid for these over the past few years, and, from time to time, you get to see where they are going.

Today's report starts with the photo below. The reclining gentleman  is a tuk tuk (yes, that's what it's called) driver outside the Ratanak Phnom Penh Hotel, one of the places I stayed. On warm dry nights he might sleep in his machine, and that's what he was doing in the wee hours when Jay Hastings and I rose to attend a meeting of 10 Cambodian fishing villages.

 The villages are involved in Jay's loan program to help them build capital. They came together early this past week for a regular progress report.

Lieng Sopha, representing the Cambodian fisheries department, addressed representatives of the 10 villages.

After the general address, Jay (right) met with representatives of each village.

And then there was the photo op, when cash loans were  symbolically passed to the villages.

I provide modest support for this program which my childhood friend created, but my real reason for attending the meeting was to deliver the goods -- 20 virtually indestructible One World Futbols. Although I had a friend bring futbols to Cambodia earlier this year, this is the first time I have brought them.

It is also the first time I've had a speaking role at one of these meetings. And here's the gist what I told the audience on behalf of the One World Futbol donors:

Although you have been told I don't profit from this program, that is not true. This experience enriches me because I feel the joy of watching Jay's program succeed, and of watching you benefit from this program. I am proud to be a part of this and I am proud of what you are doing. The soccer balls I have brought for this occasion are very unusual. They do not go flat, and you do not need a needle and a pump to keep them inflated. They remember their shape and they can be punctured 1,000 times and still bounce.

They will last as long as this program -- and probably longer!  <The villagers laughed.> They were invented by someone who wanted to benefit communities such as yours, and they were paid for by Americans who wanted to support people like you and who feel joy in doing so. And I should point out that these futbols are not just for boys. Girls can play, too! After all, many of these futbols were sponsored by women.

And with that, I singled out a lady in the audience and presented her with the first One World Futbol, to drive the point home. That's me, sitting next to her with two cartons of futbols in the background. Those cartons actually qualified as luggage and flew free with me on my overseas flight to Phnom Penh.

So for those of you who have asked: Yes, you can take them with you overseas, and a carton of 10 is one linear inch shorter than the maximum length allowed for luggage. The boxes held up fine, and if you found 9 additional doners to join you, the cost of $250 for 10 balls would make this pretty affordable. Imagine taking them to an orphanage in India or to a village in Morocco. You would be a hero!

Me, she, and a couple One World Futbols

The obligatory group shot . That's me in the foreground, emulating a reclining Buddah.

The next day we were on our way to visit the same villages, and here's what I watched after we arrived by boat at the village of Phlong:

The One World Flutbols were the only  balls I saw at the village.

The next closest thing to a ball in plain sight were marbles.

A toddler demonstrates the versatility of the One World Futbol.

What is the sound of one child smiling?

Well, I'm heading home in a few hours. There's more to tell about Cambodia, and I still haven't related everything I have to share about Malawi, where I distributed 40 balls in July. Be patient, please. I've got my hands full.

Love,
Robert

The Muslim fishers of Kampong Tralach Kraom and other tales

These are Muslim women? Well, at least most are. Two villages are represented at the meeting.

When I decided to travel to Cambodia this fall I didn't expect to be encountering Muslims. Buddhism is Cambodia's official religion, and approximately 97% of Cambodia's population follows Theravada Buddhism, according to Wikipedia. But there are also Muslims, Christians and observers of  tribal animism. Today's posting touches on four villages, and the small surprises they have presented during my trip. The photo above was taken at a fisheries loan meeting; two villages were represented, one Muslim, the other presumably Buddhist.

Kampong Tralach Kraom

This Muslim community is one of ten being benefited with interest-free loans provided by Sustainable Communities International, and they seem to fit right in with a second, non-Muslim village, also represented at the meeting. Like their neighbors, they are more than fishers; those who have land are farmers as well. Check out the photos that follow.

When the Tonle Sap River draws down the Tonle Sap Lake, the rich soil left behind grows rice.

On a neighboring parcel of land, a farmer smooths the silted land for the next planting.

It's not hard to see how the frequently flooded landscape can have multiple uses

Homes adapted to flood and dry times remain close to the areas of production.

Literally a stone's throw from the Tonle Sap, the fisher-farmers meet to discuss the loan program.

Lieng Sopha, representing the department of fisheries, listens to comments from the village chief.

Colorful garments testify that there is no single stereotype defining dress for Muslim women.

Remembering my little friends at Kampong Tralach Leu

My little friends from 2014. Where are they now?

Four years have past; four summers, with the length

Of four long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling . . . With a soft inland murmur.

Well, OK, I'm not Wordsworth, and these are not "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey." But I did kinda wish that the kids hadn't been in school when I stopped by Kampong Tralalch Leu this week.

Let me explain the photo above.While a community fisheries meeting was going on back in March of 2014, I was sitting in the back of a pickup, composing a blog. A couple of those tykes climbed up to get a peek. I showed them some photos I had taken, and the next thing I knew they were bringing me flowers. So I stuck a couple in my sweat band and they responded by denuding every bush in the neighborhood to outfit me. My friend, Jay, took the photo.

I should have recognize the building in the photo below, but it has been four years, so Jay had to tell me we had reached  this memorable spot.   I pulled out my laptop, which had the photo above on its desktop, and showed it to a couple ladies. They recognized some of the kids, but they were in school and not available. Dang! But there were other things to discover.

This unique building was a reminder of my last visit here.

 For example, the poster at the left, produced by the Czech Republic and apparently promoting inoculations, was still there. I had forgotten all about it, but I brought along my photos from 2014, and there it was! Is it still relevant? Who knows--I don't read Khmer.

Now check out the two photos immediately to the right. Four years ago a building was being constructed, and now it's completed. The palm tree is gone, and the electrical cables are operational. Villagers are accumulating wealth.

And I'm seeing things I didn't notice before. (I presume they were there.) The haystack, for example, in the photo below, and the tall green grasses nearby. Those grasses are rice. I remember wondering why fishing villages were associated with farming, but when you live in land that floods every year, fishing and farming go together well. So well that Cambodia is right behind China and the United States for metric tons of rice exported -- 1.25 million. It produces one third what the U.S. does, and one tenth of Indian's volume by weight.

The rice plants are almost ready to flower; two crops a year are grown.

Some things haven't changed, such as the use of these white cattle to pull carts:

This pair of carts is part of a much longer convoy.

And I could have shot the photo below four years ago; the house hasn't changed.

But check out the home below, the one with the New York Yankees baseball cap hanging on a post in the front yard. While life is challenging, prosperity is possible in Cambodia.

I just wish I had been able to track down these little rug rats, below, while I was in in the neighborhood. It would have been fun to show them the photo and see whether they remembered me.

What was with the "V" sign, anyway?

Phlong

Phlong was the first fishing village I visited by boat. The picture below may look rather ordinary, but take a second look. Do you see the solar array sticking out of the top of the floating cabin?

The sun does more than grow crops in Phlong. Note the solar array.

In the photo below, the fisheries meeting was held "in the shade of a kind old tree," as a lazy (Tonle Sap) river  slowly drained its lake.

Meanwhile, children used the shade of a school to keep cool while they recreated.

An aging wooden took rested in a nearby cove.

The prosperity of Kampong Prasat

While the loan program is important for helping fishing communities develop capital, some Cambodians are already reaping benefits of development. Representatives of the Peam Popech fishing village gathered at Kampong Prasat for the program evaluation meeting. Down the road through Kampong Prasat, ornate structures are rising side-by-side with more modest dwellings, and the following photos illustrate the promise of emerging prosperity for at least part of the Cambodian population.

The road into Kampong Prasat is bustling with activity.

Within a mile of the main market area, an ornate concrete pagoda is arising.

Christians represent less than 1 percent of the population, but  Presbyterians are undeterred.

Buildings that appear to be flimsy are flanked by more weather worthy stock.

Across the street from the Tonle Sap, rows of more affluent buildings are lining up.

This building looks a little rustic, perhaps dilapidated, but it's counting on growing traffic.

Clearly, the owner of this residence is optimistic about the future.

Well, that's enough about villages. In my next post I intend to tell you about One World Futbols. I was able to take 40 of them to Cambodia, so it's time for a report to the donors. Stay tuned!

Love,
Robert

Opposite the Pagoda, a lone tree marks a ferry landing.

Navigating Waterworld

Lieng Sopha maintains a wary eye for branches just itching to whack passers-by.

I don't know how many of you readers out there have seen that vintage classic film, African Queen, but images of the 1951 movie came to mind as our vessel fought its way through a watery thicket under the hot Cambodian sun. I had memories of Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn up to their chests in swamp water, dragging their boat through the marshes of an encroaching jungle. Only a tropical deluge raised the river enough for the African Queen to escape the clutches of the strangling vegetation. We got off easier.

Jay Hastings stands in the tippy "took" with its crew.

Our group was riding in the fanciest "took" I've ever used to travel the Tonle Sap river/lake system. The last time I was on this river -- four years ago -- I had the unforgettable experience of falling off a more austere took at a place I remember as Half Moon beach. The name is based on the fact that I had to moon potential onlookers to remove from my trousers all the rich river mud I managed to scoop up with my hindquarters  when my bottom hit the river's bottom. Yes, I proudly admit it -- I soiled my pants in that splash. But it was good soil, and helps to explain why Cambodia produces so much rice (1.25 million metric tons exported in 2017-18, according to www.statista.com). It exports 1/10 India's volume and is just behind China and the U.S. in output.

But I digress.

The took's canopy lets Jay ride in the shade.

The row of foliage on the left defines a lane indicating the river's channel through the lake.

For half the year, the Tonle Sap River drains the Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, into the Mekong River. But when the monsoons come, the Mekong swells and pours its water and all the nutrients with it back into the lake, making it an enormously rich protein resource for Cambodia. The Tonle Sap Lake rises from one meter deep to 9 meters deep and swells in volume to 50 times its smallest size. The photos you see in this post reveal a lake-river system draining from its maximum size.

A bamboo structure peaks up from the gradually receding Tonle Sap.

The stilts supporting this building hint at the decline in the river level.

Finding your way on this constantly changing system can be a challenge. We were heading for the village of Anlong Oak, and the boat driver tried a channel which gradually closed in on us. The motor was shut off to avoid tangling with roots and discarded fishing nets, and we gained a gondolier. However, this isn't Venice, so he didn't sing.

I had doubts we would make it past the encroaching banks and brush, but finally we were in open water again, and heading toward the location of our first meeting for the day -- a floating, ramshackle building with a Cambodian flag fluttering in a gentle breeze.

Our destination -- a floating fishery enforcement office

As the floorboards below indicate, this meeting room was definitely not the Ritz-Carleton, but it served its purpose -- a meeting location to discus Jay's loan program for one of the 10 Cambodian fishing villages it serves.

Jay Hastings is a childhood friend who spent his career working for the Japan Fisheries Association. He is now semi-retired and a principal in Sustainable Communities International, a non-governmental organization. Twice a year he travels to Cambodia to work with Cambodia's department of fisheries to manage an interest-free loan program benefiting the 10 villages. They re-loan the funds to their members for interest at conditions more favorable than offered by banks, and use the interest to develop community-owned capital.  Jay's program is creating capital resources for these villages in the hope that these villages will eventually be able to manage their fisheries without outside help.

Space is limited, but Jay finds a perch to take notes.

Sopha discusses the program with Anlong Oak Village representatives,

A toddler stops nursing long enough to size up the photographer.

On this day, most of the village representatives at the meeting are women.

After the Anlong Oak meeting, we headed for a very special village -- special to me, anyway. It is Kangleng Phe. I have a small amount of skin in this game. Some people entertain themselves by purchasing season tickets to the opera or the Seattle Mariners. I entertain myself by making donations to Jay's organization to fund community loans. Kangleng Phe is my community. I'm told that, at least sometimes, when the community meets to discuss their loan business, my photo is on display.

Somehow the boat captain recognized this as the current landing for Kangleng Phe.

This 2014 photo shows Kangleng Phe's chief (left) and me (tall guy on the right).

The head of Kangleng Phe Village is Chhim Chhoeun (or) Chhoem Chhoeun  (or) Chhim Chhoeurn. It's hard to know just how to spell his name, because Cambodia sounds don't match up well with the Roman alphabet. The certificate below, which was hanging in the main room of his home, was one of several, and together they had three different spellings for his name.

Let's just call him "Chhim" (the double-h makes the "ch" sound more emphatic). In 2014, at age 63, he struck me as a quiet, thoughtful man who was very grateful for the pittance I contributed for  the loan to his community.  It is less than 0.4% of my annual income, but for them it is more than a  windfall, and the gratitude is palpable. I was disappointed to learn that I would not be shaking his hand this day.

One of several training certificates displayed in Chimm's home.

Climbing the steps to Chhim's home takes you past a small golden shrine.

Homes are on stilts not only for flooding, but also for storage and to provide a cool place to sit.

Chhim's family provided a meal for Jay and fisheries officials prior to the community meeting.

I really wanted to see Chhim. There's something about having a friend halfway around the world that made this trip special. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen. At this writing, he is in a recovery center. Within the past two weeks he was surprised by a water snake and bitten.  The snake escaped, so it's not clear which species made the strike, but Chhim's leg became quite swollen. The swelling is down now, but he still cannot walk. We took up a small offering to help. There is no health insurance, and what we would consider a small expense in the United States can be exorbitant in Cambodia.

Following the Kangleng Phe loan meeting, there was an evaluation meeting involving two other communities before day's end and the boat ride back to Kampong Chhnang City, the capital of Kampong Chhnang Province. We would have one more day "in the field," before returning to Phnom Penh.

The sun was lower in the sky, so the ride back was much cooler.

I'm coming home next week, but before then there are some more things to share about this trip -- distribution of One World Futbols, a visit to a Muslim Village, and -- of course -- Angkor Wat, one of the great religious sites of the World. And I haven't even finished telling you about my previous trip to Malawi! There's more to share. Hope you've enjoyed this so far.

Love,
Robert

Early evening on the swollenTonle Sap