Field trip to the suburbs

Colleague Chanrath who drove me on his motorcycle

A colleague from work drove me out to the suburbs of Phnom Penh to interview individuals about how microloans have helped improve their lives.

He drove me on the back of his motorcycle, the obvious choice of transportation around here. Before we left, he handed me a helmet and a surgical mask. I have become accustomed by now that many people in these regions wear masks. The reason is that they want to avoid breathing polluted air. Because I was riding on the back of a motorcycle on dusty roads, the mask really protected me from the dust.

Selling fruit: coconuts and some unknown fruits

The first family that we visited didn’t seem extremely poor as microloan beneficiaries are usually portrayed to be. But the family is now on their third progressively larger loan, one of which was to repair their house. Their living conditions are now better than before they had financing. The husband drives a tuk-tuk and has a barbershop at home. The wife sells fruit from her home and operates a coffee shop. They have two children, aged 9 and 5. Their house looks well-kept and the children who had just returned home from school and kindergarten were dressed in neat uniforms. I bought some fruit from the woman. Once again, I have no idea what the fruit is called.

Grandmother and her four grandchildren in her grocery shop

The second family that we visited was much poorer. I interviewed the grandmother who took out and repaid consecutive loans to stock her grocery shop. She sells spices and condiments used for cooking and sweets to school children who stop by on their way home from school. Four children and their parents live in the household but I didn’t understand what exactly their relation to the grandmother was, it was too complicated. The father is a construction worker and the mother helps out in the grocery shop. They have hardly any furniture, the two younger children run around naked (they quickly pulled some clothes on them when I asked for permission to take photos), and the two older ones just returned from school in disheveled uniforms. According to the grandmother, her grocery shop helps to support the family and so the children can go to school instead of being forced to work.