Month: March 2009

Thought for the Day #2

“Education‘s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one…” Malcolm Forbes        

Cambodia: Rice politics

Rice is more than a staple of the Cambodian diet. It also implicates land rights, trade and international relations. A post on The Mirror reveals the frustration of Cambodians, including Cheam Yeap, a Cambodian People’s Party official, over land leases…

Global downturn threatens Cambodian garment success

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Mon Moeun, one of thousands of Cambodians pulled out of poverty by a job in the garment trade since foreign investors arrived in the 1990s, may be back rearing pigs soon after a collapse in demand…

Teachers say PM’s claims dubious

At an education summit Wednesday, Hun Sen said he did not have the budget to raise the salaries of teachers; teacher associations say the money could be found if the PM wanted to Photo by: SOVANN PHILONG Students in a…

Cambodia Showing Signs of ‘Oil Curse’

Geoffrey Cain | 19 Mar 2009 World Politics Review Up to $1.7 billion a year in oil money is Cambodia Showing Signs of ‘Oil Curse’ set to flow into impoverished Cambodia, where 35 percent of the population lives under $1…

Curing sick children is a complex business in Cambodia

The Asia File by Ben Bland At the end of last year, I spent some time shadowing Beat Richner, the controversial Swiss doctor who has transformed children’s healthcare in Cambodia while managing to alienate almost the entire NGO/international health community.…

UN provides over $6 mln to help Cambodia develop education

PHNOM PENH, March 12 (Xinhua) — The United Nations has granted 6,252,871 U.S. dollars for Cambodia to develop its education sector in 2009, said official news agency the Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP) on Thursday.     UN channeled the grant through its…

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

To all Friends of Khvien around the world:   In recent months, we (Margaret, Martin and Robbie) have become increasingly concerned at the financial plight of the seven teachers at Khvien Primary School.  They get $50 USD / month which…

Low garment sales, poor tourism to hit Cambodia-IMF

PHNOM PENH, March 6 (Reuters) – A slowdown in garment exports and a drop in the number of tourists could cause Cambodia’s economy to shrink 0.5 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday.   That is a…

Cambodia: Children miss out on school because of corruption

From the UNHCR website: PHNOM PENH, 5 December 2008 (IRIN) – When Sok Sopheap could not pay his daily bribe, his secondary school teacher refused to let him attend class.   The teacher demanded he stand for an hour by…