Days Of Giving Back In Kompong Cham, Cambodia

While I was walking around in an impoverished section of Kompong Cham taking pictures once again accompanied by my 7 year old guest photographer from my last visit I took the above snapshot of a little girl who was crying and kept scratching due to being covered with some kind of irritating skin rash on half of her body.

I took the photo and kept on walking, there are countless unsettling reminders of the harsh life in Cambodia while doing this kind of travel photography. But her photo kept me up that night.

But let me begin with the start of that day.
It was seemingly an ordinary morning but I decided to make this particular day special and give back to a few children of Kompong Cham.

I went to the bakery where I have been shopping every day and bought 30 pieces of pastries ($7.50).
As I started to walk I noticed more monks on the street than I have ever seen before. Over one hundred of them were lining up receiving donations.

I was told it was a Cambodian holiday / festival (happening once a year). Seemed like all business owners were on the sidewalks giving out rice, noodles, water, money.

I was surprised and pleased that I have accidentally chosen this day to give more than I usually do as well; the odds being 365 to 1.

After I was done with taking pictures of the monks I headed to my guest photographer’s neighborhood.
Needless to say those 30 pieces of muffins and rolls quickly disappeared. It was nice to look around and seeing what effect spending a few dollars can have.

I handed my camera to my guest photographer, he started shooting and we headed to a nearby Wat (pagoda). On the way I met a Cambodian man who escaped 20 some years ago and now lives in New York.
The next three and a half hours was spent by taking pictures including the little girl’s photo with the rash.

It was time to have lunch so I told the boy to bring four more friends so we can have a proper sit down meal. We went to the market and had fried rice with beef ($6).
Just to end the day on a sweet and nutritious note I also bought a big bag of rambutans ($1.50) for the kids and said good bye.

It was a good day; good food and good photos. I definitely do not give as much as I should or could afford but these random occasions are very satisfying and will lead to more.

As I reviewed the day’s pictures I felt guilty about just walking away from the scratching, crying little girl. But I cannot help everyone, right?
I had a hard time falling asleep that night and while tossing and turning I decided what my next day’s plans would consist of.

One again I stopped by the bakery and picked up another 30 pieces of pastries. I went to the house of the English speaking Cambodian man and asked him if he had some time to help me. He did. I found my guest photographer and asked him to lead me to where the little girl lived.

I gave out the pastries on the little girl’s street to a different group of kids around the corner from yesterday’s location. They disappeared even faster, under 10 seconds (damn, I thought I should have bought 60 pieces).

I asked the Cambodian man to translate to the Mother of the itching girl that I wanted to get her daughter seen by a dermatologist and buy her medicine. First she insisted just to buy an anti-itch cream but the Cambodian man convinced her that a check up is a good idea.
It was Saturday but we were able find a specialist who was working out of her home on weekends. We got the right medicine as well ($7).

I was told by the Cambodian man that people in these neighborhoods moved here from rural Cambodia for some “prosperity” but have absolutely no money to their names (of course zero savings and maybe 25-50 cents a day to live on).
In addition not only that the little girl had a twin sister her Mom just gave birth a couple of weeks ago and she does not have a husband to help her financially (or he left her, not sure).

The little girl weights about 9 kilos / 20 pounds and looks about 1 and a half year old but I was told she is 3 years and 4 months old!
After we were done at the doctor I was thinking: OK the itching is fixed but the kids are still hungry plus the Mom needs food for breastfeeding!

So on the way back from the doctor I bought some fruit juice and 17 kilos / 37 pounds of rice ($10) which I think made the Mom even happier than the medicine.

I tried to write this post in a way that it does not sound sensationalist, exploitive or that I am bragging. I hope I succeeded at it. It felt great to do something small but it was still far from enough.

Just for fun the friend of the family who accompanied the little girl to the dermatologist (the Mom could not walk yet due to her recent childbirth) put her on the scale at the rice shop.
fpracIt reads just under 9 kilos / 20 pounds and that is including the muffin I gave her:

The little girl with her larger and healthier looking twin:

In front of the little girl’s house:

Overview of the riverside neighborhood where my guest photographer lives:

The location of the first pastry giveaway; just to paint a general picture of the living conditions:

The street where the little girl lives:

A curious girl who kept following me is eating a muffin on her porch:

This man was quite excited around me and insisted on having his picture taken:

Photo taken by my guest photographer during the kids’ breakfast:

An always smiling girl on the grounds of the nearby Wat:

Mother and daughter in front of their tiny shack measuring about 15 feet by 15 feet which I cannot call a house.
The Mom showed me that the plastic bag which is visible on the photo inside the house is used as a “blanket” when raining because the roof is leaking.
I kept asking her how much does it cost in dollars or Cambodian Riel to get a new roof cover but either she did not want a handout or was unable to understand me:

The Mom posing for a photo; she had a good laugh about that I stood her under those big custard apples:

Girls playing in the shade:

I found the hairstyle of the boy standing closer interesting:

My guest photographer in the hammock, an observer of the happenings in the foreground:

Having lunch at the market with my guest photographer (in the middle) and his four friends:

Monks receiving donations on the same very poor street where I was photographing the kids:

A little girl is participating in making donations:

Every monk got one spoonful of rice:

The rice was unloaded to this old man who then placed it into a large bin on a cart:

Three girls - three emotions - waiting for the monks to arrive:

The umbrella is for the main monk of the Wat who was leading the collection:

A closer look at the main monk receiving donations: