ALITTLEBITOF

CAMBODIA

INTRODUCTION TO
CHONG KNEAS
FLOATING VILLAGE

THE INSIDE LIVES OF RURAL CAMBODIA

MEET THE BUCHA FAMILY

POVERTY ISSUE
The unseen side beyond the guidebook

SiemReapisa
provinceinnorthwestern
Cambodia.Thecityitselfhas
alonghistory,asitsname
meansthedefeatofSiam,
duetoanincidentina
centuriesoldconflict
betweentheSiameseand
theKhmerkingdoms.
However,itisnowthe
famoustownwithplentyof
amazinglandscapes,
architectures,and
archaeologicalsites.There
aretemplesofAngkorwhich
aretheUNESCOWorld
HeritageSites,WarMuseum
theCulturalVillage,andthe
FloatingVillages.Even
though,SiemReapisa
populartouristdestination,
morethan2milliontourists
aredrawneveryyeartovisit
theAngkor,therearepartsof
thecitybeyondthefamous
siteswherepeoplearestill
sufferwithpoverty.

Apartfromthefact
thatSiemReaptownisgrowing
andprospering,thesituationis
stillhardonthecountryside.Most
peopleearntheirincomesfrom
thecultivationofriceandother
agriculturalproductssuchas
potatoes,vegetablesandfruits.
Manyofthesepeopledon'teven
earn$2adaywhichmeansthat
theylivebelowtheCambodia's
povertylineandneedtostruggle
everydaytoprovideenough
moneyfortheirfamilies.Though,
eventhetownstillhassomerisk
togetbacktopovertyagain.

45%

Poverty rate of Siem Reap

outofthepopulationofCambodia

Despite impressive
reduction in poverty, these
hard won gains are fragile.
Many people who have
escaped poverty are still at
high risk of falling back into
poverty,
Neak Samsen
Poverty Analyst of the World Bank
in Cambodia and the co-author of
the Poverty Assessment Report

Accordingtostatisticsof
theWorldBank,thepovertyratein
thewholeofCambodiaisestimated
at38%.Thesestatisticsalsomake
clearthatSiemReapProvinceis
consideredasoneofthe3poorest
provincesofthecountrywitha
povertyrateof45%oralmosthalf
ofthepopulation.

Therearefloating
villagesnearthetown,theclosest
oneiscalledtheChongKneas
FloatingVillage.Theentirevillage,
consistofhouses,schools,and
churches,moveswiththeflowsof
thelake.Ononehand,itisaplace
intheguidebookindicatedasa
peacefulvillageswithagreatview
ontheTonleSapLake.However,
ontheotherhand,thevillagersare
livinginabigpoverty,theyare
strugglingfindingcleanwaterand
cleanair.Thewaterisfilthyand
dirtythatyouwouldgetsickifyou
swiminit.Thevillageiscoveredin
dust,someofthelocalsandthe
visitorshavetowearcheapmasks
fromthenearpharmacystore.

"Reducing poverty further and helping families who

have just escaped poverty to stay out of poverty is
possible."
Ulrich Zachau
World Bank Country Director Manager for Cambodia and Southeast Asia.

THE INSIDE LIVES OF RURAL CAMBODIA

MEET
THE BUCHA FAMILY

Chakra, Chantrea, and 3 of their children,

Davuth, Atith,and Chavy.

Wehadachanceto
interviewoneofthefamilies
livinginaruralareainthe
ChongKneasFloating
Village,TheBuchafamily.
Thefamilyconsistsofsix
members,Chakra,Chantrea,
theirthreesons,Bona,
Davuth,Atith,andtheir
daughter,Chavy.Weasked
themabouttheirlifeinSiem
Reapandhowtheymanage
theirliving.

Interviewer:Howlonghaveyouguysbeenlivinglikethis?
Chakra:Actually,wewerentlikethisbefore.Wehadaprettynormallife
andwewerentreallysuffering,butourbusinesscollapsedandeverything
wentdownhill.ItwasterribleandIfeltsosorryformywifeandkids.
However,ithasbeensixmonthssincethecollapse,andweseemtobe
doingfinenow.Itwasveryhardatfirstbutthankstoeveryoneinthefamily,
wemanagedtosurvive.

Interviewer:Howwasitatfirst?
Chakra:Weweresufferingduring
thefirstmonth.Itwasvery,very
hard,andthekidshadareallyhard
timeadjustingtoit.Wehadtolivein
asheltermadefromnatural
materials.Chavy,Bona,andDavuth
hadtostopgoingtoschool.We
onlyhadenoughmoneyforAtith.
Someofushadtodrinkdirtywater,
andallweatewasrice.Mywifeand
Ihadtoworkeveryday,andthekids
hadtowork5daysaweek.
Althoughitwasadifficultdecision
tomake,wedecidedtosendBona
toworkabroadatSingapore.
Duringhishighschoolyears,he
hadsavedmoneyforstudying
abroad,sowhenwetalkedabout
this,hewasmorethanwillingtogo.
ButChantreaandIdidntplantolet
himgothissoon,andwewanted
himtogotostudy,nottowork.

Bona, the eldest son of the Buchas

who now work in Singapore

"We had to live in a shelter

made from natural
materials...and all we ate
was rice."
Chakra Bucha

Chantrea:Itwasveryhard,butBonadecidedtodoitforus.Wetruly
appreciatedit.WithoutBona,wewouldhavesufferedevenmore.Atthe
endofthefirstmonth,oursavingwereonlyabout2dollars.Butifwedidnt
haveBona,wewouldhavenone.

Interviewer:Diditgetbetterby
thesecondmonth?
Chakra:Notreally.Thesecond
monthwasevenmoreterrible.It
wasarealdisaster.Therewasa
flood,anditimpactedourshelter.
Thekidscriedalot.Thingswere
gettinglost,includingoursavings.
Thefloodaffectedalmost
everything.Ourhealthconditions
gotworse,itwashardertofind
foodandevenifwedid,itwas
veryexpensive.Theworstthing
wasourincomeswerereduced.It
wasaveryharshsituation,soI
decidedtocontactmybrother.

Ididntwanttobotherhim,butatthat
timeitwasreallynecessary.Helent
me40dollarsandwecouldntthank
himenough.
Chantrea:Iwasbeyondgrateful.
Withoutthemoney,wemighthave
died.ChakraandIdecidedtobuya
concretehouse.Weneededanew
stableplacetolivein,anditwasa
decisionthatshouldbemade.It
wouldhaveaffectedourhealthalotif
westillchosetoliveinthedestroyed
houseofours.Also,itwarmedmy
heartthatthekidswerefinallyableto
smile.Theyseemedreallyhappy
withournewhouse.

The Tonle Sap Lake flooding the surroundings affected the lives of people.

Interviewer:Howabouttheir
education?DidntDavuthand
Chavywanttogotoschooltoo?
Chantrea:Theydidwantto.Ithurt
myheartthatwecouldn'taffordthe
childrentogotoschool.
Chakra:Buttheyunderstoodour
condition,andtheylettheir
youngestsiblinggo.Davuthand
Chavywerereallynicekids,andI
promisedthemthattheywouldbe
abletogotoschoolagain.Andit
happened.Bymonththree,the
governmentcametohelpusand
theygaveusfreetuitionforonekid.
Davuthwasagentleman,andhelet
Chavygo.

"It hurt my heart that we

couldn't afford to send the
children to go to school."
Chantrea Bucha

Thegovernmentalsogaveus
somemoneyandithelpedusalot.
Atthattime,wealmosthadenough
moneytosendDavuthtoschool
too.Luckwaswithus.Bythetime
wereachedthefourthmonth,the
localmafiawerecleanedupand
wedidnthavetopaythembribes
anymore.So,wehadenough
moneytosendDavuthtoschool.
Chantreawasveryhappythat
Chavy,Davuth,andAtithcouldgo
toschool.Theywouldalwayscome
backhomewithsmilesandtold
ChantreaandIaboutwhatthey
hadlearnedatschool.Iteasedour
harddaysatwork.
Floating School on the Tonle Sap Lake

"It was very hard for us at first, but now, I think our hard
work really pays off."
Chakra Bucha

Interviewer:Itseemslikethings
weregettingbetterandbetter.
Whatdoyouthinkwasthekey?
Chantrea:Bonaisdefinitelyone
ofthereasons.Hesentalmost
allmoneyhegotfromworkto
us,andhenevercomplained.
Healwaysthoughtofusfirst.
Chakra:Andalsoallofustried
veryhardtomakeeverything
better.Ithinkthatsthemain
factor.Bynow,wevealready
paidbacktheloan,andwehave
enoughsavingforallnecessary
things.Ourhealthisgetting
muchbetterandbetter.AndIm
beyondhappy.Itwasveryhard
forusatfirst,butnow,Ithinkour
hardworkreallypaysoff.

The famous Merlion !!!!

A photo sent from Bona along with the
money, and a letter from Singapore.

POVERTY ISSUE
THE UNSEEN SIDE BEYOND THE GUIDEBOOK
Itseemslikepovertyhas
affectedthelivesinthecountryside
alot,aswecanseefromtheBucha
family,theyhasfacedmany
obstacles.Lackofmoneycanresult
inlackofnutritiousfood,good
healthconditions,education,clean
water,necessities,andstrong
shelters.Theydidn'talwayshave
accesstocleanwater,andfood.
Thechildrendidn'thaveachanceto
gotoschool.Though,theyarenot
theworsecase.Povertyaffects
livingsdrastically.Peopleinrural
Cambodiahavetoworkveryhardto
getenoughmoneyfortheirfamily.
Moneyisscarceforpeopleinrural
areasaswellasotherbasicthings.
Scarcityforcespeopletomake
choices,theymustmakethebest
useoftheirlittlefunds.Theyhaveto
sendtheirchildrentoothercountries
sotheycangetopportunitiestoearn
moremoney.

Therearemanytradeoff
andopportunitycostshappened
duringthechoosingprocess,in
ordertogainsomething,youlose
achancetogetanother.For
example,theBuchafamily
decidedtosendBonatowork
abroad,thetradeoffforthiscase
isthattheothermemberswasnot
abletoseeBona.Also,theyused
theirloantobuyanewshelter,so
theyhadtotemporarilydropthe
educationofDavuthand
Chavy.Theiropportunitycostfor
thefamilysnewshelteristhe
childrenseducation.

Cambodia Headcount Poverty Rate, 2004-2011

However,Cambodiaisoneofthebestperformersinpoverty
reductionworldwide,accordingtoanewWorldBankPovertyAssessment
Report.Thepovertyrateisfrom53%(2004)to20.5%(2011).Today,
approximatelytwooutof10Cambodiansarepoor,comparedwithfiveout
of10in2004.

"It's possible to end poverty."

Victoria Kwakwa
World Banks Vice President for East Asia and Pacific