When we hired Vathanak (22) to be our assistent / translator, the first thing he told us was that he lived with his grandmother (66), while he is studying here. His parents and older brother live in the province, and work as government employees there.We assumed then that he lived with her to take care […] Continue reading → 
This is Eang Shonnary he is 77 years old. Eang speaks French, and tells us about his 6 children, 1 of whom lives in the USA, 3 in Phnom Penh, 1 in Siem Reap, and 1 a monk in the Battabang province. Save Save Continue reading → 
This is Chamso, who we met during one of the Buddhist days at the pagoda. She showed us the small room where she lives, at the side of the Pagoda, together with other “Obesaka”, elderly women who devote their life to the teachings of Buddha. Talking to her we found out that her 5 children […] Continue reading → 
This is Chenda. she is 75 years old. We met her in a pagoda where we attended a service at 5 o’clock in the morning. There, a 1000 or more old people were attending, mainly women. She made contact with us. We went to her apartment to do the interview. She bought this apartment for […] Continue reading → 
One of the ways elderly take care for themselves is being part of the Buddhist religion and being part of the life inside the pagoda’s, widely spread in Cambodia. In Phnom Penh, we live next to a pagoda, where we also met Mr. Pom. Now we were looking for an elderly monk, to ask him […] Continue reading → 
This is Oeun he is 60 years old. We met him begging on the Kendal market at the riverside. He arrived yesterday in Phnom Penn. He left his family in the province because he did not want to bother them and be a burden for them. When we ask him about loneliness he only smiles […] Continue reading → 
One of the main answers we get when we ask elderly around Cambodia about loneliness is that they miss their children. The one thing we encounter in all houses, poor and rich, and at the houses that we can barely call a house were photos of their children, and often their late husband (or wife). […] Continue reading → 
Chamso has been living in a small room, constructed next to a pagoda 20 years ago. After her 5 children were all married, she decided to live in the pagoda, and practice Buddhism, focused on her next life, hoping it will be better than this one. In her life Chamso suffered a lot: she is […] Continue reading → 
In Phnom Penh we were looking for elderly who are still working independently of their family. One of the people we met was Mr. Sok Than, a 61 year old cyclo driver in Phnom Penh. He told us: “I come to work in Phnom Penh almost 11 years already. Before I was a farmer.Because my […] Continue reading → 
We went to Siem Reap in the North of Cambodia to talk with elderly in a rural environment. We were not prepared for what we would encounter in Siem Reap. It is small city with 250.000 inhabitants. This small town is totally dominated by the tourist industry, receiving 2,3 million tourists in one year. Hotels from 800 […] Continue reading →