Social Impact at DDD

It seem many articles about me lately.  Here is another one with DDD’s newsletter published on June 23, 2011 http://www.digitaldividedata.org/news/2011/06/chendachhay

If you still doubt about ddd’s impact, I am a proof.  And not just only me, you can asks anyone at DDD, they will shared. This is because of DDD’s model is unique in the developing countries like Cambodia that have a potentials growth in population – half of the population is less then 21 years old. The major economic challenge for Cambodia over the next decade will be creation of enough jobs to handle its demographic imbalance.

The population lacks of education (most women), literacy rates are low, lacks of productive skills which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure, corruption, abuse of power and weak governance the major challenges to economic growth and poverty reduction. Land grabs and other abuses by the elite are common, trees are illegally logged, mines are exploited. The government does not fully respect freedom of speech and human rights conditions are deteriorating. The HIV/AIDS remains one of the major development challenges in the country…

BUT Cambodia has a large hydropower potential. The most natural resources are land, water (river), timber, minerals, oil and gas. Diverse ecosystem provide a wealth on which a majority of the population depends.

We need to save and making this country to be and to have the balance which will need a RIGHT direction to go.

An Article about me in LIFT

There was a few mistakes that Phnom Penh Post wrote about me in LIFT a day in life article published on June 15, 2011 http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011061549755/LIFT/a-day-in-the-life-of-an-fao-un-employee.html

 

First, they gave me a wrong tittle in Khmer article by call me Mrs which is mean married. I actually single!
Second, I am not have eight different job title in few years. But my goal was to change 8 different places within 30 years in order to learn.
Third, they repeat the same sentence at the end of the article.

 

I thought i would write to the editor but due to my busy time of studies preparation for the exams schedule plus it already published i decided not to. My personal advice is whatever you do, best is to consult/discuss between editor and writers if you have doubt, i can understand if you running out of time to send back and forth by email but you can call to go over it together. It is not OK, actually. It is not OK to assume you understand all, and it is not OK to published incorrect article.

Women Power

A couple months ago i randomly found a book was written in Khmer that gave a lot of tips to women on how to be a great wife and great mother. The most funny part was 5things that can made women becoming powerful:

1) good looking
2) good character
3) have friends and relatives
4) wealthy
5) can have children

I don’t agree to all of it. I thinks this should also apply to everyone not just women. Cambodia is give strong powers to men and give values to women which requires women to follow many difference rules that men can order. Example: men can have many wife if he rich? he can buy women’s virginity? Women not allows to go out late or to dates because she have the values in it? this society is very strict to women and not both.

Ashton Kutcher says “Real men don’t buy girls” at his Real Men campaign to stop human trafficking. Are you a real man?

My 5 cool things

1. iPhone – i can do many things with this small phone and carry around, its very innovative and useful. I can read the news, check my emails everywhere i go (if i still have credit!), download and view the attached file, chatting on skype, taking picture upload and send to friends, check the world weather and time… etc

2. iTrip – is an FM transmitter as a third party accessory for Apple MP3 player. The iTrip plugs into the headphone socket of the iPod and converts the audio output into an FM radio signal, which can then be picked up by appliances such as car radios and home. A favorite gifts from my friend Nick on Christmas.

3. Starbucks tumbler – i got it in Bangkok at the airport for $18. I enjoys morning coffee and tumbler is not just save 10c for paper cup every time but also for the recycling and reducing waste which is good for our environment.

4. Lipz Balm – I often buy them from Ucare. Because i don’t like to have any color on my lip and i want to keep a natural look. I have many of it and i keep it every where-in my bed, my desk, my bag and in my pocket.

5. Short hair – powerful women often snip their hair short, mostly. but to me is all about stress. I personally like to have long hair. I just have short hair recently. I don’t know why every time i get very upset (discouragement) i often go to salon and have my hair cut, i thought it would make me happier. Now i waiting to have a long hair back but it might be hard (not patient me). I noticed that Cambodian men don’t like women to have short hair and my assumption was because Khmer men don’t like women to be smarter than him.

The Changes

I am not sure if this ever happen to you but its happens to me all the time and every time i met people starting right after i came back from NYC. They often asks where i’m from? where did i studied English? did i ever travels outside Cambodia? everywhere i go, at the restaurant, shopping, at the market, at the hotel, at workplace, at a friend’s wedding, at church, at the coffee shop, at the bank…etc They first speaks English to me and not Khmer, they get surprised when i response in Khmer. Many people said different about where im from included Thai, Laotian, Korean, Chinese, Singaporean, Indonesian, Filipino or somewhere from Southeast Asia but most of the time are Singaporean and first time i ever heard was Canadian. I asks why would you thinks that? answer was the difference of my character, my Khmer speaking action and what i wearing.

First, i didn’t realized about how much i have change when i returned home, my parents noticed at first and started to worries. After a while i noticed when other people questioning me. I don’t feel it is a bad things but its make me pondering about what change me. I started to looks at my old photos to find that out, just to see how do i looks before and now. The only thing i can see was my short hair but this doesn’t stopped. Since i got many accidents on motor, my parents got me a car just to keep me safe, from then my skin start a little bit whiter and that perhaps change the way i looks? I assumed its the English, open minded, confident and not shy, I works with expats and i speaks English everyday. Its not Laos, not NYC, not Paris change me but being away from family to a very big city like New York does required you to put a lot of effort to be strong and survived. The time fly and time does changes.

I remember the day that i went for shopping to get a bag from a store near the riverfront, a girl asked me that i am here to visit or staying here, I said i born here and living here in Cambodia. Another was when i starts working with UN-FAO people in the office thinks that i graduate my degree from USA and after a month they asked me about it. Also, When i meet new people, they asked about where im from, they thought im not Cambodian. I went to a high school friend’s wedding and they said i looks so much different and asked why my face turned to be that looks. Sometimes I want to give up and make it in a short conversations as much as i can by just agrees with whatever nationality people thinks i am. And yes it does work out! sometimes im happy and unhappy about it, so i starts being very emotional. I starting to thinks and get scare that i will forget about myself and where im came from. im upset every time people questioning me for being not looks like Cambodian.

Cambodian can looks smart and speaks perfect English. Cambodian can travels and works internationally. The time that does change not me but i’m grown-up! (to growth, there is change)

A hard decision that i could not sleep.

This past few weeks is been a difficult time as I deliberated the direction of my career and whether it would be best serve staying at a start up project with FAO UN or a new position with EMC. Thank you for the offered, both opportunities are good for my professional and personal development. I need to take one of those this Monday!! I think i would decide where i can learn a lot more and a good challenge nothing to do with money or status.

People have different character and different working style, although a lot of people says UN is better than the other in term of well pay and working environment. I agree but in my 9years of working experience, i often in the position with the start up businesses which is i moving around a lot and I wanted to settle down.

What is Love?

February is the month of love. What is love? In the evil commercial give us wrong idea of love included music and movie.

We not fall into love, we grow into it. Love is unselfish, love gives, love want what is best for other person, love is willing to wait for the right time which is opposite to lust.