Vist to "Reverse the Curse"

Today we went to visit the program set up for landmine victims. These people do not get any social disability pension and short of begging. There is not a lot they can do for employment. We met Marian Fromm a woman from Adelaide who came here when she was 60 years old and set up a factory employing only people affected by landmines. They dry fruit and sell it to the local shops and some export markets. She recently bought a mango field so they can use their own fruit because the costs of packaging, bottles and fruit and sugar have all increased radically so it's hard to make ends meet let alone make a profit and Marian pays her workers double what they would get from the government. She employs 30 men and women. She teaches them English for free between 12 and 2 about 3 x per week because English will help them get ahead.

Marian had a documentary team over from Australia who were doing a doc on landmines in Cambodia and she is working with them hoping to get more sponsorship from OS to grow the business. We spoke with her accountant, who lost his leg below the knee and almost was a double amputee after going fishing and standing in shallow water in a river just outside Pnomh Penh. It's diabolical how many people are still affected by the unexploded ordinances left over from US carpet bombing and their own Khmer Rouge planting plastic mines that cannot be picked up readily by metal detectors, making them hard to clear. Still between 500 and 1000 people lose limbs or their lives each year. They think it will be 20-30 more years before its considered relatively clear. Another worker lost his leg plowing in his own field! The message is don't stray from the path and look carefully at all times. The work this one Adelaide woman has achieved is phenomenal. She is an inspiration and turns 70 in 2 weeks!!

Tomorrow a.m. we leave by bus for the coast at Sihanoukville. So we will see if I can get the email/blog working from there. The 9 days in Phnomh Penh have been inspiring to meet so many amazing people both expats and locals. We have enjoyed it and are learning so much about many things.