Phnom Penh (Ah!) - TOP Phnom Penh Stories Part 2 - THE GOOD IN SEARCHING FOR THE TRUTH

Bill Herod is responsible for bringing the Internet to Cambodia enabling it to connect with the world in their rebuilding process in overcoming the Khmer Rouge destruction of the country. Herod stands alone as being the most influential in the development of Cambodia yet his efforts go unnoticed and unappreciated - nationalradio.com - photo

Looking up to the future in CAMBODIA Digital Divide Data's general manager Nhev Sithsophary (L), Iv Sovannary, staff supervisor; Rotha Khive, key employee; Jeremy Hockenstein, cofounder - NR photo   Kitchen staff enjoy cooking things up for hungry guests at Mith Samlanh restaurant - Mith Sam Lanh photo   A baby that inspired an idea that helped change the lives of many Cambodian children - Operation Smile photo

D.J. Ken - National Radio Text Service

The evolution of our Phnom Penh column was in searching for the truth of who came to Cambodia to help themselves or help the Cambodian people. In the process two factors emerged of the columns that were most read and the people or NGO's that made a difference. This edition is about those that made a difference

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Saturday, November 30, 2013

MAKING A DIFFERENCE - TOP PHNOM PENH ARCHIVE STORIES 7-10

The evolution of this Phnom Penh column came about by chance as our intentions were to write features about those Khmers that returned to the country to help rebuild the nation. That was the case for some but what eventually surfaced was their purpose was for financial and selfish reasons, not to help the people that suffered from the Khmer Rouge insanity but to use them as pawns to intensify sympathy for the nations suffering from the Khmer Rouge carnage to receive donor funding.

With that disappointment the next step was to search for foreigners that had good intentions to help and carried out a plan that succeeded. That theory worked for a while with Bill Herod being the first who was brought to our attention by a young Khmer businessman who was in the Internet business. He noted that Herod was responsible for bringing the Internet service to Cambodia with the help of Canadian funding.

Herd is a solemn man who is all business with good intentions. When we met he was involved in teaching Khmers how to use the Internet by establishing KIDS a school that also taught Cambodia youth how to build web sites.

Fruits of his labors emerged as some of Herod's students went on to start their own Internet shops, teach or obtain well paying jobs with NGO's. Herod stands alone as being the most influential in the development of Cambodia yet his efforts go unappreciated and unnoticed.

Since that time Cambodia has grown tremendously as a result of Herod's efforts. Think about it, how could a country grow and build itself without the Internet which enabled business to be established, develop, and communicate as well as the ability to make money via E commerce.

Following KIDS Herod's next challenge was being the director of RAP which helped in rehabilitating released Khmer/American prisoners adjust to the real world in Cambodia after they were repatriated. To some of the former prisoners Cambodia was a country they knew nothing about. The RAP job eventually cost Herod the sight in one eye as a report in the Phnom Penh Post noted that he tried to stop one of his charges from drinking drain cleaner and some of it splashed in his eye and burned off his cornea.

Herod's next undertaking in helping Cambodia rebuild is being in charge of an NGO in Mondulkiri helping the poor people in that region learn skills to earn a living. His life goes on in helping others as he lives extremely modestly. Unlike many of the current phony NGO types he doesn't drive a fancy SUV as you're most likely to see him on a motorbike or pedaling a bicycle. He doesn't complain about the hardships but continues to give to Cambodia and build lives. Why? As we found out 12 years following our first meeting… he's a missionary.

Our next encounter with other foreigners that came to Cambodia to help was DDD (Digital Divide Data). It is a company that was started by some young then recent college graduates headed by Jeremy Hockenstein. He assembled a group of young people that bought into Hockenstein's idea of forming a nonprofit organization to create technology-related jobs for those who were basically have nots.

Each member of his start up family contributed their own money to help fund the endeavor that also attracted matching funds. The company started in a villa on St. 360 near Prea Sar Prison with 10 employees that had computer skills. Within a year DDD grew enabling them to employ 100 people many of whom they helped receive training. Some of the employees were disabled or recruited from NGO's that had women who were abused.

When I first made a move to Cambodia I lived at the villa for two months and saw first hand how they diligently worked with and trained their staff of which for many it was their first ever real job requiring them to adjust to applying themselves to a work and deadline discipline. When we last wrote about the organization they opened offices in Battambang and Laos.

Mith Sam Lan (MSL) was another NGO that we encountered with foreigners who came to Cambodia to help. Their objective was to teach street children how to earn a living in the restaurant business as cooks and or waiter/waitresses or as we put it, they were teaching them in Cooking Up A Future.

The students trained and worked at their restaurant facility which was patronized by NGO staffers. Many of their graduates have moved on up to acquire jobs at large hotels or restaurants. A side note is MSL owns a farm where they grow much of the produce they use in the restaurant as well as providing living facilities for those students in dire need.

Operation Smile was our next revelation of foreigners who really committed themselves to help. Doctors fixing hair lips volunteered their services and the patients received the operations free of charge. Although they are not based in the realm they visit often Money is not the issue for operation Smile it's about HELPING THOSE IN NEED.

In total this makes 10 of our TOP 12 stories. In our next column we will reveal the downside in our search for the truth of who did or didn't come to Cambodia for the right reasons based on our experience and opinion.

PART 2 - THE DOWNSIDE IN SEEKING THE TRUTH

Previous - Phnom Penh (Ah) - THE 1st TOP PHNOM PENH COLUMNS - October, 2013

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