Our street, a window into Cambodia

We live on St. 185 in Tomneptuk, Phnom Penh. In many ways, there is nothing special about our street, but it does offer a snapshot of life in Phnom Penh, a window into the rest of Cambodia.

If you were to drive down St. 185 today, here are just some of things you would see:

SCHOOL: At the end of our road is a middle school that serves the local community. Walking by the large yellow faded building, you can hear the shouts of the children reciting words and numbers. Like all other Cambodian pupils, they are learning by rote, a method by which you repeat words/letters/numbers/etc (as opposed to actually comprehending their meaning). It is a reminder that, while Cambodian schools may be filled with wonderful children eager to learn, they still have some way to go if they are to provide an education worthy of their students.

CAMBODIA PEOPLE'S PARTY: Halfway down on our road is the local Cambodia People's Party Headquarters. The squalid-looking wooden structure provides some housing and a meeting point for those faithful to the ruling party and its premier, Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia. The CPP building serves as a poignant reminder that political affiliation comes with costs and rewards in Cambodia, with the costs being born largely by those affiliated with dissenting parties like the Sam Rainsy Independence Party and the rewards being reaped primarily by those loyal to the CPP.

SWEATSHOP: Until a few weeks ago, we had what was almost certainly a sweatshop two-doors down from our house. The building was crammed full of young boys trying to earn a living by sewing and stitching bags and briefcases together. The boys had most probably been recruited from rural provinces and earned money to send to their families back home. They would work from the early morning until well into the evening and fall asleep in the same room before getting up the next morning to do it all over again. We're not sure why the sweatshop has moved or shut up shop, but it was a typical example of the cheap (and very often, young) labour that is being used to drive the Cambodian economy into the 21st century.

NGO: NGO's (Non-Governmental Organisations) are everywhere in Cambodia. In many ways, they are the foundations on which Cambodia has been rebuilt following years of genocide, foreign occupation and civil war during the 70s, 80s and early 90s. On our street, Food for the Hungry Intnernational (www.fhi.org), a Christian relief and develpment organisation, ply their trade and seek to bring the Christian faith to bear on some of Cambodia's most pressing problems. Will they are no doubt doing a good work, they are serve as a reminder that Cambodia can not continue to live off the compassion and benevolence of the western world, as it has done for the past 15 years.

KIDS: As with pretty much all the streets in Cambodia (apart from maybe those running through elderly hospices), our street is teaming with kids. The ages may vary from toddlers to late teens, but these young people are undoubtedly the dominant group in our neighbourhood. Every day they gather to play a game of football (which I sometimes join) or cards (which I don't) or tear around bycicles for fun. Seeing them at their best fills you with hope, while at their worst, they can impart despair. But they are, nevertheless, the future and we have hope their future will be better than the past of their parents.

MIDDLE CLASS HOUSES: Phnom Penh is becoming increasingly middle-class and our street captures some of that transition, as wooden-stilted houses are replaced with bold, concrete two-story houses and large villas with gates. In truth, our street has a mix of all three, with the plain two-story houses (known as pteala vengs) edging out the rest.

Right now, our dirt-covered road offers us tranquility and the opportunity to sit and watch as Cambodia goes by. What the future holds for St. 185, who knows, but we hope it keeps some of the beauty and simplicity that currently make it a window into the rest of Cambodia.