The Children

I didn’t want too much time to go by during this trip without taking some time to post specifically about some of the children I met.

First off, they seem to be everywhere. From young toddlers to teens, the kids almost fill the streets of Cambodia. Some of them work in stores or markets. Others act as street vendors and then there are those who just beg for money or food. I highlighted a few of the kids in the following pics. Hopefully, this will give you some insight into what I’ve experienced so far.

These kids (left)were some of the children we saw at Angkor Wat but they are pretty typical of what we are seeing in other places. They’re carrying baskets full of items for sale. Tour guides, bracelets, rings, shirts and fans are just a few items they tried to sell us. They’re persistent and many times, we found they would not leave us alone. The group we encountered at the end of the day yesterday followed us to our vans and stood in the door opening hoping to sell something (right).

Young children are very active in selling too. One of the most common items I’ve seen them sell are postcards. At $1.00 a pack, they’re cheap and light enough for even very young children to carry…and MANY kids are carrying them. Each of the children in the following pictures sold postcards. Without rest, they went from person to person repeating the same thing over and over. “postcard mister, postcard mister.” Even after saying "no," they would repeatedly ask the same question. I met some of them at the beginning of the day and saw the same kids selling after sunset.

This little boy (right) may have spent the entire day at Angkor Wat selling postcards. I watched him for a while. In about 5 minutes, he must have approached 50 people asking them to buy his postcards. I never saw a child so persistent.

The rest of these pics are of other children selling postcards. As I said before, they were everywhere. I was told many of these children do not go to school. School costs money and these children have none...or they can make money by selling things and therefore, don't have any incentive to go to school.

Sometimes they work for adults. Though I’m not sure the relationship between child and adult, I was told some (not all) of them may be forced to sell goods. In those cases, children failing to meet a daily quota could be at risk of receiving punishment.

Then there are the children who have nothing to sell and simply beg for money. There were two I encountered that I will share. This little girl (right) boldly came up to some members of our team and asked for money. One woman she approached gave her some money but it apparently wasn’t enough because she told her it was too little and then asked for more. After the woman gave her a little extra, the girl asked for more again. I was amazed at how forward this child was. It seemed as though she was an “experienced begger.”

This boy (left) approached me and asked for money, making sure I saw that he had his little sister with him (or so I assumed it was his sister). What he didn’t know was that I watched him selectively choose who he would bring his sister to. Sometimes, he asked for money alone, sometimes he ran back and grabbed his “sister.” Again, the signs indicated he was "experienced."

Whether these children were genuinely in need or working for an adult, I will never know. What I do know is that there are legitimate needs here. Anyway you look at it, the kids tug at your heartstrings and it's hard to walk away unaffected. What is the best way to help these kids? We could give them a token gift and leave, but I wonder if perhaps we're called to serve a greater purpose.