Up and Running

Hi All

This is the first post to set up this blog before I go O/S!

If you are looking at this page you probably already know that I am going on a VIDA (Volunteers for International Development from Australia) assignment with the World Food Program in Cambodia as the assistant head of office for Kampong Speu Office (Note Kampong Speu Province is not even mentioned in the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide!)


If you look at the bottom of the map you will see a province called Kampot, one up from that is Kampong Speu. The office services the surrounding provinces of Kampong Chhnang, Kandal, Takeo and Kampot, as well as Kampong Speu Province and Phnom Penh town. The programs include disaster mitigation and management (food for work and relief), Education (school feeding, take home rations for girls, vocational/literacy training for food) and Health and Nutrition (programs for mothers and babies, people living with HIV and TB etc.). Will let you know more when I find out.

The town is an hour outside of Phnom Penh and by all accounts is a pretty sleepy town. I might take over the house of the guy who is the current Assistant Head of Sub Office. It is a house on stilts with fruit trees and a nice garden and has a few bedrooms, an extra bathroom and a study (hint hint to visitors plenty of room!). Comes in at about USD150 a month (plus USD50 a month and USD 20 a month for security guard and laundry person respectively).

About my life now, have (mostly) moved out of my place in Canberra and will be squatting with my auntie and uncle for the month before I finish work on the 1st of December (Thanks Auntie Pat and Uncle Tom!).