A new analogy just occurred to me to describe what its like here... You know how after a natural disaster tons of aid floods the area? Within a few weeks most folks don't think of that situation as often, and within a few months money and volunteers begin to dwindle as well? Welcome to Cambodia. After their 12 years of genocide, others rebuilt schools, drilled wells, paved roads, and built a hospital. Work was started, but nationals weren't pulled in and trained in it so when aid pulled out, so did the knowledge to be healthy and prosperous.

This comes to mind as I hear Korean music blaring next door and I turn up Kutless in my earphones. I'd love to experience Cambodian genres, but there really are no arts or music. Musicians, professors, artists, doctors, philosophers, architects, ... all targeted and killed off by the Khmer Rouge, and no one has rekindled those areas. They have passion to advance but no direction - the blind leading the blind. These following generations are left without so much!

So, no garage bands or city concerts, very few teachers teaching with anything more than a high school education, an open-air "hospital" that is barely equipped to do the most minor surgeries, no dance classes, city murals, or exhibits. How sad.

Educating and training is so much harder both physically and emotionally than just giving out instant assistance, but if they're to prosper they have to be in charge of their own infrastructure. I've known this - 'teach a man how to fish instead of giving him fish', right? - but I have to remind myself sometimes when I'm worn out after a hard day and I have the urge to simply hand out medicines, vitamins, rice, soap, toothbrushes, books, guiars, and shoes to the masses.

On so many levels the Workers are few.