មាន is the Khmer word for ‘have’. The Khmer phrase for rich person is អ្នកមាន, literally អ្នក ‘person’ មាន ‘have’. This is along the lines of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ in English. Longan fruit is មៀន, literally ‘fruit have’. This is the source of endless wordplay in Khmer. For instance តើអ្នកមានមានមៀនទេ, which is something like…
Month: August 2021
Protected: Prison Peacebuilding
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PSEA, Jean Vanier & John Howard Yoder
As Crystal shared, earlier this year we were in a series of MCC Asia leadership virtual workshops on PSEA (Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse) that stretched over several weeks. I was asked to prepare a devotional for one of the workshops and I decided to read a passage from Jean Vanier’s book The Broken…
Kheang Vanna’s Apprenticeship
In rural Mesang district, Prey Veng province long time MCC partner Organization to Develop Our Villages (ODOV) coordinates an apprenticeship vocational program. This proven model connects young adults hoping to learn vocational and small business skills with a Master Crafts Person. In the process, they escape chronic poverty that drives many people to dangerous migrant…
នំពំ | Coconut Waffles
One of the girls’ favorite street foods are Khmer coconut waffles or ‘Noum Pom’. These sweet waffles are moist and dense, not airy and light. They do have that delightful waffle crunch on the surface but shredded coconut lurks beneath the surface. They are typically eaten plain, traditionally served in a banana leaf and more…
ធម្មយាត្រា | Dhammayietra
In traditional Cambodian village life the local Buddhist Monks served as educators, healthcare providers, and – along with the village elders and chief – meditators of local conflict. When the Khmer Rouge fully took power in 1975 they forbid all religious practice. By the time the Khmer Rouge were driven out of power only around…
COVID-19 Sniffing Dogs
I missed this news when it was first announced but the Cambodian Mine Action Center has successfully trained three of its mine clearing dogs to sniff out COVID-19. They have seven more dogs currently in training. The Cambodian Ministry of Tourism is hoping to resume issuing Tourist Visas in October or November. However, it’s unlikely…
Operation Eagle Pull
Some of my Cambodian friends, including two MCC Cambodia staff, are old enough to remember when the United States evacuated personnel from Cambodia five days prior to the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge in 1975. The photos and videos coming from Kabul strike a personal note for them. The two events are,…
What do we mean by Peace?
Mennonite Central Committee is a global, nonprofit organization that strives to share God’s love and compassion for all through relief, development and peace. One question that we get a lot is… What do we mean by Peace? By peace, we do not mean the simple absence of armed conflict or even reaching surface level harmony….
Family vacation to Siem Reap
In July 2020, we took a family vacation to Siem Reap province. In Khmer, the name Siem Reap literally means ‘Siam defeated‘ while the Thai refer to the province as ‘Siemmarat‘ which literally means ‘Siam’s territory.‘ Siem Reap is the home of the ruins of the ancient city of Angkor; which was the largest pre-industrial…