Last year, Charlotte was studying environmental enterprises at school and watched the video about a new business in Sierra Leone that transforms coconut shells into briquettes. This manages coconut waste, prevents deforestation, and provides a charcoal alternative that burns cleaner. In 2021, I wrote about Grilling on our Pot… What I didn’t share is that…
Author: Charles
Flowers of Nepal 2023
We have Asia regional meetings in Nepal this week so we decided to come early and have a short family vacation here. I’ll write more about our explorations later but I’ll start with another entry in my flower series. This week is the Dashain festival so there have been marigold garlands everywhere and most Nepalis…
25 years later, Prey Veng is landmine-free.
Last year, a new sign went up on the Prey Veng Waterfront declaring that the province was officially mine-free. Prey Veng is the third most populous province in Cambodia but lacks an urban center with the population spread among rural villages. The fighting in Cambodia came to end twenty-five years ago when the final Khmer…
ផ្កាម្លិះ | Jasmine
Phnom Penh has no shortage of olfactory stimulation. Most of which might most charitably be described as pungent. Fermented fish, durian, open sewage systems, and garbage sitting out in the tropical heat are smells that were uncomfortable when I first came. Of course there are also many delightful smells – the scent of rain in…
Intersections: Disability, safeguarding, and inclusion in Cambodia
I was asked to write an article on Disability, safeguarding, and inclusion in Cambodia for the Fall 2023 edition of Mennonite Central Committee’s Intersections: MCC theory and practice quarterly newsletter. I’m sharing the text of the article below. As many of you know, I worked with adults with intellectual disabilities and autism for eight years before…
Bangkok’s Sanam Rat park
After our visit to the Cambodian Embassy to submit Caleb’s Visa application we visited the Sanam Rat park in Bangkok, Thailand. It’s a large park with a lot to see including ponds and a small lake, fountains, a beautiful conference pavilion, botanical gardens, and water monitor lizards. Charlotte was – as aways – thrilled just…
Visiting Oudong in 2008 and 2023
Oudong was the capital of Cambodia for almost 250 years until it was moved to Phnom Penh by King Norodom in 1866. Oudong was largely abandoned after the capital was moved but the monasteries, pagodas, and stupas remained in use. Only some 21 miles northwest of Phnom Penh, Oudong with it’s ancient structures and beautiful…
Anabaptist World: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis
On September 19th at 7PM (EST), Anabaptist World is hosting a discussion on Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis. The discussion will be held on Facebook Live and Youtube Live. We highlight columnist Sarah Augustine, a Pueblo (Tewa) woman, lives with her family in White Swan, Washington. She is the Executive Director of the…
Getting around Bangkok
By population, Bangkok is the 33th largest city in the world with around 10,890,660 people living in the metropolitan region as of 2019. To put this in perspective, the entire population of the country of Cambodia is 16.5 million. Bangkok has roughly five times the number of residents as Phnom Penh. It was interesting to…
Meng Srean’s Interethnic Peacebuilding Journey
Meng Srean is an alumni of local partner Women Peace Maker‘s MCC supported interethnic peacebuilding project, “An Encounter with the Other Side”. In June 2023, she had dinner with MCC US Board of Directors during a Learning Tour to Cambodia and shared about her personal peacebuilding journey. Recorded by Sabrina Gilmore, SALT participant. When MENG…