Weekend in Vientiane and Visit to Phnom Penh

Charlene wrote:

I am writing today during our flight from Vientiane to Phnom Penh.  We will be in Phnom Penh for one week to visit the DDD’s office there.  I will also have the opportunity to visit homes of the young students and perhaps visit a local school.   Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, is 5 times bigger, and I believe it will be hectic in comparison to the quiet laid back atmosphere of Vientiane.  We will see.

Last weekend was filled with various activities.  Friday evening we met up with a distant relative of Ed’s, who has spent his adult life traveling the world, but mostly in Asia.  Admittedly, he has never held a long term permanent job; and works just long enough to survive on a few thousand dollars a year.  A pleasant evening, though I was a bit apprehensive when he said to Ed, “you will be surprised when you see me”.  That left of world of speculation for me as to what he and the evening would be like.  Other than never having worked, and never having owned a place of his own, I found him to be a very gentle guy who was both interesting and very bright; I enjoyed spending the evening with him and learning of his life’s adventures.

Saturday we walked through the morning market to do a little shopping.  What distinguishes the morning market from the evening market is exactly what it sounds like-morning market opens during the day and the evening market opens when the morning market closes.  The market(s) are a series of stalls selling everything anyone could want.  Clothes, books, souvenirs, dishes, etc.  The stalls are small and lineup around a city block.  The local developers are attempting to transform these traditional venues into multi story department stores, but I don’t think it translates to the culture of Vientiane.  There is nothing as simple and basic as going directly to the textile area, the shampoo stall, or wherever product group you want.  We wandered thru the morning market for a few hours, stopping to buy a few silk pieces and a beautiful hand carved wooden vase. 

Neither the morning market nor the evening market sells food.  Food is in another market area-“the open market”; Similar layout, with stalls wrapping around a city block, organized by food product.  Vegetables and herbs are gorgeous-fresh, brightly colored and plentiful.  Fruits are piled high-bananas-you can buy 5 pounds of bananas for a few dollars.  In the states, I think it would cost 10 times as much.  Pineapples, and tropical fruits are sold in the stalls, but you can easily buy them from street vendors who are everywhere. 

Dairy products are fresh, clean and plentiful.  Meats are a bit challenging for me, as it seems that meats and poultry are not refrigerated during the day and are left sitting on tables all day.  The butchers cut off the amount you want.  Fish seem to be fresh, as they are kept alive in small barrels of water.  Or sometimes they are kept in a child’s wading pool. So unlike the markets at home, the floors are wood or cement.  Sometimes there are major cracks in the floors-I am not sure whether the cracks are used as drainage or whether it is just old.  The ceilings are wooden framed, then covered with bamboo matting or vinyl tarps.  As we eat lunch and dinner meals out, I have never purchased food from the open market.  I do prepare breakfast, which is typically bananas and cereal, coffee and juice.  On the weekends, I have made omelets with toast made with fresh bread.   Our beautiful kitchen has 2 burners, but only one works.

Saturday evening we attended a celebration honoring the 55th year anniversary of relations between India and Laos.  The celebration included an Indian Elvis look alike-I actually thought his jacket was vinyl-and a cast of Bollywood singers and dancers.  As none of our Indian friends ventured to get up and dance, I was a bit disappointed!!!!  However, after the show we all went out to eat at an outdoor Indian restaurant.  We have eaten there a number of times; the dirt road leading to the restaurant is a bit dark and rutty, so you don’t want to go there without a group.  The food was amazing; Beer Lao was plentiful and cool.  The entire bill per person, including appetizers, breads, main courses and beer cost $3.50/per person. 

Sunday was a busy day, as we headed out early to play golf.  We went to a different golf course a bit closer than the SEA course; the unique feature of the course is that it surrounds a series of ponds.  Just like LCC, it loves golf balls.

In the late afternoon, we had drinks at sunset overlooking the Mekong River.  After the sun set, we headed to the local BOWLING center and played a few strings.  I think I sometimes forget my age, as all of the group are my kid’s ages or younger!!  Most are shocked that we ride motor bikes.  I don’t know why this is a deal.  It is easy.

I have truly enjoyed teaching the students and they are so eager to speak English.  On a few occasions, I noticed some of my Skype contacts were on line and I called them during class.  Thanks Chuck and thanks Veronica.  So if you are logged on around 9:30 pm to midnight (I won’t call during my afternoon classes 1:30 am-3:30am), you might get a call from me and the students.

Before our morning flight to Phnom Penh, we dropped off our motor bikes which we have used since we arrived in Laos.  I fondly named them #1 and #9- clever-because that is the identifying number on each bike.  There are a few pictures of us driving them to lunch the other day that were taken by a friend of ours.  I wish I could take a movie AVI while driving thru the streets, but sanity prevailed.  I thought it was too dangerous to attempt.  Riding the motor bikes is so much fun; I am looking forward to reviving Ed’s old Vespa that has been dormant in our garage for over 30 years.  We will see!!!

Another astounding fact that dawned on me today is that our stay here is nearly over-only 3 weeks in total are left.  We will be in Phnom Penh for one week and when we return to Vientiane, we will have only 2 weeks before starting our journey home.  So with the friends we have made, and the students I have been teaching, I know I miss them when we leave.  It has been a privilege to be able to share our time here. 

Ed wrote:

Phnom Penh is a big city with over 2 million people.  It is more than twice as big as Boston, and for a small town boy it is a little overwhelming.  The city has changed in the 4 years we have been away.  The center is clean and modern, with wide streets and large parks with monuments and flowers everywhere. 

The traffic is something else.  In turning left into a wide 6 lane street (3 lanes going each way), our tuktuk driver just cuts into the on-coming traffic.  Cars, but mostly motor bikes, flow around on both sides as we head into the on-coming traffic and we slowly make our way across the lanes to our side of the road.  Often,

this takes the better part of the block to get into the right lane.  No body honks and seems to think there is any problem.  The traffic is slow enough that folks can just stop or flow round you.   I have seen no accidents nor dented fenders, heard no horns and found no one cross.  It is just the way it’s done around here. 

By the way, So S’day is hello (or goodby) and Aor kun is thank you, if you ever find yourself in Phnom Penh.



Spring has come to Vientiane and other considerations

From Ed:

Spring has come to Vientiane.  Even though the temperatures have been in the high 70s and mid 80s, I guess the flowering trees respond not to temperature but to the changes in the length of the day. In any event, the trees along the roadsides are filling with lush, rich colored flowers in reds, pinks and whites.  The flowering bushes are coming into bloom, and the Bougainvillea bright red flowers cover the walls and make the city into a flowering garden.

A curious thing about Laos – the city is spotless. People sweep their sidewalk in front of their houses and shops, and wash them down, keeping the streets clean and shining.  This is quite different than the other countries in South East Asia where they either leave rubbish everywhere or sweep it to the edge of their property, making the streets almost impassable with rubbish. 

Monday we met the US Ambassador to Laos at a reception at the embassy.  There are a few thousand Americans in Vientiane, and they do their best to reach out to them.  Forty or fifty gathered for the reception.  Many of the ex-pats are ex-Viet Nam vets who have returned with their Asian wives to live in the area.  They gave the ambassador a grilling about UXO – unexploded ordinance.  You will need a little background to understand the problem.

Between the years 1964 and 1973, the United States flew more than half a million bombing missions, delivering more than two million tons of explosive ordnance, in an attempt to block the flow of North Vietnamese arms and troops through Laotian territory. The ordnance dropped include more than 266 million submunitions (known as “bombies” in Lao) released from cluster bombs.

Laos was hit by an average of one B-52 bomb load every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, between 1964 and 1973. They called it carpet bombing.  US bombers dropped more ordnance on Laos in this period than was dropped during the whole of the Second World War. Laos holds the distinction of being the most bombed country, per capita, in the world.

Of the 260 million bombs that rained down, 80 million (25%) failed to explode, leaving a deadly legacy.  The shorthand reference to this unexploded ordinance is called UXO.  Here’s what you need to know:

• Approximately 25% of villages in Laos are contaminated with Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)
• 41 out of the 46 poorest districts in Laos have UXO contamination
• Approximately 80 million unexploded bombies remained in Laos after the war
• Over 50,000 people have been killed or injured as a result of UXO accidents in the period from 1964 to 2008
• Over 20,000 people have been killed or injured as a result of UXO accidents post-war period, 1974 to 2008 

You would think the United States would take responsibility for this travesty, and take action to help gather up and disarm this significant hazard to human life.  And they have.  The Ambassador bragged that the US spent 5 million dollars last year to help rid Laos of the curse of UXO that we created. She was proud that this was up from 2 or 3 million spent in previous years.  At this rate, she estimated that it will be 25 years before the problem is solved. 

The Loa people are patient and forgiving.  We have been shown nothing but kindness everywhere we have gone.  Personally, I think 5 million dollars is an insult and a travesty; and as a nation, we should be ashamed.  5 million dollars to the US is nothing.  If this bothers you, you might want to contact Jorn Kerry (of Vietn Nam fame) or Scott Brown, or who ever your senators or representatives are, and let them know what you think.  Two or three hundred sappers from the US Army sent on a training mission could solve the problem in a much shorter time, and save a lot of human suffering caused by us.  Unfortunately, these are the same folks who are currently disarming roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I am a proud American, but a little less proud for what I have recently learned.

Last night we went, with four other DDD personnel and a few guests to watch the Laos National Soccer Team play Taiwan in an elimination round for the South East Asian championship.  It was in a beautiful new and modern stadium built for the SEA championships held in Laos several years ago. The crowd of 13,000 rooted hard for the home team, but the game ended up tied at 1-1. 
 
We continue to stay busy, have fun and do challenging and fulfilling work.

 

A little information on DDD

Ed writes:
The mission of DDD has expanded, and I thought you might like to know a little more about DDD.

Digital Divide Data (DDD) is an innovative, internationally acclaimed social enterprise that delivers high-quality data conversion services to global clients to create jobs for talented poor youth in developing countries. Our clients receive competitively priced, world-class data preservation and content conversion services. This business empowers our staff with the skills and experience they need to lift them selves out of poverty. When our business grows, so does our impact.

Our proven model develops a strong workforce in countries with untapped talent. With our scalable approach to growth, we now employ more than 700 people across our offices in Cambodia, Laos, and Kenya. We recruit motivated, disadvantaged youth who would not otherwise have access to skilled work or further education. We then train and employ them at a fair wage, while offering them scholarships to attend university. DDD alumni go on to high-skilled positions in which they earn more than four times the average regional wage.

Every client project directly contributes to the impact we have on our staff. Our mission makes DDD a more responsible and responsive partner to clients like Reader’s Digest, BrightSolid, Harvard University and the National Library Board of Singapore. Our model has been recognized by the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, the World Bank Development Marketplace, the Rockefeller Foundation and the United Nations Development Program, among others. DDD has been featured in the media including the BBC, CNN, and the New York Times.  We are also the subject of a Harvard Business School Case Study and were profiled in Thomas Friedman’s New York Times bestseller, The World is Flat.

We feel privledged to be able to work with such a fine group with such a significant social mission.

Another Week in Vientiane

Charlene writes
The week flew by so fast, I thought Friday was Thursday.  That says a lot, as our involvement with the organization has become more and more involved, and far me more engaging.  I have really enjoyed spending time with the students teaching English.  The neat thing is I am learning Lao words as well.  So I have a class schedule that includes teaching 4-6 hours per day.  The balance of my time is learning complex reporting tools directed toward pulling financial info from Quickbooks into meaningful reports.  This is fun but is challenging as DDD has four divisions, each with varying data. 

We continue to share the camaraderie of the young DDD managers.  We share most of our lunches with our co-workers at various local stands.  There is a noodle shop around the corner and adjacent to a Buddhist Temple.  I am not sure what we are eating but it’s a large bowl of steaming soup filled with homemade noodles and vegetables, all surrounded by HOT chilies.

 
The food is amazing, once you get over washing your chop sticks and spoons with a roll of toilet tissue before eating.  FYI Warm water is not used in washing dishes.  Most of the outdoor stands cook over wood fires with huge pots of food.  The smells are amazing--scallions, cilantro, chilies, onions, are common ingredients in most foods.  While driving our motor bikes through the neighborhoods you frequently see pigs roasting on an open fire, or smaller meats and fowl.  People eat well here, they may be very poor, may live in tiny houses but food is abundant and wholesome.



Great smells from cooking pots.

Apartment living is fun, but extravagant by Laos standards.  You really forget how removed we are from poverty that is all around this area.  Last Friday, I joined a group of DDD employees to visit two families that have been profoundly changed by DDD.  The first family we visited was the home of a young woman named Mukda-a polio victim with terribly deformed legs.  She has been with DDD for many years.  When we were five years ago we also visited her family.  The house, which is a typical example of a very basic rural Lao family’s house, is constructed of bamboo.  It basically is an elevated box, 20’ by 12’, built on stilts to protect it from floods in the rainy season.  Bathrooms, toilets, are squat-style out house arrangements located below the house.  There is electricity for the limited lighting and the ubiquitous televisions.  Cell phones are everywhere and are affordable even for a poor family.

Mukta and her Mom.

Mukta's house with visitors from DDD.

Mukda’s involvement with DDD has changed her life and has given her opportunities she would never have had.  She works full time for DDD as the company’s receptionist, her English is remarkably strong and her smile just melts your heart.  She has almost completed college, and I am sure she will be the first in her entire family to have reached such a level of education and career. 

 

The second house.

The second home visit was to the home of a young man, about 20 years old.  He lives with his parents and six brothers.  The home is similar to Mukda’s house.  I cannot imagine how eight people live in such a small area.  The house and yard were absolutely spotless.  Chickens live under the house, and there are fruit trees and a small garden. 

Another view of the second house with owner's son who works at DDD.

The father is a street vendor who makes and sells banana leaves filled with rice and pork; on a very good day he could earn $5. Typically, he earns around $3/day to provide for a family of eight.  Less than $100 a month!!!   While the young man studies and works at DDD, he will double or triple the family’s income.  When I think of my cable bill at home, and how others live, it is humbling. FYI I am always annoyed at my cable bill. 

Friday evening, we joined a group from DDD and ate at an outdoor Italian Restaurant, La Scala.  Not sure if the food was the best Italian meal I have ever had, or perhaps it was the availability of very good Italian food in South East Asia, whatever the reason, the food was excellent. 
Sunday we played golf at the same course we had played at the previously.  During the week, we had located a sport shop in the market where we bought a dozen golf balls for about $20, a great price in comparison to the price at the golf course of $80/dozen.  Needless to say, counting ball loss, it was MUCH cheaper this week.

Our schedule for the week is a bit off, as the office is holding its managers meeting in Vientiane, where all managers and company officers are in town to discuss business and share ideas.  We have been graciously asked to join in the meetings which we have done.  The people attending the meeting are from Africa, New York, San Francisco, Ohio, Manila, France, Australia ,and of course,  Longmeadow, etc.

ลาก่อนนะ - Charlene



Charlene writes:

The weekend flew quickly.  Saturday, after working on a project Ed had taken on at work, we hopped on our motor bikes and drove 22 km to a beautiful golf course recently built for the SEA professional golf tournament.  It is a 27 hole course, that is lit at night, lights are used mostly during the hot season.  The club house is spectacular, and the green fees are quite reasonable.  Our big surprise came when Ed asked me to buy a dozen balls.  The balls were $7 each!!  I did not buy a dozen-and it sure made you focus on not losing a ball.

When we returned to town, we were invited to join our friends from DDD to have drinks and watch the beautiful sunset over the Mekong.  We were on a roof top terrace/restaurant watching the sun set behind the mountains that separate Thailand and Laos.  The views were amazing. 

What made it so enjoyable was the company-we have been befriended by the DDD managers, who are all so bright and interesting young people.  Most are expats-from all parts of the world France, India, America, Australia, and Malaysia.  Their commitment to the social mission of DDD is humbling; clearly every one of these people could have highly paid professional jobs working for for- profit organizations. 

I truly enjoy having dinner and lunch with our new friends-the discussions range from technical to philosophical.  Everyone is an avid reader and brings their knowledge on many subjects to the table.  A theme that is frequently discussed is the Cambodian Khmer Rouge; the current effects, what led up to the horrible genocide, and how the country has moved forward from its history.

Sunday, we were picked up in the DDD van by a DDD manager, his wife and another DDD talent, who is teaching English.  He actually just finished a 2 year Peace Corp program in Mongolia, shortly after graduating from Berkley.  Anyway, we started the day by having Dim Sum at a Chinese restaurant in the colonial city.  Except for the chicken feet, it was all delicious.  Though to be honest, the chicken feet might have been great-I did not taste them, the visual was not attractive. 

So we left the restaurant and drove about an hour and half to the largest lake in Laos-as we drove away from the city, the scenery turned to open fields where the majority of rice is grown for the county.  You could see the rice farmers wading in the rice water pools harvesting the rice.  As we approached small villages, stands selling fruit, vegetables, meat lined the side of the road.  A small mountain range marked the edge of the horizon; we were told that there is a secret US air force base in the mountains.  Though the US and Lao were not friends to say the least during the Vietnam war, somehow the base was built and is still used today.

So Monday was moving day for us.  We said goodbye to the Leuxay Hotel where we had stayed for 11 days and moved into our new apartment about a mile away.  The Leuxay was a very Asian hotel, spotlessly clean, swimming pool, with fine accommodations, but we needed more room than a bedroom.  The apartment is more Western European/American.  We have a large living room,, kitchen, large bedroom, 2 bath rooms and gigantic closets. 

The first order of business was coffee!!!  I bought a filter drip unit and Maxwell house coffee which was the only option available.  We eat breakfast at the apartment and eat out for lunch and dinner.  Food is incredibly delicious and cheap-dinner for the two of us costs about $7 total!!  Lunch runs about $1 each.  

Riding the motor bikes is really fun-you get a feel for the community and its life, smells and sounds.  The constant smell of sidewalk vendors cooking meals is lovely; children ride in the arms of their mothers or fathers as they drive their bikes.  It is a bit of a zoo at times on the roads-there are tuktuks, bikes, trucks, motorbikes and the rare giant trucks. 

The weather remains beautiful, a bit cooler this week 75ish.  Sunny and NO SNOW.

From Ed:

We are well settled in Vientiane.  The welcoming we got from the folks at DDD has made our stay so far very pleasant.  We moved earlier this week from our hotel to the Park View and are now in a very nice apartment with all of the amenities of home.  Charlene and I early on rented motor bikes, and have explored the city and a number of interesting restaurants.  We have eaten Lao, Thai, Indian, French, Chinese and even snuck home for lunch one day to make toasted P&Js with a glass of milk. 

My mission is to coach middle management and help them improve and automate their processes.  I started with project management.  I spent the last few months preparing, and as planned hit the ground running. I have worked closely with two extremely bright and talented Project Managers, Sambo and Phabphada, on introducing a more formalized product list and streamlined quoting and resource allocation tool into the project management process.  These changes will eventually feed reporting tools that are needed for sales and resource planning.  Our goal is to build a sustainable business that will support our social mission.

Building trust and introducing change are the most challenging things we can do in business, and we have done well in a short time.  Help from some and support and encouragement from all have allowed us to move swiftly.  I have involved the whole project management team, who have provided their input to improve the process.  I can report that we have a 110% buy-in for the changes. 

I have started to spread out to get involved with other areas of management and find the people very receptive and open.  Our training in teambuilding and corporate communication has served us well in breaking down the barriers; and I have found everyone to be open and forth-coming. 

Charlene has taken a more passive roll, and is working with their talented and engaging CFO, Philippe on report generation to develop new reports that are needed.  She is also helping teach English, and is having a lot of fun doing it.  I think she likes engaging with the students best.  They certainly like working with her.