Norm Writes
  • Home
  • Who in the World
  • Blog
  • Postcards
  • Why I write

The smile.

11/26/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
I always notice it when I walk by, usually crossing to the other side of the street from her shop so I can walk in the shade, but still, her glowing, welcoming smile is unmistakable.
 
The next thing I notice is that she’s in a wheelchair, which isn’t remarkable because she’s disabled, as there’s a large population of disabled people here in Cambodia for various reasons, but that she’s in a wheelchair - an expensive and rare apparatus for most common people.
 
Still, I see the smile as I pass, as she sits at the entrance of a shop along a street of shops to cater to the tourists as well as a beauty parlor and bookstore. At first, I smiled back, then started waving, then said hi, and finally, today, I stopped and talked to her in the heat of the afternoon on my way home from lunch. 

​I go inside and look at what they are selling, handcrafted purses, wood carvings, necklaces, and other knit goods that they make right in back. She proudly holds up a lime green knit coin bag and tells me that she made that one herself, pointing to the 1950s Singer sewing machine in back.

My new friend explains that the store is called Yodicraft, and hands me a brochure. It says that “it was established in 2009 aiming to provide training and employment opportunities for youth with disabilities to become more self-sufficient, to showcase the talents of these youths and to provide an income for ensuring the sustainability of our work.”


This is part of a series where I take approach a common but remarkable person in Cambodia and ask if I can take their photo. I do so but with a Fujifilm instant camera, so the photograph pops out and develops right on the spot. I then had them the photo, sometimes the only one they've ever owned. I then capture the moment by taking a digital photo of them holding their new gift.
 
You can read more about it here: Can I Give You This Photo, Please?
or just click on the Give a Photo 
category to the right.
​
Thanks for sharing this link: 
http://ow.ly/UF2re  

Picture
​You’ll find a much larger population of disabled people here because of several factors: malnutrition, childhood illness and fevers that go untreated, lack of nourishment as an infant, iron deficiencies, diseases like polio that are all but gone in the west, and landmines, as the United States, the Khmer Rouge, and the Viet Cong all set millions of land mines during the Vietnam conflict that still explode to this day, maiming or killing innocent kids and farmers.
 
If you happen to be disabled, the best-case scenario is that you have family to take care of you. Another mouth to feed that can’t work is a heavy burden even for families to bear. For most disabled people who are on their own or live in the city, they resort to begging. There are no prospects for a better life or opportunities to live even a moderately comfortable, happy life.
 
That’s why programs like Yodicraft, which are usually designed and funded by private individuals, international non-profits, or foreign NGO’s, are so crucial –and in desperate need. For for the same reason, this young woman, who is only 20 years old and came by herself from a remote province to work in Phnom Penh with Yodicraft a couple years earlier, is so inspirational.
 
We chat for a while and then I ask if I can take her photo. She agrees and poses as I take out my Fujifilm instant camera and snap a shot. She’s interested when the photo emerges from the top and I tell her it’s a special camera. I give her the blank white frame and watch her expression as she sees her image appear.

Picture
​I tell her I want to give her the photo as a gift, so she can see the wonderful smile that she blesses the rest of the world with every day. She thanks me, and I take a couple of photos of her holding up her new photograph as she warms up to the camera.
 
I peel off $2 and try to hand it to her. I tell her it’s a small tip for letting me take the photo, thought it’s no insignificant sum - $2 is the daily wage for many laborers and normal people here.
 
But she refuses. She says she can’t take tips or handle money other than the normal transaction. There are no security cameras is the one-room shop, nor any other employees present. She’s just being polite, I think, so I put the dollar bills on the counter, under her new photograph so they won’t blow away.
 
She’s gives me the money back apologetically, adamant that she will not accept any tips or personal donations. She is a proud, loyal, ethical, and diligent employee. She feels blessed and thankful just to have the opportunity to work, learning and growing as a person and earning respect, and that is reward enough.
 
In the end, I purchase a bracelet I’ll never wear for $3, my way of supporting Yodicraft and honoring my new friend – and in some small way, sharing her smile with the world. 

​-Norm   :-)
 


For more information:

​www.YodiCraft.com

Yodicraft Outlet
Located at house no. 24, Street 3 (Sothearos Blvd a block away from the Royal Palace) in Phnom Penh.
 
Ms. Kangchana Meas
Business manager
manager@YodiCraft.com
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed


      Receive a digital postcard from Norm every month:

    Yes, I want a postcard!

    Don't miss Norm's new book,
    The Queens of Dragon Town!

    See More

    Norm Schriever

    Norm Schriever is a best-selling author, expat, cultural mad scientist, and enemy of the comfort zone. He travels the globe, telling the stories of the people he finds, and hopes to make the world a little bit better place with his words.   

    Norm is a professional blogger, digital marketer for smart brands around the world,  and writes for the Huffington Post, Hotels.com, and others.

    Check out South of Normal his Amazon.com best-selling book about life as an expat in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

    Cambodia's School of Hope explores education and empowerment in impoverished Cambodia, with 100% of sales going to that school.

    The Book Marketing Bible provides 99 essential strategies for authors and marketers.

    Pushups in the Prayer Room, is a wild, irreverent memoir about a year backpacking around the world.  

    Follow Norm on Twitter @NormSchriever or email any time to say hi!

    Categories

    All
    Advice For Writers
    Amazon
    American Exceptionalism
    Anthropology
    Asia
    Backpack
    Basketball
    Best Seller Lists
    Blogging
    Book-marketing
    Book Review
    Book Reviews
    Cambodia
    Charity
    Child-poverty
    Cloud 9
    Communications
    Costa Rica
    Crazy-asia
    Culture
    Dumaguete
    Education
    Environment
    Ethics In Writing
    Expatriate
    Favorite Song
    Festivals
    Fraternity
    Funny
    Future
    Geography
    Give A Photo
    Giveaway
    Giving Back
    Health
    Heroes
    History
    Hugo Chavez
    Human Rights
    Humor
    India
    Islands
    Itunes
    Laugh
    Maps
    Marijuana
    Martial Arts
    Memoir
    Music
    Nature
    Nicaragua
    Non Violence
    Non-violence
    Ocean
    One Love
    One-love
    Our World
    Philanthropy
    Philippines
    Population
    Positive
    Positivity
    Postcard
    Poverty
    Pura Vida
    Pushups In The Prayer Room
    Race
    Reviews
    Safety
    San Juan Del Sur
    Science
    Screenplay
    Self Publish
    Siargao
    Social Media
    Southeast-asia
    South Of Normal
    Speech
    Sri Lanka
    Story
    Surf
    Surfing
    Tamarindo
    Thailand
    The Philippines
    The-queens-of-dragon-town
    Tourism
    Travel
    United Nations
    Venezuela
    Work From The Beach
    World Health
    Writers Forum
    Writing
    Writing Forum
    Writing Your First Book

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

Norm Schriever

Email:     hi@NormSchriever.com