COVID-19 Notes

From the Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Missouri, Deon K. Johnson:

The work of the church is essential.
The work of caring for the lonely, the marginalized, and the oppressed is essential.
The work of speaking truth to power and seeking justice is essential.
The work of being a loving, liberating, and life giving presence in the world is essential.
The work of welcoming the stranger, the refugee and the undocumented is essential.
The work of reconciliation and healing and caring is essential.
The church does not need to “open” because the church never “closed”. We who make up the Body of Christ, the church, love God and our neighbors and ourselves so much that we will stay away from our buildings until it is safe.

We are the church.

COVID-19 Notes at DDP

This week the Disability Action Council, a branch of the Ministry of Social Affairs, gave the deaf community several hundred packets containing face masks, hand sanitizer gel, and a sanitizing spray. Here some of the DDP staff set up the donated materials in preparation for distributing them to the deaf people connected with the Deaf Development Programme.

Making do…

There are literally almost no lawns in Cambodia. They are not part of the culture. This rare expanse of grass is part of the on-going renovations of one of the two major government hospitals in Phnom Penh. It might seem these people are enjoying a picnic and have found a nice spot, but actually they are camping out while a family member undergoes treatment in the hospital. Hospitals in Cambodia do not necessarily provide nursing service, food, water, bedding, etc., so the family must come along to provide what is needed.
The nicer spots under the trees have been taken so these families are camped out behind one of the buildings. They came prepared with their fold-up beds, though.

Different Eras, Different Buildings

In the space of just a few blocks of Monivong Boulevard, a major north-south thoroughfare in Phnom Penh, you can see clear examples of different periods and different cultures in the city.

The corner building above is a very typical mid-twentieth century building with shops on the street on the ground floor and then residential units on the upper floors, with later (and probably illegal) additions as the top floor. Such buildings are the mainstay of Phnom Penh’s urban architecture.

A few blocks up the street is this French colonial building which was built by the French Catholic Church as their Indochina headquarters during the colonial period that ended in 1954. After the Khmer Rouge turmoil, it was taken over by the government and today is the city hall for Phnom Penh.

A few streets farther on Monivong is this very new, uniquely shaped office tower. You can’t see the unique shape in this photo which I framed to show the ground floor. In most cities, a large glassed-in front on a major street would be a terrific selling point and commercial advantage. In the culture here, most of the storefront on the street has been boarded over and painted with an advertisement.

The wheels are moving…

The Phnom Penh Post reported yesterday that bicycles are Cambodia’s third largest export to the European Union, after garments and footwear. In the first quarter this year, even with the disruptions caused by COVID-19, 490,000 bicycles worth $179 million were sent to the EU, an increase of $10 over last year. The article was upbeat about this particular export, noting that the lockdowns and restrictions caused by COVID-19 may bring about changes in lifestyles and transportation in western countries and that could be to the advantage of the bicycle market.