Fieldwork of Children who were Street Vendor

Fieldwork is very useful to make communication for collecting every data about living condition in the area, so it gives us a lot of knowledge. For my group, after we have studied a lot about culture, and completely know the advantages of fieldwork, we had done it with our members on Sunday 10, March, 2013. Our purposes were doing research about Boy and Girl Street Vendors. To get success in our fieldwork, we made the real structure then we set the direction before doing it, such as in front of Royal Palace and Chamka Morn traffic light. 

Royal Palace was the first direction of our fieldwork. We did it for 3 hours, which stated at 7:00 am-11:00 am with three kids. At the beginning, we stated with girl who sold candles and​ធូប to visitor, and other two small young boys who sold bird-feet. We tried to persuade them to believe our purposes or the reason, which we wanted to, interviewed them.  There were two things that we focused on them like as persoonal mater and living condition such as their living, feeling and their seeling.

After we finished, we went on to mee boys and girls who live on the rubbish field Steung Mean Chhey. There was nothing  at over there, so we decided to go to Chamka Dounk. But unfortunately, we were not allowed to go in the rubbish field  when we arived there because it was secrete place. Due to security guard, he said we can be allowed go in rubbish field as long as we got permisson from principle governor of Phnom Penh. We didn’t know about that. Even though we tried to beg him, there was no way that we could go in it. Because of the weather was very hot and it was mid-day, we decided to came back, so this reason our field work was not complet.

Second direction for our fieldwork was at Chamka Morn traffic light. Because we needed to make it completed, we tried to make second field work agian to complet it. We started to do it again on Wednessday evening 14, 3, 2013. We did it with two girl vendor who sold flower along the street. They honestley told us about their personal maters with showing faces to us which meant their lives were not convenient as we thought. Our field work finished at 5:15 pm. 

 After we finished interview for each direction, all boys and girls were given some gifts by possible. Then we coraged them to worked and studied hard including admirating them, even they were young, they could make profit for their famillies. A few of them were studying, but others are left school because of  poor, so that was why they came to do that. Moreover, some of them were forced to work by their parents, and there were also voluntary boys did that too.

 

To sumeries, doing field work is very useful and gives us many experiences. We can know that small Cambodian boy and girls are strugle for their lives, and there are many places that they think thakt can make their profits, such as in front of The Royal Palace and others traffic lights. Even we did it two times at in front of Royal Palace and Chamka Morn traffic light we got completley sucesse and valued it very worthy action in this term. 

Candle-seller "Moa Vanydd"

We felt very excited when we got a project of fieldwork, which our lecturer gave us for assessment. Because he wanted us making a research about the young's lives in society, he assigned it to us. We knew a lot about young girl's business life. 

 She named Vann Manith, 14, she studied in grade 5 in Sothear Ros Primary School. For family members, there were  nine members. She studied in Morning, and she sold her products at afternoon and evening. She lived with mother and father. Her mother was a dishwasher in a Restaurant, which was near to her home.  So much of regret to hear, her father was cripple. He could do nothing, yet he could sell pure drinking water to all visitor who came to for joy at the in front of Royal Palace. 

 For her daily work, after she earned profit, she gave it to her mother for spending on food. She could earn 23,000Rail per day. Especially, she sold a lot of candle on ceremony.  No someone helped her to solve her family problems, so that's why she wanted to help mother to earn profit. Not only this, she saw her mother was difficult to earn the money to support her, so she became volunteers to sell candle. She always bought candles from Kandal market. One bag of candle coasted 9000Rail. And, she sold two candle cost 1000Rail.

Every day, she travel by motor-taxi, and she paid the motor-taxi driver to 4000Rail per days. However, she shared with friends, she spent 1000Riel and she share 1000Rail in the person.  

Our member also asked her that : "When you see the begger, how do you feel?" Miss. Vannyd answered" No. not ever do that. Because it maks feel so shame  whend doing like that. Moreover, I'ved enough     part on body, so  I don't want to be begger as them". 

At the end of the interview, Vanydd told us that she got grade 10 to 15. For selling this candles, she managed it by keeping the school schedual. That's small girl continoued her family never blame on her about what she had done for familly. In addition, her friends never looked down on her, yet most of them liked her so much. For the gaol in furture, Vanydd wanted to be an engineer.

Two boys who sell birds’ feet

On March 10, we went to the Royal Place to interview the kid. At the front of the Royal Place, there were many children but we just chose only one or two kids to interview.

Chhem Makara

Two both friends. The left is Juep Virak, and the right is Chhem Makara

When we walked around in front of The Royal Palace, there was a child come to ask us to buy birds’ feed, which he was selling. He was so pity, for he was very young who came to earn money for the family. His name is Chhem Makara and he is 5 year old. After that, we asked him to tell us about how difficult faced with his bossiness. The questions that we asked him were about his living and his selling.

For his living, he told us that he had difficulties because he did not have free times for enjoying his life as other young boys. He continued tell us that he didn't want to do this work (sell the birds’ feed), but his family was very poor, unfortunately.

His mother and father were divorced. Because the family faced the poor economic crises, he tried to do this work for earning profit with his mother who also sold the birds’ feed.  For his accommodation, he lives with his mother in Phnom Penh. In contrast, his sister lived with grandmother at hometown. His house is at Chak Ang Re Leu. When we look to his cloth, we could see he wore a common cloth while selling his products. In addition, he keeps a new cloth to join birthday or take trip….etc. For his daily food, he ate three times per days. 

For his selling, he took time to do it in the afternoon and the evening, yet he had school time in the morning. He studies grade 1 in Sothearos Primary School. But on Sunday, he sold all day long. His birds’ feed was bestselling in the evening because the visitors always came to visit at evening then they bought his products to feed bird lived in garden in front of Royal Palace. 

He bought corn 1kg coasted 5000 Riels and he separated in to 20 packs. He sold sag 500 Riel, but some sag he sold 1000 Riel. He got money proximately 30,000 Riel to 40,000 Riel per day. He rode the motor taxi [Tuk Tuk] from his house to the Royal Palace and then he rode it back to his house. He spent 4000 Riel for motor taxi for going and coming each day.   

Chhem Makara
 

Chhem Makara is on the right

On that time, we chose the next boy to interview, his name was Chhem Makara , his age was 13 year old. In his family, there are eight members, and his parents are the famer.  He is 6th child in his family. Now he has left school, for he just studied only 3th grade because his parents borrowed the money from the bank for supporting their farm during they worked.

Unfortunately, during that time, they did not get success on their bossiness farm work, for the loan was gain but profit was down. Because of this problem, he decided leave school, so he made a decision not to study any more. 

In addition, he said that he want to help his parents first. If his parents completely pay the money back to the bank then he will continues to study. Nowadays he earns the money for his parents by selling bird feet at in front of the Royal Place. He said he could get money 30,000 to 40,000 Riel for a day. Before start his working, he bought that feed in high price: 1kg for 1800 Riel. After he got it from his customers he divided in many small bags. For a box, he sold in 500 or 1000 Riel. 

Every day, he stays with his aunt at the Chak Angre Leu. Every morning, he woke up around 4:30am or 5:00am to prepare his corn to sell and every morning. After that, he rode the motor taxi from his home to in front of Royal Palace, and he paid 50,000 Real one time that meant a day he must pay 10,000 Real for motor taxi. If we talk about his aunt, she never took the money from him. After he got money of selling, he just gave it to her to save it for his parents at hometown.

To sum up, I think his life is very difficult that he is only 13 year old, but he has strong responsibility and  emotion for his life and family. In his mind, he wants to continuous his school if he has second chance for him, he wanted to study more like other children.

Jasmine Florist

At the traffic post along the Monivong blvd, we saw two little girls was selling jasmine: 

Nuon Sophornn

 

Her name is NUON SOPHORN, 12-year-old girl who was without father. Her father passed away. She lived in Chak Angre Leu with mother and 3 siblings and her ex-husband's mother.

She starts her working of selling flowers at 7:00 am to 8:00 mp or sometimes until 9:00 pm. Justine costs 1000R per a ring. She got those flowers from market that it is taken from Koh Krobey.

It is 15,000R - 20,000R per kilogram. And she earns 20,000R – 40,000R a day, and sometimes she can earn more than that, 100,000R per day. She said "Morning is the part of day that can sell more jasmine flowers to her customers at Chamkar Morn Traffic Light. When she comes back, her aunt gives her 10,000R for her paid work per 50,000R from the money of flower selling.

The problem that she faces with is policeman. She always escapes whenever the police try to catch her.

She dropped school at Grade 7, and the reason is that does not have enough money to pay for her sport suit. We asked her "Do you want to study again if some NGOs help to support you?” She replied," I want to help my family living rather than study." 

 

Nuon Sophornn is on the right

Un Pisey  

There was a thin and small girls named Un Pisey. She’s 12 years old with a pity looked and old clothes. She walked under the sunlight and tried to sell her products to people across traffic light. 

Uu Pisey is on the left

We tried to interview her about her living and the way she earned money to support her family. She was first afraid of us when we approached her and asked for interviewing. After we introduced ourselves, she finally let us to start interviewing. Pisey lives with her parents and she is the third child among the nine at Prek Tmey village near Koh Krobey. 

Her father was a porter and mother did housework. Four of her siblings are working at factory also for supporting the whole family. Because of earning money, Pisey couldn’t find enough time for study, so she left school since grade 3.  “I left home in the morning until 7 0r 8 o’clock at night”, she said. “But if I could sell out all these jasmine early, I would go back home early, too”, she continued. She took motor taxi from her home to sell jasmine at Monivong Blvd once it cost 8000 reals. She could earn totally 80000 reals per day with 200 pieces of jasmine. We also asked her did she ever wanted to continued her study if she could, then she answer that she didn’t want to study more, she want to work at factory as her sisters and brothers did when she grow up.

 

 

At the end of of our mission with these two girls, we gave them some gifts to them and asked the to take photos with. Moreover, we had bought some rings of just-mine flowers too.

 

Considering everything, after having a short communication with those children, we have learnt a lot from them. Those children should be respected no matter in what kind of the purpose they are, because at least they try their best to make their life better in short-term. On the other hand, they are too young; they simply believe that running a small business can help them to out of bad living condition, but it is just a short-term. They cannot build enough ability to be challenged in the future, which means that they might keep themselves in future with a bad living condition. 

There are few questions that all classmates should ask yourselves:

•  Can you do like what they do in order to support yourselves or family?
•  Have you ever earned money for supporting your families or yourselves?
•  In case you are also in a hard situation what will, you do to help yourself out of that condition.

Although they are in a bad living situation, they still try to do their best in order to help their family and themselves out from that poor condition. In addition, although their families do not have enough ability to support them to go on their study, they still want to continue on their study. As a result, while we are already supported by our families to focus on studying without any worry about the living condition, so why do not we try our best to study in order to achieve our goals. We should try our best to study hard for starting to build up our abilities for challenging with the other competitors in the society. 

 For this field work, I would like to thank to all of my members :

Sin Srey Pao (group leader), Thai Kimleang, Ny Panith, Sina Leakhena, Ny Savorn, Seng Vutha, Seng Chievkun, Nob Panith, Ouu Pisal, Oeun Soknoen, Sam Sopannara. These guys worked very hard to complete our mission.

The actions behind the scene