Channa, 41, is a tiny woman. She seems very shy at having a barang (foreigner) visit her home. We sit on a woven mat, which she unrolls for us, on the front porch of her (also tiny – 10'x12' – and housing 8 people!) thatched home. Channa has been running the little open-air grocery stand in front of her home for the past 7 years. She says she is happy with this work as it allows her to be home and take care of their 6 children. Her husband used to work in an office, she says, but after he had an operation a few years ago he's been working at home with her. They also raise pigs and work for neighbors during the rice harvest.
Channa's loan of $400 is being repaid on schedule as of October. This is the third time she has taken out a loan through Maxima Mikroheranhvatho Co., Ltd. here in Cambodia. This new loan, funded through Kiva, has enabled Channa to purchase new items for her store and a small freezer, to better compete with the other village stores that have recently opened. For several years, she was the only store in town, carrying a variety of items - Bread, sugarcane, noodles, cigarettes and rice wines mixed with different fruit juices. Now she tries to keep an edge over competition with her homemade butter, ice cream and sweets.
Channa talks a lot about her children and the difficulty of keeping them in school. Of the six, her oldest is 19 and now will be working with them as college is too expense and far away. She says her fourth child is having difficulties in school because he is repeatedly reprimanded by the teacher for being left-handed. He is so afraid now that he refuses to go to school, despite her efforts. Her youngest child, 4, was very ill with fever when she was young and suffered brain damage so that she now has to take care of her at home. She is slightly more optimistic about the other three, and one daughter in particular who is learning English and is "very clever". It is her that she worries the most about being able to provide for to attend secondary school. It is her future that is Channa's greatest hope for the betterment of the family. (Photo: Channa with children at home)
MAXIMA Mikroheranhvatho Co., Ltd.
Posted by Tami Rowan from Pon-Nhea Leu district, Cambodia
Nov 4, 2007
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