Khmeye - Cambodia (2004)
Location: South East and Far East Asia, Cambodia
Keywords:
Project Background
Khmeye
Photography by orphans living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Local Partner: Global Children
Funder: The Economist Group and Global Children
The first phase of the ‘Khmeye’ project consisted of a ten-week photography course held for eighteen young orphans living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia between March and June 2004. The project provided the students with a new creative skill through which they have spoken out about the issues they and other disadvantaged young people in Cambodia face. The exhibition is comprised of single images, individual reportage stories and digital stories all shot and created by young Khmers, aged between 14 and 20.
Armed initially with automatic cameras, and later with manual SLR cameras the students turned the lens in on, amongst other things, their native villages, the orphanage where they live, daily Khmer life and the vast Steung Chey Rubbish Dump on the boundaries of Phnom Penh. They have tackled serious issues such as poverty, homelessness and child labour whilst also managing to capture enduring playfulness and joy of youth.
Situated over the ‘Japanese Bridge’ and alongside the Tonle Sap River, the Kean Kleang orphanage is housed in an old French convent. One of only two state-run orphanages in Phnom Penh, it is home to 115 children and 20 babies. The majority of children come from the provinces of Cambodia. Some have lost their relatives to HIV/ AIDS, a disease which is at endemic proportions in Cambodia, others died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge - some have been referred to the orphanage after being found wandering the streets of Phnom Penh, selling flower garlands, peanuts or small souvenirs to try and survive.
Workshops in Phnom Penh culminated in a local exhibition held on the 4th floor of Cambodia’s first ever shopping centre in June 2004. The exhibition was visited by over 5000 people and received substantial press coverage, including in the New York Times, the Bangkok Post, the Cambodia Daily and the Cambodge Soir, as well as on local TV.
In time it is hoped that a number of the photography students will continue their studies in photography and computer studies and will undertake apprenticeships with photographic organisations in Phnom Penh. It is also hoped that the courses will expand to other orphanages in Cambodia. Proceeds from print and postcard sales at the exhibition will be fed back into the Khmeye project.
About disadvantaged children in Cambodia:
With over half of the population under the age of 18 years, there are serious concerns for the economic and social well being of children. Sexual abuse and exploitation, and trafficking for this purpose, is a major problem in the country. There are many children living or working in the streets or in situations of exploitative labour detrimental to their development and there are reported to be over a quarter of a million orphans living in Cambodia.
The Khmeye exhibition was held at the Economist Plaza, London in October.
For more information on the Economist Group please go to: www.economistgroup.com
For more information on Global Children please go to: www.global-children.org