Phnom Penh: The pandemic has hit Cambodians hard, but perhaps no-one group more so than people with disabilities. With the absence of tourists in Cambodia, many are struggling to make ends meet. EAC News visited the “Villageworks” handicraft shop in Phnom Penh, where most of the workers are living with some form of disability. They are hoping that international tourists will be back soon.

Some of them used to beg on the streets, until they found a place to discover new skills. A social enterprise named Villageworks is located in Sambour village in the capital’s Dangkor district. Its founder, Anak Norm, has provided these people with a way to earn a living, making handicrafts, souvenirs and bags. The target market was international tourists, but after 20 years, their shop, located near Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, was permanently closed, in the wake of the 20 February Community Transmission Event. No more tourists meant no more customers. It was hard for the team, but their founder had little choice:

“The product that we make is for tourists, for gifts and we receive small orders from overseas. If we talk about tourism, everyone is affected like we have a shop in Toul Sleng Museum – completely no tourism, so we cannot sell our product. We cannot offer the product to any tourists. We are trying to move to other products.”

Now their small factory has become their shop. Although hugely affected by the pandemic, they are still grateful for the small orders they do receive. Those orders mean work and work means an income. One of the workers, Joun Laen, who conducts quality checks, says the group has made the world of difference to her:

“This job has changed my life. Life was so hard before. But after I work here, it helps me and my family financially. Our life becomes better.”

The workers earn an average of $7 a day. It’s not much – but it makes all the difference. With Cambodia eyeing a tourism restart from November, they believe that it will take time before sales go back to normal – but at least there’s light at the end of what has been a long, dark tunnel.

^{PHOTO: SARY}