About Me:
Hi. My name is Mealea and I am a thirteen year old girl from Cambodia. I have been living in Cambodia my whole life and I live with my mother Champei, my father Sovann, my younger brother Phirun and my grandmother Jorani who is 61 years old. I also used to have a younger sister, but she died 3 weeks after she was born.
My Home:
I live in a typical, rural Cambodian home. My house has a wooden frame and has a gabled thatched roof. The walls are made of woven bamboo and the house is elevated on stilts above the ground to protect us from floods and to keep livestock and animals under it. To access my house we have a ladder going to the front door.
Living in my house is a little squashy. With a typical house being 4 by 6 meters to 6 by 10 meters it is quite hard to fit a family in. Also my house has no shower or toilet so we must go to the nearest river to have a bath and get water to drink.
Living in my house is a little squashy. With a typical house being 4 by 6 meters to 6 by 10 meters it is quite hard to fit a family in. Also my house has no shower or toilet so we must go to the nearest river to have a bath and get water to drink.
My Parents and their daily jobs:
My mother Champei works in the fields planting seedlings and then later selling them at the local market. As well as this she looks after the house and our family. She also keeps track of all of the household money and looks after her mother who also lives with us.
My father Sovann, works as a farmer. In particular he runs cattle, fixes fences and grows rice. He is also known in the village for his practice of Ayurvedic medicine and people visit from all over to have appointments with him. My dad also sometimes goes fishing and brings it home for dinner.
My daily life and expectations of the future:
I am fortunate enough to have a school nearby my house, otherwise I wouldn't go to school like my cousin who lives too far away. My daily routine is to have breakfast, go to school and then come home help mum or dad with jobs or with looking after Phirun and then go to bed. On weekends I help out and play with friends.
My expectations of the future are quite ambitious. I would love to either to move to one of the urban cities and to get a job or to be just like mum and look after the house and the family. I am lucky that I go to school because now I can read and write. I have a better chance of getting a job than if I didn't, so maybe I have a chance of getting a job and earning money.