CRISIS MONITORING AMONG LOW-INCOME WORKERS IN CAMBODIA
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Any week that goes by without work to do, my savings having run out, I eat only one pack of instant noodles instead of three meals per day.” Unskilled construction workers, Phnom Penh, February 2010
Reductions in Nonfood Consumption and Health Care All the people in the sample reduced their expenses on nonessentials such as clothes, alcohol, or cigarettes. In addition, they cut expenses on transport to the minimum, as was the money given to children to go to school. Most urban migrants reported having reduced the frequency of travel to their home villages or not going home at all. People were reducing their expenditures to the minimum by early 2010, although there were indications of increased spending on rent, water, and electricity because of the rising costs of living. Workers in urban areas indicated they had cut their expenses on health care and were increasing self-treatment using nonprescription medication from private pharmacies. Some opted to return to their villages for care if they came down with a serious illness. Workers in the city mentioned going to health centers only in case of accident or severe illness, with many complaining about the poor service provided at the urban health centers. Changes in the Labor Allocation within the Family During the first two quarters of 2009, there were indications of school dropouts in the villages sampled and of children searching for paid jobs, but this did not occur in cities. Most of the young girls from Babaong village had been sent as domestic workers to Phnom Penh. Young boys were working as laborers in farms or in fishing boats, as well as in construction. People in Donn Vong village indicated that, by May 2009, only 5 out of approximately 100 children were still attending the primary school. The others were helping their families with productive activities. “Our young children now help us earn money. The girls go to get vegetables from the lake and some tree leaves to sell at the market . . . and the money they earn is used to buy rice for daily family consumption. The boys help their father fishing. They need to work more on this because the family does not have anything to eat . . . they have to work harder.” Participant in Donn Vong village, May 2009
During the school holiday months of August and September, children were helping with income-generating activities in villages and in the cities.