Chicago Global Citizens Travels to Cambodia
Capstone of the CGC Inaugural Year
Neil Bansal, '06
Issue date: 4/13/06 Section: GSB Life
As my Thai Airways flight descended into Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, it became quite clear that this wasn't your ordinary Spring Break destination. From my window seat, there were no white sand beaches or palm trees within sight. In fact, I couldn't see much of anything, except barren desert! Where am I? More importantly, where are the Cambodians? Upon arriving at the airport, I was relieved to finally be in Cambodia - after almost 20 hours of flying and two connections.
Cambodia was the capstone of the inaugural year for Chicago Global Citizens (CGC), a new student group founded by Wes Barnes, Justin Palfreyman, Monica Nawal, and me in 2005. CGC's purpose is to increase alumni and student awareness of international development needs, and to bring the GSB community together through projects to take action on these important issues. We chose Cambodia - a country whose educational and economic infrastructure has been decimated by a tumultuous history of violence and genocide. Through a partnership with nonprofit Room to Read, we agreed to fundraise $30,000 for five libraries, a computer lab, and a Khmer language book. Using our B-school acumen, we also decided to provide consulting-like support to a microfinance institution in the country.
We were in Cambodia to visit our GSB-funded sites, to present our findings to the microfinance institution, to do some sightseeing, and of course to relax and have fun - this was Spring Break after all! Joining Wes, Justin, Monica, and me were CGC members Tommy Tjiptadjada, Eric Choe (and wife Jihee), Faisal Khan (and wife Saeeda), and recent alumnus Cheryl Sulima. We were also fortunate to have Dean Kole accompany us for the first two days, and to our relief she agreed to our "what happens in Cambodia stays in Cambodia" pact, so it's no use trying to pry her for gossip at the next coffee hour (we hope!).
When I travel to a foreign land, my first objectives are to learn how to say "hello" and to fill up my wallet with the local currency. The former wasn't difficult, as we were greeted immediately off the plane with "suor sdei" by the friendly Cambodians. The latter proved to be a bit trickier, as the ATM in the airport gave U.S. dollars! We found out quickly that dollars are much preferred to the Cambodian currency called Reals, aptly named since they are Real Worthless. You know a currency is going to be a pain when there are 10,000 dollar denominations, although you do feel like you have some real bling by just exchanging a $20 bill.
Cambodia was the capstone of the inaugural year for Chicago Global Citizens (CGC), a new student group founded by Wes Barnes, Justin Palfreyman, Monica Nawal, and me in 2005. CGC's purpose is to increase alumni and student awareness of international development needs, and to bring the GSB community together through projects to take action on these important issues. We chose Cambodia - a country whose educational and economic infrastructure has been decimated by a tumultuous history of violence and genocide. Through a partnership with nonprofit Room to Read, we agreed to fundraise $30,000 for five libraries, a computer lab, and a Khmer language book. Using our B-school acumen, we also decided to provide consulting-like support to a microfinance institution in the country.
We were in Cambodia to visit our GSB-funded sites, to present our findings to the microfinance institution, to do some sightseeing, and of course to relax and have fun - this was Spring Break after all! Joining Wes, Justin, Monica, and me were CGC members Tommy Tjiptadjada, Eric Choe (and wife Jihee), Faisal Khan (and wife Saeeda), and recent alumnus Cheryl Sulima. We were also fortunate to have Dean Kole accompany us for the first two days, and to our relief she agreed to our "what happens in Cambodia stays in Cambodia" pact, so it's no use trying to pry her for gossip at the next coffee hour (we hope!).
When I travel to a foreign land, my first objectives are to learn how to say "hello" and to fill up my wallet with the local currency. The former wasn't difficult, as we were greeted immediately off the plane with "suor sdei" by the friendly Cambodians. The latter proved to be a bit trickier, as the ATM in the airport gave U.S. dollars! We found out quickly that dollars are much preferred to the Cambodian currency called Reals, aptly named since they are Real Worthless. You know a currency is going to be a pain when there are 10,000 dollar denominations, although you do feel like you have some real bling by just exchanging a $20 bill.
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