Union of Catholic Asian News
SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia (UCAN) – Some young church workers regularly visit a string of bars and clubs in a tourist town on Cambodia's southern coast.
The workers, like the many foreign tourists who stream to the unspoiled local beaches, are attracted to the many "beer girls," young women working in the 20 or so small clubs in Sihanoukville, about 185 kilometers (about 115 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh.
"We regularly visit the girls who sell beer at the clubs and encourage them to attend our education program," Kakda, a member of the Volunteers of the Good Shepherd Sisters, told UCA News. The volunteers give lessons on English and beauty care, she said, so that the beer girls can have a better future.
Kakda, 20, was speaking just before starting her English lesson inside a club amid the sound of romantic music mixed with that of rain hitting the roof. She said working with the beer girls is not easy because the bar owners make them work long hours and "are afraid we will take the girls away."
Sitting nearby is 19-year-old Roath, another volunteer. "I face a lot of difficulties doing this, but I am convinced it is important for these girls to look for something different in their lives, a more dignified career and a better way of living," she told UCA News.
The beer girls are looked down upon in local society, Roath said. "I am a Khmer girl like them, and I want to share with them my skills and knowledge."
Good Shepherd Sister Michele Lopez, an Indonesian who heads her congregation in Sihanoukville, told UCA News she began the project with another sister at the beginning of this year. However, the other nun "went back to her country," she said, "so I continued with a group of six Khmer volunteers."
"This job is not hard," Sister Lopez remarked. "It is part of the charisma of our religious congregation." She added that she stresses to the volunteers it is important for the beer girls to recognize the dignity of human work and to have an opportunity for a better future. The nun speaks only limited Khmer, so she prefers to let the volunteers without her go to the clubs.
Samnag, 20, is one of the beer girls who told UCA News about themselves. She has been a beer girl for two years and she said she thanks the volunteers for their lessons because that helps her communicate well with foreign guests.
Asked about her ambitions, she responded softly, "I would like very much to run my own business, a beauty shop or a small store at the market. I work here because I could not find any other job. However, I would rather do something else."
Sophal, another beer girl, has another view. "I do not have enough time to study English with the Good Shepherd Sisters' group because I work at night and I have to sleep during the day," she explained.
Even so, the 30-year-old woman from Kompong Chhnang province, just north of Phnom Penh, realizes she cannot work here for long. "I am getting older," she admitted, "and I also want to open a business from my house."
Srey Nang, 23, has a different story. She said she used to work in rubber plantations in her hometown in Kompong Cham, northeast of Phnom Penh, but prefers to work as a beer girl, even if the pay is about the same.
"I cannot go back home because I feel very shy with friends and neighbors," she said. Back home, she explained, a man used to rape her and she became pregnant. "After I delivered, I left the baby with my mother and ran away."
Nonetheless, Nang does want to return home eventually. "I am trying to save money to go back and start my own business," she said.
Sister Lopez pointed out that the Good Shepherd nuns also run a center for marginalized women and children in the town. "For that program, we spend about $1,000 (USD) a month, with the support of donors from Thailand," she said.
The workers, like the many foreign tourists who stream to the unspoiled local beaches, are attracted to the many "beer girls," young women working in the 20 or so small clubs in Sihanoukville, about 185 kilometers (about 115 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh.
"We regularly visit the girls who sell beer at the clubs and encourage them to attend our education program," Kakda, a member of the Volunteers of the Good Shepherd Sisters, told UCA News. The volunteers give lessons on English and beauty care, she said, so that the beer girls can have a better future.
Kakda, 20, was speaking just before starting her English lesson inside a club amid the sound of romantic music mixed with that of rain hitting the roof. She said working with the beer girls is not easy because the bar owners make them work long hours and "are afraid we will take the girls away."
Sitting nearby is 19-year-old Roath, another volunteer. "I face a lot of difficulties doing this, but I am convinced it is important for these girls to look for something different in their lives, a more dignified career and a better way of living," she told UCA News.
The beer girls are looked down upon in local society, Roath said. "I am a Khmer girl like them, and I want to share with them my skills and knowledge."
Good Shepherd Sister Michele Lopez, an Indonesian who heads her congregation in Sihanoukville, told UCA News she began the project with another sister at the beginning of this year. However, the other nun "went back to her country," she said, "so I continued with a group of six Khmer volunteers."
"This job is not hard," Sister Lopez remarked. "It is part of the charisma of our religious congregation." She added that she stresses to the volunteers it is important for the beer girls to recognize the dignity of human work and to have an opportunity for a better future. The nun speaks only limited Khmer, so she prefers to let the volunteers without her go to the clubs.
Samnag, 20, is one of the beer girls who told UCA News about themselves. She has been a beer girl for two years and she said she thanks the volunteers for their lessons because that helps her communicate well with foreign guests.
Asked about her ambitions, she responded softly, "I would like very much to run my own business, a beauty shop or a small store at the market. I work here because I could not find any other job. However, I would rather do something else."
Sophal, another beer girl, has another view. "I do not have enough time to study English with the Good Shepherd Sisters' group because I work at night and I have to sleep during the day," she explained.
Even so, the 30-year-old woman from Kompong Chhnang province, just north of Phnom Penh, realizes she cannot work here for long. "I am getting older," she admitted, "and I also want to open a business from my house."
Srey Nang, 23, has a different story. She said she used to work in rubber plantations in her hometown in Kompong Cham, northeast of Phnom Penh, but prefers to work as a beer girl, even if the pay is about the same.
"I cannot go back home because I feel very shy with friends and neighbors," she said. Back home, she explained, a man used to rape her and she became pregnant. "After I delivered, I left the baby with my mother and ran away."
Nonetheless, Nang does want to return home eventually. "I am trying to save money to go back and start my own business," she said.
Sister Lopez pointed out that the Good Shepherd nuns also run a center for marginalized women and children in the town. "For that program, we spend about $1,000 (USD) a month, with the support of donors from Thailand," she said.
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