In Singapore, we may have more financial capital, but here in Cambodia it seems they possess more of the other capitals. It seems pretty funny to me how we, considered by some definitions a more developed country, “progressed” when really we are merely exchanging one type of capital for another.

As I think back, I am not too clear on why as to I decided to go on an OCIP trip like this – was it to confirm my cynical criticisms on volunteerism or a subconscious desire to prove myself wrong? Whichever the case, I don’t think I’m regretting it.

Phnom Penh is a city littered with microfinance institutions. I often fear that social entrepreneurship has become too top-down in its approach, weighed down by fancy jargon. But at OBCR, the average turnaround for a loan is just one week, from application to issuance.