Communications at work

On the plus side, the CODEC office has got three computers (albeit all old and two with viruses and no virus protection) and a printer. On the minus side there is no telephone, photocopier, fax, internet, e-mail or postal service, and there’s the additional problem of power cuts from time to time!! Needless to say, office life is very different here than in England and is much quieter, slower and less efficient. In UK terms, it would not cost much to get the necessary office technology in place which would help CODEC to progress and become more effective. Unfortunately, as all of CODEC’s income comes from donors who sponsor specific projects, there is no funding to install or maintain new technology. The staff and I find ways of coping, e.g. individuals sometimes use their personal mobile phones for work, I bring my own laptop in, letters are dropped off on the way home or sent by taxi to Phnom Penh, documents are copied at the photocopy shop in town, etc. Sometimes, though, when I think of the office at home with its daily piles of post and multitudinous e-mails, I am quite thankful that everything is so backward here!