Who are the YEAY CHI? An interview with Mr. Vira from HelpAge Cambodia

Who are the YEAY CHI? An interview with Mr. Vira from HelpAge Cambodia

Understanding Yeay Chi and Elder Care in Cambodia: An Interview with HelpAge Yeay Chi in the temples of Angkor Wat. Photography by: Paul Wozniak Mr. TUM Vira is the Executive Director of HelpAge Cambodia, a not-for-profit organization that helps elderly people in Cambodia. HelpAge envisions a society in which all older people can lead dignified, active, healthy, and secure lives. Mr. Vira came to HelpAge from a micro-finance background, and continues to lead the organization with a sense of duty and care. We had the privilege of speaking with him to better understand key challenges elderly people (and specifically women) face in Cambodia. As a child, his family had a stall at Phsar Nat (central market) in Battambang. From a young age, Mr. Vira saw beggars, especially children and elderly women, at the market and empathized with them, imagining his own family in this situation. He now leads HelpAge Cambodia to help marginalized, elderly people in Cambodia have access to resources, opportu…