For our final round of homes, we’ll travel to Cambodia and the Philippines. Are you noticing any patterns among the building techniques in each region?

In these countries, it is not uncommon to see homes on stilts, offering protection from the periodic flooding and giving families extra space. Livestock may be kept in this space, or it may work as a kitchen for a family, as the picture of a home in Cambodia at right illustrates.Mission of Mercy also has projects on the Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Fed by two rivers, the shape and depth of the Tonle Sap changes every day, so homes in this region are built on pontoons. Children from this community take a boat to get to our floating school!
We’ll end this tour in the Philippines. Many homes here have outdoor porches, allowing families more room and a place to catch a cooler breeze in the tropical climate. Do you hang your clothes out to dry? Laundry day may be quite the event, as these two images show. Especially when they register their children in school, parents take special care to keep their children’s clothing clean.
What have you learned from this ‘round the world trip? Have these images helped you picture the type of home your sponsored child lives in? Please leave your comments below!