Home About Us The Problem Projects Self Help Achievements Cambodia Gallery Support Us Contact Us Thank Yous	This Project is supported by Terre des Hommes – Germany I. THE PROJECT Project title: Promoting Civil Society Transformation (PCST) amongst children based in Pailin Municipality Project Rationale: Pailin, located 375 kilometers northwest of the capital of Cambodia, is the smallest municipality and famous for the precious gem-mine stones and fruits farms. Before the war, 1975, the people of this city had a high standard of living conditions. The city presently consists of two Khans (districts), 8 Sangkats (communes), and 83 villages. The total land is 109.866 square kilometers, of which 33.000 hectares is agricultural land while the others are mountains and forests. Approximately 95% of the total population of 41.284 persons are farmers whose lives depend on planting corn, rice, sesame, soy bean and digging stones etc. Since it is a mountainous area, the plants are relying completely on rain. In the previous years, from 2000–2004 and the beginning of 2005, most of the areas of Pailin were affected by drought. At least 80% of the total population faced food shortage, especially the migrants who have no farmland. A direct result of the poverty and breakdown of society caused lots of people in this area to become the most vulnerable. They are frequently forced to leave homes to work in Thailand. Many children stay illiterate because the parents are poor, cannot afford to pay for a higher level of education and the school facilities do not respond to the increasing numbers of children in the areas. Instead of going to school, the children have to work beyond their physical strength or ability to assist their parents in earning an income. The lives of people who have no farmland depends on selling their labor to others in the villages to assist in harvesting corn, sesame and soybean - just to live from hand to mouth. Some people take risks and cross the border to work in Thailand as construction workers or other workers in order to make money. Project Goal: To contribute to poverty reduction of the remote populations through education, livelihood improvement, and promotion of democratic civil society transformation at village level Project Objectives: Objective I: Encourage the participation of children in democratic civil society interaction among clubs and project supported temporary schools are incorporate with government structures at village level. To overcome this objective, CVD carefully assigns specific plan of action in the project operation as shown in log-frame, enclosed. Tactics to be incorporated are aimed at improving the implementation children’s clubs, temporary schools formation process so that they can be applied in real situation. This method would serve greater benefits and give more chance of larger group/club representatives and members to have full access in managing on-going activities within their village. The project focuses mainly on 6 - 17 age children where they are generally club members and access temporary schools where they can meet and discuss any children’s issue and have access to assistance such as referral, evacuation and access to legal support, where needed. Main activities to be introduced to the club will be to set up tentative schedule (see detail in project work plan) of club regular meetings, joint work in village of public benefit such as cleaning village school, temple, road and other community needs. These club members will receive additional information related to child issue include, rights, domestic violence, trafficking and labor. When these activities are introduced to groups/club members, they will become familiarized with these problems and find their solutions. The teachers employed for temporary schools have to improve and to have more involvement in children’s clubs development and be equipped with special skill to handle traumatize children. This point of action plans to have all teachers receive additional teaching skills and techniques for improving their capacity. The teacher capacity building where they are provided with practical and theoretical teaching skills and will receive full understanding of community-based development concepts in order to perform themselves positively to the children in classes and to their community as a whole. Objective II: Promote attitudinal development among villagers, particularly within village associations/clubs in order to lead to positive change. The project designs various ways to involve village, commune authorities in SHG group discussion and development of plan for the groups. The project set up activities aimed at building capacity of group representatives and their members in various soft skills which could lead to better and more effective project management, work plan, resources management and group facilitation, leadership and evaluation skills. The plan of actions for this project is to look into authorities’ participation and encourage the village, commune leaders to recognize activities/projects that are initiated by groups/associations within their respective villages, so that they are mutually agreed upon and communally implemented. Trainings, workshops, advocacy and lobby for support from authorities will be conducted within this project life. Objective III: Strengthening capacity of associations/clubs in resource mobility and management of groups/clubs' small-scale community-based management to address basic needs, including food security, social welfare and infrastructure rehabilitation. In order to attain the overall self-sufficiency and food security of the targeted families, the project develops its approaches and extended further skills training to targeted community on general understanding of the consequence of chemical fertilizer. Also introduce a natural composed fertilizer to the groups which will be extended into a larger scope in term of securing fertilized-land, and to look into the production capacity of multi-crops generation from available soil. This is aiming at promoting the families’ economic self-support and long term sustainability. The element of community’s participation is much further then just meeting together and discussing issue, it is to become involved in other communal work. This serves in two different folds, first is to gain public benefit and secondly to given away to the unique community building where in consequence it contributes to the building of sense of community and solidarity as a whole. The collaborated work, such as building a village temporary school, where there are a lot of commitment and contribution. Therefore, the project and the community need to identify on-going communal work within their village and those activities that are not necessarily funded by the external sources but by local available resources. II. PROBLEMS THAT AFFECT THE BENEFICIARIES Civil Society: In a country accustomed to autocratic and highly centralized authorities there are no inherent expectations of participation by the people-either on part of the authorities and even less on part of individual citizens. Traditional patronage management has conditioned the people to look to their superiors for instruction, advice, support and favors. Personal initiative is not encouraged. The current political stands of Cambodian policy contribute to dominant structures which lead to distrust and fear of political exploitation. Villagers need to look at themselves differently after years of socialist regimes have left them with a perception of themselves that is at odds with taking charge of their own development. There is a need to increase people’s sense of self-worth and confidence in their own ability and community. Education: The Cambodian people have suffered from the genocidal and civil war for decades, which brought about the destruction of human resources, natural environment, culture, society, and infrastructures. Of our next generation of Cambodian children, especially the ones who live in the remote areas, nearly 80 percent are not aware of their own culture and traditions, and often have more exposure to the vulnerability. The current history of Cambodia has left a legacy of high numbers of vulnerable people of all ages. The devastated health and social services as well as educational facilities have neither the financial means nor the human resources to cope with the overwhelming needs of the people. Children are therefore not regarded as, nor have the opportunities or confidence to become, fully contributing community members. The educational problems which affect children in villages where CVD plans to impose the project are no primary school existed for children, very bad condition of road access and huge number (70% approx.) of the families are very poor, where they some time not eve have food to feed the children. The existing schools that were building by the government are normally located at a well access, big community, or close to the township, where the rural children cannot access to these resources. Case Study: Srae Trach is a name of a new isolated annex of Tasanh Cheung village, Tasanh commune, Samlaut district, Battambang province, located in the forest around 10 kilometers south-east of the district head quarter. The people of this village are becoming poorer and poorer; they have to force themselves to sell their labors (locally employed by well-off people) to earn extra money, many children are forced to joint this kind of opportunities; eventually they are just turn into uneducated children. There were reasons behind these unfortunate situations for those children unable to attend schools, there could be workload that children are obligated to the families, lack of education facilities, schools and the distance of the government schools are too far from their villages. Mr. Kel Rady, 42 years old, volunteer school teacher, mentioned that in year 2004, there was a community meeting held, initiate by villagers. The purpose of the meeting was to find ways to set up a small classroom for grade 1 so that their children can learn just to read and write. “The villagers made a request to submit to commune council and the district authority from which we received only the negative respond. Then another meeting was held to find alternative solution; it came out with the great vision that we could share in among ourselves of small amount contribution. With this small contribution from the villagers, a small and very temporary school was built with thatch roof, bamboo wall and wooden frame” continued Rady. “A school building was completed in a few weeks later, the villagers submitted again a proposal to the commune and district authority to request for a teacher, but they were told that no teacher can be posted to that area because it is a very remote, teacher did not want and could not stay there” said Rady. When asking why you were selected to be a teacher for this school, “In this village, everyone knows that I had some education background and they asked me to voluntarily teach the children in the village. I; then agreed with the request and started the class. I asked money for only 100 or 200 riels ($ 0.04) from the students’ parents to buy chalk and necessary supplies, but I have to make clear to the villagers that the amount is not consider as an obligation or my personal benefit but they are for supporting the activities. All members of the community can still have their children to attend schools even if they cannot afford to pay with the amount. I know they are poor” replied Rady. “I am also poor amongst the poor families in the village. I don’t know how long I am able to voluntarily teach the children. I need to work to support my family as well; I may leave my children any day.” continued Rady. Domestic violence and child trafficking: Family violence has increased significantly after decades of war in Cambodia, especially in the rural areas. Most of the cases happened in the poor families caused by minor disputes, different perceptions (view-point) in the family and/or sometime because of the misunderstanding, jealousy, drunken (depression). The conflict leads to physical violation. When the domestic violation took place, the whole family structures are affected, these include the children and even the close relatives. In some cases the results were beyond the control but it leads to juridical process and/or conviction of criminal actions. Consequently the children become un-dependent, abandon, street children, beggars, and gangs and/or encountered at risk situation which exposed to sexual harassment or to any form of trafficking and exploitation. When there is no school existed in the area, the children are expected to work to help their parents to earn income to support the families. People who have no farmland, their livings are depending upon the selling of labors to others in the villages in harvesting corn, sesame, and soybean just to live from hand to mouth. Some people take risk to cross the border to work in Thailand as the construction workers or other work to make money. Case Study: Pres Vanny, 16 years old, a daughter of Mr. Pres Vanna, 48 and Mrs. Sem Sean, 42 years old living in O Andong village, Sangkat O Andong, Khan Salakrav, Pailin municipal. This is a very poor farmer family. On 16 April 2005, the father, Mr Vanna intended to rape his daughter, but failed because the daughter ran out of home and did not come back until now. The mother said that it is not the first time that the father attempts to rape his daughter, this is the third time and my daughter decided to leave home.The neighbors told that Mr. Vanna is doing nothing but drinking and fighting wife and children almost every day. Chab Dina, a name of a 16 years old girl, who was trafficked to an unknown place, and so far did not come back home yet. Like other children in the village, Dina is living with jobless, depending completely upon a widow mother of a very poor family in Prey Rumchek village, Tasanh commune, Samlaut district Battambang province, located around 90 kilometres from Battambang provincial town. Dina has never been to school because she has to help her mother to manage her house work and working in the field to support her family. Mrs. Chea Kimleang, Dina’s mother told us that there was one day, on 4 March 2005; a man whose name is Mr. Chhay, (represented himself as garment factory worker) in Phnom Penh, came to visit his cousins in Prey Rumchek village (Tasanh commune, Samlot district, Battambang province) and came around to her house to seek if she wanted her daughter go and work with him and promised to offer a good job in the garment factory. Failing in negotiation with the mother, Chhay tried to convince the girl until she agreed to go with him. 4-5 days later the mother knew (someone told her) that her daughter was about to be sold by Mr Chhay, but the daughter was rescued and taken to Tamnak Snoul village, Tani commune, Takeo province. She then, contacted the owner of the house where her daughter was staying, but she was told that her daughter was no longer staying there. “I tried all my best to find my daughter, but I don’t know where she is living and how she is doing now” ended the mother sadly. III. PLAN TO OVERCOME: With length of experience while working along side with the poor, underprivileged communities CVD found a “self-help concept” to be the best solution for sustainable strategy. CVD is to work with and help to identify causes and appropriate responds so that the beneficiaries evict themselves from difficult condition and can manage to meet their own needs. This approach is initially focused on the provision, facilitation and better utilization of resources in the village, through the implementation of a wide range of micro-projects. The project will respond solely to the needs prioritized by the villagers and, for the most part, address family economic, food security and other physical assistance. However, CVD conscious of the need for social and personal development included rights awareness and sense of community restoration in targeted villages. The self-help group approach will lead to genuine people-centered development where people are, not only at the center of development efforts, but also take responsibility for their own development and success. CVD plans to set up a project “Promoting Civil Society Transformation” It is a two-year project which overall goal is to improve the family living condition of the poor. The activities, including the enhancement of the local products by encouraging people to identify what are available and what they can do locally rather than buying those from outsiders, basic training on animal husbandry, credit scheme, pig and cow bank, aquaculture and child rights awareness, particularly for children. All processes are made through the self-help concept. To overcome these points, CVD has carefully developed specific plan of actions for the project operation as shown in log-frame, enclosed. The methods incorporate are aimed at improving the implementation of self-help guideline, selection criteria and process so that they can be applied in real situation. The guideline will facilitate the group where they can attain an autonomous and full decision on member selection, activities management at their group level. CVD will take role as external facilitators and eventually the group will assume overall group control and direction. The project seeks for the authority participation and encourages the village, commune and district leaders to recognize activities that are initiated by groups within their respective villages. Back     Home
Help and Hope to the Vulnerable Cambodian Vision in Development Battambang, Cambodia