A. Brief Introduction:
The Skills Training for Disabled Children project’s first incepted
in middle of 2003, during the visit of Dr. Fran Van Dijk, Regional
Director of Terre Des Hommes – Netherlands (TdH – NL). After an
in-depth discussion between CVD and the donor (TdH - NL), we received
an official affirmation on the approval of the project entitled
"Skills Training Center for Disabled Children", CB- 037B on November
12, 2003. Prior to agreement from TdH - NL, CVD conducted field
assessments, case research and economical studies amongst disabled
children, their families throughout the surrounding districts of
Battambang province.
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On December 1st 2003, the Skills Training Center for Disabled Children
commences its operation in providing various skills to children that
were selected from surrounding districts of Battambang Province. The
selection processes were based on criteria and conditions that approved
upon the proposed action planned.
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Prior to the admission of children into the skills training center,
CVD assesses to all children and their families in different level
included living condition of their families, families income status
etc., predominantly we assess on individual case for possible income
generation activities that will be initiate after the graduation and
their intended skills availability supported by the project.
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Most of the cases selected for skills training were potentially
suitable to the criteria and options that were designed by the project.
This means that any child that we decided to take over for skills
training opportunity we have looked into their potential and being able
to generate income by trained skills and the suitability of business
within their respective location after graduation.
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It should be noted that, in May 2003 cases assessment, there were 130
identified within 6 districts of Battambang province. There 49 fitting
to our selection criteria and 81 cases fall through the net of this
screening due to funding restriction and the project strategy. On
another hand this project is only for piloting the outcome, therefore
we need to restrict for small amount of number. Hopefully the results
of this project will be positive and by then we may extend to a larger
number of students and/or establish our own compound for providing
such opportunity to those vulnerable children in the future. If the
center is to be considered for new cycle in the future, CVD will
propose for a revision on selection criteria where we will make more
cases to be accessible to the skills training, particularly for those
who have little or less literacy level and physical mobility. The
modification of the selection criteria may include the extension of
literacy class and/or different skill which demand less literacy levels.
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B. Children admission into the Training Center:
- Food – clothing supply
After an admission of children into the skills training center, the
project arranged a welcoming jiffy to introduce all children to a
new living quarter (a private rented compound). In this compound, the
children are offered meals/food. Meals are made available 3 times a day
where they have breakfast in the morning, lunch and dinner. Because of
numbers of children, meals are normally prepared to have in group. All
children will have and shared the same food as other friends at the same
time of the day.
Among all children we selected for the training course are coming from
very poor families. They do not have appropriate clothes/dress for every
day use, therefore the project supplied as accordingly. Some child only
possesses a pair of cloth and are wrack-down. The project supplies all
children with uniform to use during work (attending class) time. Later on,
when the sewing class started, there are some trail materials and they
were made up to basic cloth, the project managed to distribute freely to
the most needed children.
Every morning they are served breakfast (7:00am) before they go to the
class. Each group meets and receives a short briefing of the day before
they start the class. Every day the children will receive new information
from each trainer, mainly the messages are focused on personal behavior,
disciplinary, social moral and concept of motivation regarding the skill
that they are going to learn in that day.
- Medical Health/Care
The project has taken a very close monitoring on children’s well being,
especially their health/care. In the very first one or two weeks, the
children have a bit of problem with drinking water (purified water). They
complain on strange taste and hard to adapt. They used to drink fresh water
from creeks or damps and their taste different. After all they get used to
it and no more problems.
As their physically weak, for some children, they commonly fall to sickness
easily. Some child has to spend quite a lot of time visiting the doctor.
The project have to take care all the expenses insure that they all are safe.
Some children have problem with their access facilities such as crutches and
wheelchairs, thus the project have arranged to fix these entire problem with
the existing organization that takes care on free distribution of these assets.
- Recreation/leisure
In the center, the project also arranged full access to leisure activities
that can be enjoyed by the children, avoid homesickness and promote physical
exercise purposes. The games are made available for both, boy and girl,
anticipatable.
Click to enlarge
We have a volley ball field, badminton, space for skipping rope, small yard
for everyone to enjoy planting of flowers and decoration trees. During public
holiday, the children were organized to anticipate traditional games where
appropriated.
Regular sporting schedule are also arranged to happen for all children to
involve in every Saturday afternoon. The children can choose any game they
like and they all are encouraged to be part of sport activities. We understand
that there is some limitation of physical access to some sport, but many of the
children (particularly boy) like volleyball very much and they can do it very
well, even they are physically disabled.
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C. Center Functioning:
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I. Electronic skill
In the first week of settlement of children into the center, they were divided
into small group based on training options. The project identified a group of
student who need electronic skill training was very small in number (only 3
children) and this skill required quite a big amount of inputs such as the
trainers fee is high, expensive equipment and demanding length of time (at
least 1 year) in order to train this particular skill. Therefore, the project
seeks advice and approval from the Director of CVD and TdH – NL (the donor) to
allow sending this group of students to have their skills trained by a private
trainer outside the compound, where the cost is smaller and more realistic for
the skill.
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II. Sewing skill
There are 10 handicaps girls chose sewing skill option for their course within
this term. The project assigned 1 trainer for this skill and fully equipped with
training material and equipment. As the trainer is very organized and well
experience in training skill, she produced a training module and copies all those
materials to distribute freely to all students to keep as reference when needed.
This sewing skill training conducted in two different methods, firstly is to
give the students of general theory session on sew technique, where secondly
giving actual practical exercises on each topic.
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The trainer is not just teaching these students on how to use, maintain the
sewing machine, but she also giving basic knowledge on how to fix minor problem
concern its normal operation. The trainer gave all students chances to have basic
knowledge in manual and electrical (electrical motor powered) sewing machine
operation in case in the respected area is inaccessible and not suitable to
install a powered machine.
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Based on recent assessment and an ongoing observation to all the students’
capability and ability of receiving this new skill, the project found out that
there are 8 cases out of 10 has been highly qualified of excellence result where
1 of 10 is qualified to be fair grade and 1 of 10 is not good. The main reason for
these 2 students that they are not receiving a good result was due to her mental
problem. Both of them are minded slower then the others. She needs a lot more
coaching and refreshing lesson. She can do it so far, but only slower then the
friends in the same class.
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We are aware that the polio disability cases were in large potion caused from high
fever and by then the brain may have been affected. Therefore, many cases of polio
fall into both circumstances, mentally and physically disabled. In fact, there
were many cases identified during our case assessment in the community prior to
the selection, but they have to drop out from the list due to their mental issue.
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III. Hair dressing skill
Out of 38 children there 14 are girls where 10 take sewing skill and 4 chose the
beauty skill. It is the nature of Cambodian population where this maybe the same
as in other culture that girls are normally love to have a job related to beauty,
if they only have limited options.
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One of the other reason that the project team can only select for 4 girls to have
this option was due to the appropriation of their physical mobility, limitation in
mobility (moving around in less distances) in doing some other work.
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Click to enlarge
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Based on field assessment to their logging and the vicinity, there are season that
these children decided to take hair dressing as their main occupation in the future
is potential. In accordance with real situation in their vicinity was that there is
no or very few people have this hair dressing skill in their village or the
surrounding vicinity, secondly the option that they chose is fit best to their
physical limitation, and thirdly, there is potential market for such skill in the
area where they hope they can make enough income for living in the future.
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IV. Motorcycle repairing skill
The file assessment to children who intended to have motorcycle skill training shown
that there are potential occasion that those children could use or apply their skills
learnt within their village. Some of the children have already been assessed for
installing workshop in their village. Reflecting to reality and practical feature,
the project should consider an alternative by not just allowing new graduate student
to start their shop in the first stage but they have to have marketing experience
within their area.
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The project staff/manager and the teacher recommend that all students should identify
an existing workshop for employment at the first phase. The mechanic trainer present
his experience in his previous classes that he use to train and get a lot of lessons
learnt with a new student that were graduate from public training schools. Sometimes
when they just newly trained from schools and starts their business straight out, they
were generally encountered a lot of problems.
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Click to enlarge
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Mainly, the new-hand technician (less experience) do not have much negotiation skill
and self-promotion to attract customers, lack of confident, no partner to discuss on
major technical issue and particularly they are not familiarized with independent
situation. When they faced to those above situations, the children (new-hand technicians)
are normally loss all effort and possibly tired with skills learnt and never success in
their business.
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During the market assessment ducted in village of these children, we found out that there
are others need of skills related to mechanical. This is not just a motorcycle, but local
made trucks (steal buffalos) that are also every common require for basic repairmen. Their
mechanical structures are basically similar and it can be apply with the same procedure to
the motorcycle machinery. The project therefore, offers this additional skill to the
children who take the mechanic repairing skill option.
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These steal-buffaloes are normally made of normal generators and attached it on to a
two-wheel structure. They are used for ploughing paddy field, transport goods, and
passengers' carrier. These multi – functioned machine are very popular in Cambodia, mainly
in the rural area. Thus their maintenance is also a demand for regular operation.
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The children hope that their skill could fulfill the market demand in their vicinity and
may produced acceptable income for their families. On the other hand, they said, their
skill would indirectly share to local revolve fund in the community benefits as the owner
of those equipment do not need to travel to far distance for fixing their items, but can
do it locally and cheeply. So the owners will not loss a lot of time and possibly the
fee-charged may be cheaper compare to time consuming, transportation involvement. And the
fee charge from big town technician can be higher.
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V. Community Assistance
Besides direct assistances for disabled children and skills provision, the project’s aim
is also to improve the living conditions of their family where necessary. These helps are
included small asset loans, agriculture revolving fund, seed, tools, technical assistance,
land clearing and other necessary support to increase their economic conditions.
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In the first month of the project commencement, project staff starts to revisit the families
of these admitted children within their respected village. The project staff, this time
went for individual family case assessment to identify possible support and plan in drawing
up action plan amongst those families. The plans are made in order to keep track and
facilitate the flow of successful data for monitoring purposes. The project have to take
into account of every identified case should be self-sufficiency in long term run.
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The project at first support basic and urgent assistances and encouraging full participation
from beneficiary so that they are not relying on the hand out, but they doing all works for
themselves. Within this reporting period, the project supported to 16 numbers of families in
14 villages 4 district of Battambang provinces. Major assistances were included; household
supplies, food rations, Medical assistance for ill cases, land clearance for agricultural
purposes, agricultural tool and short-term crop/seeds.
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