One of the challenges of the CLEW program is to find students in rural Cambodia that qualify for our program. Our criteria is that they must be from a poor family but have finished high school with sufficient grades to be accepted into the Royal University of Law & Economics in Phnom Penh, the leading law school in Cambodia. CLEW has partnered with Plan International in Cambodia to find eligible students to receive a CLEW sponsorship. CLEW provides a safe dorm for the students to live, full tuition, books, healthcare, living expenses and English training. In the past 3 years, we have had 14 students who have been recruited through Plan and all are currently doing well at university.
I have sponsored children through Plan (Canada) International since the year 2000. I have visited two different children that I have sponsored in Cambodia and it is always a very rewarding experience.
I have sponsored children through Plan (Canada) International since the year 2000. I have visited two different children that I have sponsored in Cambodia and it is always a very rewarding experience.
My day with Plan in Tboung Khmum, Cambodia
On December 4, 2015, I arranged to visit my sponsored child, Sreynich, in the province of Tboung Khmum, Cambodia. A good friend of mine, Tan Try, is from that area so he offered to drive me and act as interpreter. We left Phnom Penh at about 6 in the morning and arrived at the Plan office in Tboung Khmum at around 9. I had signed all the required documents in Canada so our guide, Pengleap, was able to join us and take us for the tour of the area. We were also joined by Phany, a Plan Community Development Officer in the area, but she drove on her motorcycle which was covered with multiple Plan logos. I’m sure she is a welcome site to many of the villagers. Pengleap and Phany spoke excellent English so they were great guides for us.
Tboung Khmum is a newly created province as the government decided to split the province of Kampong Cham in half after the last election in 2013. The new province's name consists of two words in Khmer, tboung (gem, precious jewel) and khmum (bee), which together mean "amber". This province shares a border with Viet Nam and about 60% of the population is Muslim with the remainder being primarily Buddhist.
In Cambodia, there has been a peaceful coexistence with the Cham (Muslim) Community for many years. Sadly, there was recently an incidence of violence against some school girls studying at a local Islamic school - http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/muslim-schoolgirls-gassed-tbong-khmum. It seems that it is difficult for Muslim girls to get an education no matter where they are in the world!
In Cambodia, there has been a peaceful coexistence with the Cham (Muslim) Community for many years. Sadly, there was recently an incidence of violence against some school girls studying at a local Islamic school - http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/muslim-schoolgirls-gassed-tbong-khmum. It seems that it is difficult for Muslim girls to get an education no matter where they are in the world!
Visit to a new Preschool built by Plan
We started our day in Tboung Khmum with a visit to a new preschool that was built by Plan. It was essentially a concrete platform with an open wooden frame and steel roof. The teacher had done a good job decorating it to make it welcoming to the children. There were about 30 children and 15 adults there waiting for us to arrive.
Pengleap introduced us to the children and then asked me to say a few words and he would translate. I told them about coming from Canada where it is cold and we have to wear coats and boots and hats and mittens. One woman spoke up and said they felt it was cold that day because it was below 30 degrees. I laughed because I was perspiring and it felt like a hot summer day to me!
Pengleap introduced us to the children and then asked me to say a few words and he would translate. I told them about coming from Canada where it is cold and we have to wear coats and boots and hats and mittens. One woman spoke up and said they felt it was cold that day because it was below 30 degrees. I laughed because I was perspiring and it felt like a hot summer day to me!
The children then welcomed me with a beautiful song that was a traditional Khmer song to welcome someone to Cambodia. I was completely charmed by these adorable children! Then they asked me to sing a song. Well, anybody who knows me, knows that I can’t sing so I picked an easy one – Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes. I had all the kids doing the actions with me so it was really cute and they learned some English at the same time!!
We shared some snacks that we had brought and had a lovely time. Then class was over and the parents arrived on motorcycles or walking to take the kids home for an afternoon nap.
I was pleased to see that Plan had provided a safe and secure well for fresh water for the children. However, the makeshift latrine was pretty pathetic so the children didn’t want to use it. Since the school had just opened there hadn’t been time or money to put in a new latrine yet. I asked how much it would cost for a new latrine and was told $300. So, I decided that for Christmas, I would like to donate a latrine to this school and made the arrangements before I left. It feels good to know that Plan will take care of this and these children will have a safe clean place to go to the toilet rather than soiling the property around the school.
Learning about Plan's community based projects
Our next stop was to meet the Chief of the District and some of his staff. They gave us a presentation on the work they are doing with the help of Plan. It was impressive to learn about the issues faced in the area, the progress they’ve made and the many projects still to do.
One interesting project is a community based micro-finance solution developed by Plan. We met the community leader who was managing the fund that started 3 years ago with $30 and now has over 70 members and a fund of $10,000. Each member puts in money to join and then they can borrow money to finance specific business projects. They are charged 2.5% interest per month and the interest earned goes back to the fund minus a small management fee. This way, the community is benefitting from the interest earned rather than some foreign bank. It seems like a brilliant idea which could be replicated elsewhere.
Meeting my sponsored child, Sreynich, and her family
Next we went to see my sponsored child, 13 year old Sreynich, at her home. Her parents, both farmers, were there along with her 18 year old sister and 16 year old brother. I was greeted with a fresh coconut, with a hole cut in the top so I could drink the juice with a straw. It was delicious! We enjoyed some time with them and the local children who curiously wanted to see who this foreigner was. I had brought a few things from the market which we shared with them.
Then, Sreynich’s sister served us a traditional Khmer lunch. Sreynich wanted to draw me a picture so Phany went and got some paper and coloured pencils for her to draw a lovely picture of some flowers. Sreynich loves to draw and colour so she also gave me a number of pictures that she had previously drawn which were all quite good.
Sreynich goes to the local school which fortunately isn’t too far away. There is a primary and lower secondary school within an easy walking distance. Unfortunately, after Grade 9, she will have to go to the high school which is 12 Kms away. It is too far away to go every day so she would have to find accommodations near the school if she is to complete Grades 10 – 12. This is a problem for many students in these villages and as a result, most drop out of school after Grade 9 because they can’t afford to go away. This was the case for Sreynich’s sister so she dropped out and now has a small business selling sweets to the villagers.
It never ceases to amaze me the resilience of these people and how they manage to enjoy a simple lifestyle despite the hardships they must endure. I have also seen firsthand the work that Plan is doing in various communities in Cambodia and many of our CLEW students have benefitted from their support.
I have always admired the work that Plan does and we at CLEW really appreciate our relationship with Plan in Cambodia. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit the girls that I am supporting through Plan in Cambodia. My dream is that at least one of them will become a student in CLEW. However, this is not assured due to the hurdles confronting girls from the countryside to graduate high school. It is my goal to continue to support them and work to reduce those hurdles.