Wednesday
Jun082011
LO Society Canada visits Banteay Meanchey (part 2)
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 3:26PM
by Brian Pollard, board member of Lotus Outreach Society Canada
In the afternoon, by travelling on a dusty, potholed road for 8km (it felt like 80, by far the worst road I have ever been on), we visited a grade 9 student, Sochea, at her home. Her parents are landless peasants (like so many others in this area) and live in a bamboo and palm leaf one room house with a curtain of sorts dividing it into two “rooms”. Six children and two nephews sleep on one side and the parents sleep on the other. There is a kitchen of sorts attached to the house, but no plumbing, electricity, or toilet except for a field outside. The parents work as farm laborers. If there is work, they get $3 per day in Cambodia or $4 a day by crossing into Thailand. "If" is the operative word here.
Children of a family receiving rice support
The family gets a 50kg rice subsidy from LO for which they are grateful. (Note:for me personally, the trip in this region was most embarrassing. I was by far the fattest person - everyone else was lean, or downright skinny.) The father was most proud of the fact that all the children were attending school. Whether they go beyond primary school is another matter, but they will be able to read and write a bit.
We stayed overnight in Poipet and the next day went to Sisophon. After checking into our hotel (all costs of the trip were borne by Alison and I), we went to a a safe house for abused women where we met an LO-funded psychologist, Sokny. With Raksmey being an excellent translator, we learned about all the efforts Sokny puts in to help the highly traumatized clients that come to the center. Individual counseling focuses on building trust, discussing problems, and identifying strengths to develop positive thinking and self-esteem. Group counseling, first small then large, makes them aware that they are not alone.
Clients also do beadwork, embroidery, and dressmaking to take their minds off their problems and give them a sense of accomplishment. Finally, they are reintegrated into the community when they are emotionally and physically fit, have finished one skills training module, and have made a business plan. They are given $25 as a life start grant, and some may get up to $200 to start a business. In the year after they leave the center, there receive three follow-up visits.
I was very impressed with the work that was being done for these women and with the shelter manager, who at one time ran the place alone - handling irate husbands and men thinking that the center was a brothel, as well as receiving numerous death threats.
Brian and Alison meet Ochea and her family
In the afternoon, by travelling on a dusty, potholed road for 8km (it felt like 80, by far the worst road I have ever been on), we visited a grade 9 student, Sochea, at her home. Her parents are landless peasants (like so many others in this area) and live in a bamboo and palm leaf one room house with a curtain of sorts dividing it into two “rooms”. Six children and two nephews sleep on one side and the parents sleep on the other. There is a kitchen of sorts attached to the house, but no plumbing, electricity, or toilet except for a field outside. The parents work as farm laborers. If there is work, they get $3 per day in Cambodia or $4 a day by crossing into Thailand. "If" is the operative word here.
Children of a family receiving rice supportThe family gets a 50kg rice subsidy from LO for which they are grateful. (Note:for me personally, the trip in this region was most embarrassing. I was by far the fattest person - everyone else was lean, or downright skinny.) The father was most proud of the fact that all the children were attending school. Whether they go beyond primary school is another matter, but they will be able to read and write a bit.
We stayed overnight in Poipet and the next day went to Sisophon. After checking into our hotel (all costs of the trip were borne by Alison and I), we went to a a safe house for abused women where we met an LO-funded psychologist, Sokny. With Raksmey being an excellent translator, we learned about all the efforts Sokny puts in to help the highly traumatized clients that come to the center. Individual counseling focuses on building trust, discussing problems, and identifying strengths to develop positive thinking and self-esteem. Group counseling, first small then large, makes them aware that they are not alone.
Clients also do beadwork, embroidery, and dressmaking to take their minds off their problems and give them a sense of accomplishment. Finally, they are reintegrated into the community when they are emotionally and physically fit, have finished one skills training module, and have made a business plan. They are given $25 as a life start grant, and some may get up to $200 to start a business. In the year after they leave the center, there receive three follow-up visits.
I was very impressed with the work that was being done for these women and with the shelter manager, who at one time ran the place alone - handling irate husbands and men thinking that the center was a brothel, as well as receiving numerous death threats.
Brian and Alison meet Ochea and her family
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