HISTORY

HISTORY of INVOLVEMENT in CAMBODIA

 In April 1992, New Humanity made a written Statement of intention to the MFA-IC to open an office and start operations in Cambodia.

On October 23-1992, an Agreement was signed with the Ministry of Education of Cambodia on a Program of Community Education integrated with Rural Community Development to be implemented for a 6-year period (renewable) in the two provinces of Kandal and Kompong Speu :

 *Ampoeu Prey & Kandaok communes, 35 Km south of Phnom Penh, Kandal Stung district, Kandal province, with 17 villages, 2080 families and a population of over 10.000.  Projects activities are planned up to the end of  2003, but a project continuation is being considered.

 *Veal Pon commune, 60 Km northwest of the Capital, Thpong district, Kompong Speu province, with 11 villages, 1280 families and over  6500 inhabitants.  Projects have been formally handed over to local authorities in January 1999.   N.H. supported the continuation of women development connected with income generating activities, and is still active.

The Main Objective of the program was to educate village people to an integral human development, aiming at promoting a sense of community, improving human resources and supporting local initiative.

 Activities have covered the basic aspects of life of village people with their needs and aspirations, with human resources development and provision of physical and social infrastructure within 2 Programs framework :

·        COMMUNITY  EDUCATION

·        COMMUNITY  DEVELOPMENT

The Strategy was a Community based and People centred Program, involving the local communities in a more participatory approach to define their own development project appropriate to local realities, implement and manage it in close cooperation with New Humanity, and encouraging them to take on their responsibilities for community education and development activities.

The component projects, targeting the different group of beneficiaries, i.e. children, women and farmers, were designed to improve the overall quality of life in the community. The component projects were a mix of capacity building projects (community education projects), as well as direct assistance and livelihood related projects (community development projects).   Below are the descriptions and objectives of each component project.

1.      Community Social Services – An immediate response to the emergency situations of the poorest of the poor, this project provided medical and dental services; health referrals; subsidies for medical expenses; regular food subsidy to the abandoned and the elderly; occasional food subsidy to victims of natural and social calamities; construction materials for homeless and very poor families. Home visitations for follow-up and monitoring of the status of the beneficiaries were regularly carried out.

2.      Children Special School – This project was designed to ease the problem of high illiteracy rate, the main goal was to prepare school age children from 5 to 9 year for integration or reintegration into the formal school system. And alternatively provided an appropriate 2-year special class program of studies for grown up students, between the age of 10 to 14, who did not consider going back to school. Activities were spaced in 3 hour regular daily classes.  Coordination with local school authorities to integrate the children into the formal school system and follow-up with students of the special class were  regular.

3.      Education for All – Also designed to ease the problem of illiteracy, this project involved advocacy for education of the children.  Parents and other community members were made aware of the importance of education through various promotional activities, facilitating the students registration into the formal school system.  Moreover, uniforms and other school items were provided to very poor families to assist them in providing an education to their children.

4.      Women Non-formal School – The project was aimed toward the empowerment of women and the reduction of the gender gap, firstly by providing basic literacy classes.  Here, women beneficiaries were taught reading, writing and arithmetic classes, crucial knowledge for any transaction with any individual in their community.

Livelihood skills were likewise imparted to the women to enable them to increase their family income. Primary health care and basic nutrition were also thaught to help them in taking care of their family. 

5.      Women Initiative Support Project – A complement of the Women Non-formal School, gave financial support to start small-scale enterprises such as handicrafts, sewing works, animals raising, rice processing etc.  Besides, it provided also marketing as well as technical support to women in their livelihood projects.  A long-term goal was the establishment of a savings and credit association for the women group.

6.      Agricultural Skills Training - The project was aimed at improving the agricultural productivity in the area. Topics included farming technologies for various crops, integrated pest management, environmental protection and sustainable agriculture.

7.      Agricultural Development Project – Complementary to the Agricultural Skills Training Project and aimed at providing an opportunity for farmers to apply the lessons learned.  Activities included seeds banking and distribution, establishment of demonstration farms and promotion of farmers' cooperative.  A farm produce competition was aimed at improving the crops genetics in the area, by comparing the best produce their seeds were saved and distributed to the farmers for the next planting season.

8.      Animal Raising Skills Training – This project was complementary to the Agricultural Skills Training and aimed at promoting animals farming.  Topics included selection, raising and breeding of cattle, swine and poultry.  Veterinary skills training are likewise provided for selected farmers to act as village local veterinarians.

9.      Animal Raising Development Project – Similarly, this project was the complement of the Animal Raising Skills Training.  The key feature was the provision of free veterinary services for farm animals  and the promotion of animals vaccination campaigns.

10. School Health Education – The project aimed to address the health problems of the community through collaboration with the local school. Local Teachers were given training on various health issues, including prevention of diseases, proper nutrition, personal hygiene, treatment of wounds and simple illnesses such as colds, fever, etc, as well as awareness of critical diseases –malaria, dengue, AIDS etc. Teachers then echoed the lessons to their students via the formal curriculum and together with selected students, they went around the community to teach the villagers and other children. Monitoring and Results were reported and discussed by the students in their class.

11. School Agricultural Education – Aimed at imparting agricultural knowledge to school Teachers and students while they are in school.  Recognizing the fact that the youth are more open to change, training on new farming technologies was provided with the view that they will be implemented in their own family farms, thereby supporting the farming skills training provided to their fathers and mothers. An annual garden and produce competition was likewise organized to assess the level of application of the knowledge imparted in the class.

12. Education & Development for the Disabled – The project provided care and appropriate education to the disabled people of the area.  A day-care center has been operating towards meeting the needs of the disabled and facilitate therapeutic exercises and educational activities.

 13. Outreach Education and Development – The project was aimed at providing a training and follow-up service to other Communities and Organizations for their Social Workers in the fields of Literacy, Crops Growing, Farm Animals Raising, Village Health, and Fieldwork. The Ampoeu Prey Community Development Centre has been promoting and facilitating all the Outreach service activities.

The  COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAM  had a priority plan for promoting the education of children.  Over 4500 schoolchildren were given special care with various activity based learning projects, special classes for out of school or weaker students helping to improve their learning skills, new teaching methods and materials and also adequate learning environment in 45 new classrooms.

Due attention was given to development oriented adult education projects, particularly literacy for women, field trainings for farmers, rural animators and village teachers.  More than 4000 people most of them women have been the beneficiaries.   N.H. tried  to improve  the human environment by promoting  self-confidence and helping people to get better organized in the various sectors of social life.

Health education projects were focused on educating village people and primary school students to the prevention of deseases and providing for a basic health service in community health centres, giving priority attention to preventive & primary health care for mothers & children,  besides training of village paramedics and traditional birth assistants.  Over 9000 people benefited from the public-health education promoted in schools and villages.

The COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM as a priority promoted development of agriculture and basic veterinary care, animal farming and pisciculture, family food production, income generating activities. Particular care was given to women development activities with embroidery and crochet, basket and mat weaving, sewing and tailoring, vegetable garden, animal farming. 

A community development centre has facilitated  and promoted the activities of the integrated education and development program, getting in touch with more than  9000 people.

Besides, as requested by the people, N.H. carried out activities aimed at solving the problem of water scarcity for ricefields, vegetable gardens irrigation and domestic use.  In order to secure at least one rice crop a year and provide clean drinking water, 8 Km canals and 2 Km dikes were rehabilitated,  45 family and community ponds excavated, 450 traditional family wells dug and 12 tubewells installed.  Road communications as well were improved with about 35 Km of roads repaired and construction of 12 bridges and water gates and about 30 road culverts, otherwise during the rainy season it was impossible to reach the villages.

PERSONNEL

The Project availed itself of the expertise of Expatriate Volunteers and also of Local Staff, who together visited daily the villages to carry out the education and development program.

In the changing and uncertain situation of Cambodia, N.H. has tried hard to implement the program as planned, because we believed that it was urgent to give HOPE especially to rural people, for so long forsaken and neglected.

FUNDING SOURCES.

New Humanity has succeeded in mobilizing funds for its projects. The main funding sources are: the Third World Aid Committee of the Italian Catholic Church, supported by the Italian Taxpayers. Solidarity Groups belonging to Catholic Communities, Private Donors and Associations at large.